Discovering the local food specialities of a destination has always been one of our favorite aspects of travel. And if the destination is also known for its wine, all the better.
When we visited Budapest in early May, we wanted to get an insider’s view of the local Hungarian food and wine scene.
We booked a Culinary Walking Tour through Taste Hungary that promised to show us the food, wine and culture of Budapest.
Our four-hour tour started upstairs at the Central Market Hall, one of Europe’s largest indoor market halls filled with every kind of food and meat imaginable.
The first stop on our tour was at a tiny corner bar, for our introduction to Unicum, a bitter herbal liqueur produced by the Zwack family from a secret recipe of more than 40 herbs.
Unicum tastes like a bitter herbal cough remedy, and since we were struggling with colds, jet lag and missing luggage, we convinced ourselves that this drink would cure our ails and get our walking tour off to a good start.
Properly conditioned, we set off to tour the market’s out-of-the-mainstream aisles, led by our knowledgeable and charming guide Gabor Banfalvi.
Hungarians love their sausage, and this stand at the Central Market offered a wide selection.
Gí¡bor ordered a selection for our group of four, and then explained each, starting with the fried goose fat or cracklings, followed by sausages made of pork and paprika, horse meat, Italian-style and head cheese.
Next we visited a poultry stall. Can you guess which rooster parts are in the center of the photo?
As we worked our way through the market, we learned how Hungarian home cooks use ingredients like paprika, pork fat, and goose liver.
Hungarians also love their pickles, made from a wide array of vegetables.
We tasted three kinds of cheese, including a chocolate cheese that came in a wrapper like a candy bar.
It was also interesting to see the fresh ingredients available in the market. In early May, ramps were in season.
From the Central Market, we walked to a fish restaurant in the surrounding neighborhood, where we each enjoyed a bowl of the soup of the day (after learning how important soup is in the Hungarian food culture.)
We also shared several fish dishes, from the traditional to the trendy during a leisurely lunch.
Walking again, we stopped by a chocolate shop, trying several different samples of beautiful chocolates with some unusual flavors. Paprika chili chocolate tastes better than it sounds.
Very full, we walked again, through a park while Gí¡bor shared tidbits on the neighborhoods as well as the history and culture of Hungary.
A tour of Hungarian food wouldn’t be complete without visiting a cafe. Our next stop was a Hungarian cafe dating to 1870, where we sampled four different styles of Hungarian pastry. Walnuts, poppy seeds, chocolate and custard are common ingredients.
Finally, we walked back towards our starting point at the Central Market Hall, with a stop for wine tasting at the nearby Borbirosag “wine cork” restaurant and wine bar. We tasted three different Hungarian wines.
This was our group with Gabor to the far left. While teaching us about Hungarian wines, we also got the insider’s scoop on the cities best restaurants and wine bars.
TASTE HUNGARY was founded in 2008 by Carolyn and Gabor Banfalvi.
Carolyn is a journalist and foodie from Washington, D.C. She is the author of Food Wine Budapest.
Gabor grew up in a village in northwestern Hungary. He and Carolyn met working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.
They are the perfect hosts to show you the culinary delights of Budapest.
Have you visited Budapest? What was your favorite Hungarian food?
Recently, we are hooked on culinary walking tours. Read about some others that we’ve experienced in these posts:
- History, Food and Fun in San Juan with Spí¼n Food Tours
- Walking and Eating With Chicago Food Planet Tours
You may be interested in this post about our best meal in Budapest: