Kispiac next to the Hold utca market is a six-table Hungarian room cooking veal liver, pork belly and roast duck right by the open kitchen in downtown Budapest.
Signature dishes: Breaded veal liver, Pork belly
Must order: The breaded veal liver with mashed potato and cucumber salad.
Tip: Six tables, Mon to Sat noon to 22:00; book at least two days ahead.
Address: Hold utca 13, 1054 Budapest
Ket Szerecsen on Nagymezo's theatre strip is a two-floor Mediterranean-Hungarian bistro and cafe serving from breakfast to midnight in Pest, Budapest.
Signature: Mediterranean breakfast, Mangalica pork
Order: The Mediterranean breakfast plate with avocado and Hungarian sausage.
Tip: Open 08:00 to 24:00 weekdays, 09:00 to 24:00 weekends; the upstairs balcony is the quieter room.
Koleves Vendeglo on Kazinczy in an old kosher meat plant cooks affordable Hungarian and Jewish-Hungarian lunch menus, with a summer garden across the road, Budapest.
Signature: Goulash, Chicken paprikash
Order: The weekday lunch deal: soup, main and dessert in the kosher-meat-plant room.
Tip: Lunch menu Mon to Fri until 16:00; the summer garden across the road is the better seat from May.
Frici Papa on Kiraly utca has poured the cheapest sit-down Hungarian lunch in Budapest since 1997, with shared tables, no menu cards and a daily blackboard.
Signature: Daily lunch menu, Goulash
Order: The daily lunch menu under HUF 3000 with the day's soup and main.
Tip: Cash preferred, no reservations; shared tables and quick turnover, no English menu.
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.
Mazel Tov on Akacfa in the Jewish Quarter is a Mediterranean ruin garden in an early 1900s courtyard, with mezze, shawarma and live klezmer most nights, Budapest.
Signature: Mezze plate, Lamb shawarma
Order: The mezze plate to share, then the lamb shawarma.
Tip: Open noon to midnight daily; book a week ahead for weekends.
Szatyor on Bartok Bela ut in Ujbuda shares a building with Hadik Kavehaz, an eclectic art-bar dining room with Hungarian and Mediterranean small plates in Budapest.
Signature: Hungarian small plates, Mediterranean tapas
Order: The mixed small-plate selection with a glass of Hungarian dry Furmint.
Tip: Next door to the historic Hadik Kavehaz; ask for the gallery room with the rotating local artist shows.