History

Gulyás is the herdsmen's soup of the Hungarian Great Plain, named after the gulyás (cattle drover). The paprika version dates to the late 19th century when Szeged paprika industrialised. The thick-stew goulash known abroad is a Habsburg court adaptation; in Budapest gulyás is always a soup, not a stew.

Common allergens: Gluten (in the bread)

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g beef shin or chuck, cubed
  • 2 large onions, finely diced
  • 60g lard or bacon fat
  • 3 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 500g floury potatoes, cubed
  • 1.5 litres water or beef stock
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Optional: csipetke (pinched egg-noodle dough)

Method

  1. Melt the lard in a heavy pot and soften the onions over low heat for 15 minutes without colouring.
  2. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the paprika and caraway. Paprika burns at high heat, so it must be off the flame.
  3. Add the beef, salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Return to medium heat, add the diced pepper and tomato, and just cover with water.
  4. Simmer covered for 60 to 90 minutes until the beef yields to a fork.
  5. Add the cubed potatoes and the remaining water or stock; simmer another 25 minutes until tender. If using csipetke, add it in the last 8 minutes.
  6. Taste for salt and serve with crusty rye bread and a pickled pepper on the side.

Tip from the editors. Hungarian paprika is the dish; the cheapest supermarket Hungarian paprika still outranks the best Spanish or Turkish for this soup.

Where to eat gulyás

Gulyás in Budapest

Hungarikum Bisztró ★ 4.5

Traditional Hungarian$$lipotvarosMon-Sun 12:00-14:30, 18:00-22:00

Hungarikum Bisztro on Steindl Imre near Parliament cooks the canonical Hungarian classics, with goulash, chicken paprikash and stuffed cabbage in a tiny.

Signature: Goulash soup, Chicken paprikash

Order: The chicken paprikash with house nokedli and cucumber salad.

Tip: Online reservation only; the small room books out for both lunch and dinner.

Steindl Imre utca 13, 1051 Budapest Book →

Gettó Gulyás ★ 4.4

Traditional Hungarian$$erzsebetvarosMon-Tue 12:00-22:30; Wed 12:00-23:00; Thu-Fri 12:00-23:45

Getto Gulyas on Wesselenyi cooks 14 varieties of Hungarian stews alongside Jewish-Hungarian classics in a tiny ghetto-era room in the Jewish Quarter.

Signature: Beef goulash, Rooster pörkölt

Order: The rooster pörkölt with nokedli; the Jewish egg paste as a starter.

Tip: Tiny room, no walk-ins after 19:00; reserve a day ahead Walk-ins usually OK.

Wesselényi utca 18, 1077 Budapest Book →

Kispiac Bisztró ★ 4.5

Modern Hungarian$$lipotvarosMon-Sat 12:00-22:00, Sun closed

Kispiac next to the Hold utca market is a six-table Hungarian room cooking veal liver, pork belly and roast duck by the open kitchen in a quiet corner.

Order: The breaded veal liver with mashed potato and cucumber salad.

Why locals love it: A six-table Hungarian room behind the Hold market locals book a week ahead and tourists rarely find.

Tip: Book two days ahead; the room is shared tables, dress smart-casual.

Hold utca 13, 1054 Budapest

Menza Étterem ★ 4.0

Modern Hungarian$$terezvarosMon-Sun 11:00-23:00Until Daily 23:00

Menza on Liszt Ferenc ter cooks Hungarian classics until 22:30, a late dinner room off Andrassy near the Liszt Ferenc tér terraces in central Budapest.

Try: Hungarian classics, kitchen until 22:30

Order: The Hortobágyi palacsinta with a glass of Hungarian dry Furmint.

Tip: Open 11:00-23:00 daily; the kitchen runs 11:30-22:30, terrace fills first.

Liszt Ferenc tér 2, 1061 Budapest

More cities are in research. Want gulyás covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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