Best of Budapest & Hungary

Kés-Villa-Buda (which translates to ’Knife-Fork-Buda’) is a new project of twelve restaurants, all located on the Buda side of the city. Sharing the same mission, vision and values, they joined forces to promote traditional Hungarian gastronomy and hospitality, classical dishes and dining ‘Buda-style’.

According to Kés-Villa-Buda members (namely Budai Gesztenyés Nagyvendéglő, Émile, Földes Józsi vendéglője, Hadik, Jardinette, Kéhli, Mezzo Music Restaurant, Náncsi néni vendéglője, Pasarét Bisztró, Promontor Kertvendéglő, Schieszl Vendéglő és Borház 1896, and Spíler Buda), ‘a Buda style restaurant’ refers to an establishment typically Hungarian and ‘bourgeois’ in a positive sense, a cozy place for comfortable breakfasts, lazy lunches and wining and dining in the evenings. “On Sundays we love to serve beef bone broth and garlic toast with bone marrow. Fried pork cutlet with mashed potatoes accompanied by cucumber salad with sour cream. Smoked knuckle bean soup followed by cottage cheese paste with cracklings. Hungarian tripe stew following a pickled cucumber soup. Somló sponge cake and poppy seed bread and butter pudding, or maybe milk custard for dessert,” founders of the project describe the meals they recommend. “These are typical nostalgic dishes often associated with middle-class dining in the Belle Epoque era, a relatively short period of time before WWI, when culture flourished in Budapest. We believe this is a valuable tradition worth upholding: something that can be enjoyed by Budapest citizens, domestic tourists visiting Budapest, and foreigners alike.”  Kés-Villa-Buda members plan to gather regularly to exchange ideas, and to hold workshops focusing on different topics, such as dishes, ingredients, historic relics and great personalities of the past. The project was originally brought to life as a year-long campaign. Just recently, a Kés-Villa-Buda common menu was introduced.