We thought we’d made reservations at a restaurant, but it turns out the restaurant didn’t actually exist. Not sure how we made reservations there, but let’s just forget about it.

A friend of mine from school lives in Budapest and we were meeting him for dinner. We met up with him where our original dinner spot was supposed to be, and we decided to take him to Dobrumba (where we’d had our first meal in Budapest).

This time, I got the chicken schwarma.

Wow, it was incredible. It came with lots of vegetables and a sauce that I couldn’t quite identify, but which definitely had a hint of curry. The meal was delicious and I completely cleaned my plate despite the fact that we’d also had appetizers. I must admit, I will miss Dobrumba.

After visiting Szimpla Kert, we developed some serious drunchies and wandered into the food truck area that is directly next to the pub.

My mom went to the vegan food truck and got a mushroom burger (pictured in the background) while I went to the food truck that sold various types of burgers, all of which came with this bun that reminded me of an unglazed donut.

The burger itself was cooked really well, but it could have used some sort of sauce or condiment – I ended up using the sauce that came with my mom’s meal!

This was a super fun experience, and I highly recommend visiting the food trucks to postgame the pub. Snacks 500-3000Ft.

After successfully completing a Game of Thrones themed escape room and visiting the House of Terror, we built up quite the appetite.

We walked on over to Menza, a Hungarian restaurant that had options for every palette. I went with a creamy garlic soup and an avocado prawn salad.

I was a bit perplexed when I received my soup, because I didn’t really know how to go about this whole thing. On top of the soup, there was a piece of fried bread topped with sour cream and cheese. Do I take the bread off and dunk it into the soup? No, because then I would get grease on my fingers. Do I cut the bread and then dunk each piece into the soup? That proved to be a bit challenging because the bread was tough to cut. My mom ended up essentially shoving the bread into the soup and cutting the bread within the soup. The dish as a whole was really filling, and I could only eat about 1/4 of it before oh-so generously donating the rest to my dad.

I wouldn’t order it again, but it was a memorable experience.

Okay, I loved this salad. The dressing was really light and flavorful, and the shrimp were nicely cooked. I think more could have been added to this salad, though, and I ended up taking some of the goat cheese from my mom’s salad to liven up my own.

Menza had a more sophisticated ambiance, and I had an overall pleasant experience there. Nothing special, but I think their burgers looked tasty! Mains 2690-4990Ft.

Still fighting the jet lag, we headed to bigfish for some dinner. The restaurant is a bit overwhelming; there are some options for meals, and some options to take fresh fish away to cook at home. You order at the counter and then find your seat, and pay at the end of your meal. My mom was going to get the lobster until she found out she had to choose her own live one from the tank!

I opted for the paella, which was tasty but lacked acidity – I think it could have benefitted from a squeeze of fresh lemon.

I wouldn’t say that bigfish is a must-visit, but it’s definitely a good option. Reasonably priced with sides at 770-1200Ft, other mains 3600-4900Ft.

After landing in Hungary around 11 AM, we dropped our stuff off at our hotel and headed to lunch.

We found a place called Dobrumba, a Mediterranean restaurant located on a cute street not far from our hotel. Rather than ordering individual meals, we opted to go for a selection of appetizers, both hot and cold.

The standouts were: the garlic shrimp, the soft bread, and the dip with pomegranate seeds. All of the dishes we ordered were fantastic, though, so you really can’t go wrong! We also received a complimentary zucchini soup, which was phenomenal. Dobrumba is a must-visit!

Mains 2200-4800Ft.