Chicken thighs braised with paprika and onions, finished with sour cream stirred in off the heat, served with nokedli (egg dumplings) to soak the sauce.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Chicken paprikash dates to the same late-19th-century period as Szeged paprika's industrialisation. The sour cream finish (tejföl) is the Hungarian signature; the dish migrated west with Jewish immigrants and became a staple of Ashkenazi cooking.
Common allergens: Dairy, Egg (in the nokedli), Gluten (in the nokedli)
Hungarikum Bisztro on Steindl Imre near Parliament cooks the canonical Hungarian classics, with goulash, chicken paprikash and stuffed cabbage in a tiny old-school Budapest room.
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.
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 to 23:00 daily; the kitchen runs 11:30 to 22:30, terrace fills first.
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 of downtown Budapest.
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.
Bock Bistro inside the Corinthia Hotel on Erzsebet korut is a rustic-modern Hungarian kitchen with 220 wines from the Bock family Villany cellar, Budapest.
Signature: Veal cheek pörkölt, Foie gras
Order: The veal cheek pörkölt with nokedli and a glass of Villany Cabernet Franc.
Tip: 12:00 to 24:00, closed Sunday; the wine list is the deepest house list in town.
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