Culinary adventure through Hungary: from MICHELIN-starred restaurants to food festivals

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The summer might be over but the fun is just beginning. With so many MICHELIN-starred restaurants to try out and food and wine festivals to attend, you better start planning out your weekends now.

 Hungry for adventure? Well, you’re in for a treat, because this season promises an array of mouthwatering experiences that will tantalize your taste buds. Between food festivals and MICHELIN-starred restaurants, you have enough options to never have to step foot in your kitchen over the next few months!

Let’s dive into the fall’s flavors and cuisines that will delight even the pickiest foodie in town.

The MICHELIN Guide arrives in Hungary

While the first MICHELIN star in Hungary was awarded to a restaurant back in 2010 (to Costes Restaurant), it wasn’t until the end of last year that the official guide for the country was published. The guide features:

  • 2 Two MICHELIN Star restaurants (“excellent cooking, worth a detour”)
  • 7 One MICHELIN Star restaurants (“high quality cooking, worth a stop”)
  • 6 MICHELIN Bib Gourmand restaurants (“best value-for-money”)
  • 4 MICHELIN Green Star restaurants (introduced in 2020, highlights restaurants “at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices”)
  • 43 additional recommended restaurants

Dining close to home

For those living in Budapest, the options are practically endless.

One of the only two restaurants to receive two MICHELIN stars in the country is in Budapest’s city center – Stand Restaurant. Serving skillfully reinvented and modernized classic Hungarian dishes – as per the MICHELIN review – the 8-course dinner menu features such wonderfully imaginative blends as the Hungarian classic lángos with the Napa Valley-originated dish of butter-poached lobster.

Six of the seven restaurants that received one MICHELIN star are also based here.

  • Babel, which describes its cuisine as Central European while highlighting its roots in the Carpathian basin, is just a short walk away from Ferenciek Square.
  • Borkonyha Winekitchen, in addition to its à la carte and degustation menus, offers a selection of 100 wine labels.
  • SALT’s degustation menu features 15 courses – also available in vegetarian and vegan options.
  • Essência Restaurant Tiago & Éva is what happens when a Portuguese chef and a Hungarian chef fall in love and get married – a family-owned restaurant that offers the best of the two cuisines or a mix of the two in a degustation menu.
  • The main attraction of Rumour by Rácz Jenő is an 11-course dining menu, which “rivals a theatrical performance, where the most spectacular elements of food preparation take place in the open kitchen, in the middle of the ‘stage’” – promises the restaurant.
  • Last but not least is Costes Restaurant. As mentioned earlier, this was the first restaurant in Hungary to be awarded a MICHELIN star in Hungary. The seven-course tasting menu here will take you on a gastronomical trip around the world.

Venturing out for a culinary experience

But wait, the culinary adventure doesn’t stop at Budapest’s doorstep!

Go on a foodie weekend getaway and visit the quaint town of Tata. Located northwest of Budapest, it is home to the other two MICHELIN-starred restaurant – Platán Gourmet. You probably never knew that you needed a kimchi-black curry taco in your life, but after this experience, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it!

Alternatively, take a road trip to the wine region of Esztergom. After some sightseeing and hiking during the day – or a few leisurely hours at one of the spas – settle in for an unforgettable gastronomical experience at the one MICHELIN-starred restaurant 42. The As we see the world tasting menu features delightful surprises like a duck liver burger and Hungarian classics like the Csabai sausage with paprika and sour cream.

While these are the only two restaurants outside of Budapest that were awarded MICHELIN stars, there are plenty of other award-winning and MICHELIN-recommended fine-dining restaurants and bistros.

For example, Bistro Sparhelt in Balatonfüred – a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand restaurant – offers a charming atmosphere and a choice of two menus: the HERITAGE, “which is based on Hungarian traditions, on the taste of our childhood” and the JOURNEY – “an exploration of international traditions and ingredients.”

Or go on a wine tour in Eger and, while at it, make a reservation at Macok – another MICHELIN Bib Gourmand restaurant. This family-owned bistro offers a captivating mix of Hungarian and Mediterranean dishes.

Enjoy the fall weather at food and wine festivals

Alright, so what do you do in between your reservations at various MICHELIN-starred restaurants? You gorge yourself on the heavenly foods and drinks at the food and wine festivals taking place this season, and there are plenty!

Kick off the fall with the Budapest Wine Festival (September 7-10, Buda Castle). With a selection of wines from 100+ wineries, you may want to come prepared by first checking out our guide to Hungarian wines.

Alternatively, take a trip to Szolnok for its famous Goulash Festival (September 8-9). It’s only a short car ride away and you get to eat as much goulash as your heart desires!

Toward the end of September, head to the Indian Food Festival in Budapest (September 21-23, Kazinczy street 21). Indian food is a vibrant and diverse culinary tapestry. Bursting with spices, colors, and flavors, it encompasses a wide array of dishes from different regions. No wonder it is the fourth most popular cuisine in the world!

The two festivals we suggest checking out in October are the Siófok Fish Festival and the Csabai Sausage Festival.

This year, the Siófok Fish Festival (October 6-8) celebrates its 10th anniversary. One of the biggest food festivals at Balaton, it will feature cooking competitions, gastronomical experiences, children’s programs, and more. Plus, there is something magical about visiting Balaton in October – the crisp yet still warm air, the stunning sunsets, the quiet evenings on terraces with a glass of wine.

After the fish festival, give yourself one weekend to recoup and then hop on a train to the town of Békéscsaba for its famous Csabai Sausage Festival (October 19-22). The event is centered around the Csabai sausage (Csabai kolbász) – a famous Hungarian sausage with a Protected Geographical Status (PGI). The festival regularly makes various lists of the best European food festivals and it’s just a 2.5-hour train ride from the capital!

Alright, you made it to November. Congratulations! But we are not quite done yet.

Do you like cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, or merlot? Then you can’t miss out on the Bordói November Grand Tasting (November 19, Corinthia Hotel Budapest). With more than 60 wineries and 150 wines exhibiting at the event, this is the biggest tasting of the Bordeaux red wines!

While you could, of course, take a break from food festivals after an adventurous gastronomical fall, keep in mind that the Christmas markets are just around the corner: mulled wine, goulash, pretzels, the smell of cinnamon from chimney cake (kürtőskalács) stands – yum!

Anyone else hungry?