The Castle Hill above Buda, with view restaurants in Fisherman's Bastion and Lánchíd-side rooms by the Chain Bridge.
Zona on Lanchid utca is a modern Hungarian bistro on the Buda side of the Chain Bridge, with river views from the upstairs room and a 200-bottle Hungarian wine list, Budapest.
Signature: Mangalica tenderloin, Tasting menu
Order: The mangalica tenderloin with foie gras butter.
Tip: Daily 12:00 to 23:00; the upstairs tables face the Danube and Parliament across the river.
Halaszbastya Etterem occupies the neo-Romanesque Fisherman's Bastion on Castle Hill, with modern Hungarian tasting menus and panoramic Danube views over Pest in Budapest.
Signature: Hungarian tasting, Goose liver
Order: The seasonal multi-course tasting at sunset for the Pest skyline view.
Tip: Three rooms in the bastion (Restaurant, Bistro, Cafe); book the Restaurant for the tasting and the terrace.
Zona on Lanchid utca is a modern Hungarian bistro on the Buda side of the Chain Bridge with river views from the upstairs room and a deep Hungarian wine list, Budapest.
Signature: Mangalica tenderloin, Tasting menu
Order: The mangalica tenderloin with foie gras butter.
Tip: Daily 12:00 to 23:00; the upstairs tables face Parliament across the Danube.
Halaszbastya occupies the neo-Romanesque Fisherman's Bastion on Castle Hill, with modern Hungarian tasting menus and panoramic Danube views over Pest, Budapest.
Signature: Hungarian tasting, Goose liver
Order: The seasonal multi-course tasting at sunset for the Pest skyline view.
Tip: Three rooms (Restaurant, Bistro, Cafe); the Restaurant is the slowest, longest evening.
Daubner on Szepvolgyi ut in Buda's Rozsadomb hills runs a hundred-year cake counter where locals queue for birthday and name-day pastries in Budapest.
Order: The original Dobos torta with the caramel disc crackled on top.
Tip: Closed Mon and Tue; queues run 30 minutes deep on weekend mornings.
Worth the queue: Dobos torta
Bortarsasag's flagship store on Lanchid utca, steps from the Chain Bridge, is the country's leading Hungarian wine merchant with daily tastings of the regions in Budapest.
Signature pour: Tokaji Aszú by the glass
Wine focus: Hungarian regional wines, large bottle retail and bar
Food: Limited cheese and snack plates
Order: A flight of dry Furmint and a glass of Tokaji Aszú.
Tip: Pet friendly; Hungarian wine flight tastings run on Saturdays at 16:00.
Feny utcai piac in Buda's 2nd district, next to Szell Kalman ter and the Mammut shopping centre, is the main Buda covered market for produce, cheese and bakery in Budapest.
Order: A bag of seasonal Hungarian fruit and a kifli from the in-market bakery.
Tip: Closed Sundays; the upstairs lunch deck cooks Hungarian classics Mon to Fri.
The Budapest Wine Festival is the country's biggest wine tasting, with around 200 Hungarian wineries pouring through four days in Buda Castle each September.
The Gourmet Festival at Millenaris Park draws around 100 exhibitors and Hungarian regional producers for four days of tasting in early June, Buda's main food festival.
The Palinka and Sausage Festival fills the Buda Castle courtyards with over 400 distillates and Hungarian sausages each October, a Budapest autumn institution.
Felix Kitchen and Bar inside the Varkert Bazar by the Danube is a Michelin-recommended Buda dining room with refined Mediterranean and Hungarian plates and a Wine Spectator award.
Order: The eggs Benedict on Hungarian rye with mangalica bacon
Tip: Buda-side terrace faces the Danube and the Pest skyline across the river.