A thick paprika braise of cubed meat (beef, pork, veal, mutton) with onions and just enough liquid to cook it down to a glossy sauce. The serious version eaten in Hungarian homes, distinct from gulyás.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Pörkölt is the thick Hungarian braise that the world often calls goulash. It is older than the paprika version, probably pre-paprika, with the spice added from the 19th century. Eaten with nokedli (egg dumplings), potatoes or rice. The dish is built on a base of slow-cooked onions and lard, with no water beyond what comes from the meat and onions.
Common allergens: Egg (in the nokedli), Gluten (in the nokedli)
Tip from the editors. The onion-to-meat ratio is almost 1:1 and is the secret of real pörkölt. Onions break down into the sauce; no other liquid is needed.
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.
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.
Koleves on Kazinczy in an old kosher meat plant cooks affordable Hungarian and Jewish-Hungarian lunch menus, with a hidden summer garden across the road.
Order: The weekday lunch deal of soup, main and dessert.
Why locals love it: An old kosher meat plant turned weekday lunch room with a hidden summer garden across the road.
Tip: Lunch menu Mon to Fri until 16:00; the summer garden across the road is the better seat.
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