Breakfast in Szamos

Szamos is a famous brand in Hungary. They are first of all known for their marzipan, and then comes the confectioneries. In Budapest you can find Szamos shops and confectioneries in lots of places, for example in Árkád, in Mammut, in Allee, in Savoya Park, in Polus, in Szentendre, at Budapest Airport and lots of other places. The biggest Szamos and the one with the best location is probably the one located at Vörösmarty square, but yesterday we visited the Szamos confectionery and store located by the Grand Boulevard, within the walls of Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal.

Working on our article about breakfast in Budapest we planned on visiting Bock Bistro, one of the best restaurants in Budapest with great wine and high class food. Some other sites also wrote about the culinary experience of enjoying a breakfast at Bock Bistro, and therefore we planned on enjoying a breakfast there ourselves. As we got there the doors where closed, and after asking some questions around in the building we found out that breakfast is no longer available in Bock Bistro. There we stood hungry in front of closed doors, so quickly we had to find somewhere else to eat some breakfast, and since Szamos is located only 150 meters from Bock Bistro, that became our final destination.

It seems to me as if Szamos have the same breakfast menu available in all their places, so whatever Szamos you visit you will have the chance to eat Continental Breakfast, French Breakfast, Ham and Eggs, Wiener Breakfast and Hungarian Breakfast. These are the standard offers, but on their menu you can also find toast which is available throughout the entire day, but if you want it for breakfast, that can of course be arranged.

We ordered a ham and eggs, one standard omelet and a toast. In addition we had a cup of tea, a glass of water and a cocoa. Even though it was almost empty in the place, it took a while for someone to take or order, but when they first came, service was perfect. The final price of this order was 4000 HUF, and in that price the service fee of 15% was included.

Ham and eggs and a toast in Szamos

The portions were quite normal, and though they were smaller than the portions you get at for example Fruccola, most people will feel full and satisfied after one portion of food. The omelet needed salting, the cocoa was without any sugar so that needed to be added manually, the toast was nice and my wife was satisfied with the ham and eggs. While most restaurants offering breakfasts add some special bread besides your breakfast, Szamos only gives you a small standard white bread baguette cut into small pieces besides the meal.

After the breakfast we did not sit with the feeling that we were too full, and thus the cakes offered looks very tempting. We skipped those this time, but it might be that the next time we drop by Szamos it will be to eat cakes, and not to eat breakfast. Everything was too standard, nothing made it an experience to remember, except from the fact that I ate together with my beautiful wife and son, so next time I will much rather look for a new place instead of returning to Szamos. If you are a tourist looking for an easy breakfast one day and you see a Szamos sign nearby, this can though be an option to consider.

Tempting sweet and salty cakes/pastry in Szamos

Tejivo Budapest review

Located next to McDonalds on the Erzsebet square (Deak Ferenc square) Tejivo has a perfect location and it has since its opening turned into a big success, and currently it is a super trendy place to hang out for a bite to eat and something to drink in Budapest. Budablogger likes to be trendy so off he went to Tejivo to check what is going on.

Tejivo is a Hungarian word which means Milkdrinker in English. That is perfect, because I am a big milkdrinker… a very positive start. As we got there it was packed with people (I guess it is space for 30 guests on the inside, 35 at the most) and about 10 people on the outside. To get something to eat I had to get into line and wait for the five people in front of me to place their orders. A few minutes later the line was even longer and there were at least 7-8 people standing in line to get something to eat and drink. Why is this so trendy, and is it worth standing in line?

In Tejivo you can get different things to eat; sandwiches with ham, salami, cheese, then you will find different yoghurts, toasts, sweet porridge and some sweet desserts. In addition they have cocoa, home made ice tea, milk shakes and some other drinks.

We wanted to try as much as possible as we first visited the place, so we drank a cocoa and an ice tea, and we ate toast, sandwich with mangalica (special Hungarian pig) ham and a sweet porridge. The toast was served warm, while the sandwich and the porridge was cold. My wife wanted some hot porridge, so on request they placed it in the microwave and then it became hot in a few seconds. The porridge, the sandwich and the toast all tasted well, and especially the porridge had a special taste to it, almost lemon taste, which made it both special and good. The mangalica ham was delicious and the toast was fine. The home made ice tea tasted like at home when I made hot tea, add some sugar and put it in the fridge, so nothing special. The cocoa gave a little surprise, because normally when you go out to eat you get hot cocoa, but in Tejivo you get it served in a cold way. The taste was nice, but I would probably have preferred it served warm instead.

The price for all of this was 1700 HUF, and then I forgot to tell the fact that we also ate a cocoa roll. What made it all cheaper was the fact that they have quite some menus reducing the price, and as we bought some of the standard menus we saved some money doing so.

Tejivo is trendy, but I guess I am not going to be very trendy in the future. It is nice to have been there, and I am glad that I tasted it all, but it did not steal my heart forcing me to return back again in the near future. Of course it is nice knowing about this place in central Budapest where you can get a tasty sandwich and bring it with you if you are in a hurry, but I will probably go try something new in the future instead of returning to Tejivo. But, I know lots of others who will do exactly the opposite; instead of finding a new place they will rather return to Tejivo, so I am not worried that Tejivo will end up like most other shops and bars that have opened at the same place (they all ended in bankruptcy).

If you are in Budapest and want a light meal, check out Tejivo!

Tejivo seen from the outside

Tejivo Budapest

Sütő utca 2, 1052 Budapest
Opening times: 7.30 – 22.00

More flights to Lisbon from Budapest

Flying from Budapest
Flying from Budapest

Since the bankruptcy of Malev other companies are getting more and more popular. We all know that RyanAir launched flights to 32 destinations from Budapest after Malev went down, and several other companies also launch new routes. Earlier today I read that WizzAir will launch two new routes from Debrecen to Milan and to Eindhoven (in addition to their existing route from Debrecen to London Luton). From the official web page of Budapest Airport we also got the information today that Tap Portugal will add even more flights to their existing route between Budapest and Lisbon. Last year the company brought more than 50,000 passengers on this line and this year they will hopefully transport even more people with even more flights added. This means that there will be two flights leaving every Saturday from Budapest to Lisbon, instead of one earlier.

Not long ago someone asked us whether it is possible to fly directly from Budapest to Paphos in Cyprus, this beauty of a city where the summer lasts for around 8 months a year. But, unfortunately we can not help out with flights to Paphos, at least not direct ones. But, if you look around, it is possible to fly with KLM to Amsterdam, and there you can change flights and fly on to Paphos.

Earlier Malév had a route to Cyprus, but it was not to Paphos either, so that would not help out under any circumstances. But, if you would rather visit Israel instead, then the amount of flights between Budapest and Tel Aviv was raised earlier this week, so it looks like it will get easier to visit Israel as well! Good luck with your flight tickets and have a nice holiday!

Die Hard 5 in Budapest: Where things are happening and when!

Yesterday we wrote about the fact that Bruce Willis (alias John McClane) is in town and that they were filming in the sixth district of Budapest yesterday, in the area around the Vörösmarty Utca. That was the first day of filming, and today it will continue. So, if you would like to see what’s going on, or at least meet up with some (un)polite police officers protecting the area, pay a visit to one of the following places:

Where things are happening, and when!
April 24: District VI, Vörösmarty utca.
April 29: District VI, Városligeti fasor.
May 3 (from 8:00 p.m.) and May 4 (from 6:00 a.m.) District V, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, Arany János utca, Andrássy út.
May 5-6: District XIV, Fine Arts Museum (Szépművészeti Múzeum), Dózsa György út 41.
May 8 (from 6:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.) District XIV, 1956ers Square (56-osok tere), near the corner of Damjanich utca and Dembinszky utca.
May 14: Return to the beginning (Szabadság tér)

The rumors say that Budapest is not the real location of the story, but Moscow, but who knows? What is for sure is that traffic chaos will be caused by this filming, and for people living in the areas it means parking their cars somewhere else and walking home (showing ID to prove that they live in the mentioned areas). A bit inconvenient, but that is probably the price to pay to have a start like John McClane walking around in the streets of Budapest.

This morning we noticed on Facebook a picture that someone claims to have been made yesterday. It is just a fake, but a quite funny one, at least for Hungarians. Thanks to Andrassew David Igor for posting it!

Bruce Willis walking in Budapest?
Bruce Willis - manipulated picture... not really from the filming in Budapest!

Bruce Willis dying hard in Budapest

Bruce Willis in Budapest - Die Hard 5
Bruce Willis in Budapest - Die Hard 5

April 24 update: Die Hard 5 in Budapest: Where things are happening and when!

It has for a long time been known that quite a lot of “A Good Day to Die Hard” (Die Hard 5) will be filmed in Budapest. If you are interested, you might want to check out the sixth district of Budapest today where cars are removed and the streets are empty due to one reason: Bruce Willis is in town and filming today! To check it out, take the tram to either Király Utca or Wesselényi utca, and start walking towards the area near Dob utca, Vörösmarty utca, Csengery utca and so on, and you will for sure see either some police officers protecting the area, or if not, maybe you will meet John McClane himself?! (John McClane is the name of the character played by Bruce Willis).

Check it out! If you are not in town, then you can wait until 2013. That is when the film will be released and you can see all your favorite spots in Budapest (hopefully) on the movie screens all around the world!

Gospel in Budapest

As of April 28th there will be arranged gospel concerts in the heart of Budapest, in a beautiful church in Vaci Utca, every second weak. The choir is lead by one of the best singers in Hungary, and this will be a great gospel event, worth checking out. If you are interested and like gospel music, you can read more about the gospel event at our page about the gospel event.

At the page about the gospel concerts you will also find a video so that you can know more about what to expect, you will find the chance to reserve tickets and also information about dates and time for these gospel concerts. Read more…

Gospel concert in Budapest
Gospel concert in Budapest

MAK Bistro Budapest review

A new star is rising in Budapest, and the name of it is MÁK Bistro. The restaurant has a rustic feeling to it, and it is almost hidden away in the very center of Budapest, only one minute away from the beautiful Chain Bridge on the Pest side of the city. MAk Bistro opened in 2010 and has since then received lots of great reviews, making it one of the most trendy restaurants in Budapest at the moment, but it does not feel to touristic, which is a bonus.

In the Dining Guide 2012 edition and in the Gault&Millau restaurant guide for 2012 MÁK Bistro was listed among the top five restaurants of Budapest. That is quite a job from such a young restaurant, and as I visited the restaurant earlier I was curious to get to know the place better.

During lunch time the restaurant offers two or three course lunches. The price for a two course lunch is 2800 HUF and for three courses the price is 3500 HUF. No drinks are included, so you should add 500-1000 HUF to the bill, and then the service fee, which they automatically add to the bill as you get it. Therefore a lunch for one person here with three courses will normally end up somewhere between 4500-5000 HUF (of course depending on how much you drink).

I (Budablogger) am not so much of a gourmet, so therefore I was curious to see how I would like the food in the restaurant. If it gets to advanced and with to many strange spices and ingredients, I often miss the traditional Hungarian courses. But, today something happened, as I enjoyed all the three courses, and also the „free” courses given along the way. The first course was a soup (Parsnip velouté) which was tasting completely different from most soups I have ever tasted in Hungary, but it was interesting and delicious. The main course (Pink perch with buckwheat pasta) was made from fish with buckwheat pasta, and even though it felt strange at the start, I enjoyed it so much that as all the fish was gone, I took what was left of bread from the table and started to put it into the sauce left from the main course to enjoy them together.

The dessert (Cottage cheese-pomegranate dessert) was extremely fresh and the combination of fruit, cottage cheese and something similar to crunched biscuits made it a perfect end to the lunch menu.

The menu at MÁK Bistro changes continuously, making it an interesting place to visit over and over again, and the prices are not at all scary. Main courses if you come during dinner time cost somewhere between 2500-5000 HUF normally, and they use lots of traditional Hungarian ingredients, though with lots of turns and twists to it. This makes MÁK Bistro a super place to visit if you want to eat upper class food in Budapest with nice prices, great service, a central location and with high quality. Be surprised and enjoy your meal as you visit MÁK Bistro.

MAK Bistro Budapest

Vigyázó Ferenc utca 4, 1051 Budapest
Tuesday – Saturday from 12.00-15.00 and 18.00-24.00
Telephone: +36307239383

What others have written about MÁK Bistro.
Their distinguishing trait is the consisting use of excellet raw material, prepared with the care it deserves… outstanding desserts bring an upbeat ending to your meal. (Gault&Millau 2012)

Information on Budapest cruises

Information on Budapest cruises
Information about Budapest cruises

Many people coming to Budapest look for information on cruises on the Danube. The beautiful river flowing through numerous European capitals is probably more beautiful than anywhere else as it flows through the borders of Budapest. From the boat you can enjoy the panorama on the World Heritage List of UNESCO as you pass under the Margaret Bridge and enjoy the view towards the Hungarian Parliament, the Castle, the Gellert Hill, the Matthias Church and the Fishermen’s Bastion, and let us not forget the bridges; the Chain Bridge and the Elisabeth Bridge. An amazing and stunning view.

Some people who are not too much into geography might wonder if it is possible to travel on the Danube all the way until the Mediterranean sea, and then continue on one of the many Med Cruises there, but the answer to that question is no. For the patient traveller the Danube ends up in the Black Sea, but it is in no way connected to the Mediterranean Sea.

Most cruises available for tourists and suitable for tourists are those running on daily basis within the borders of Budapest. These tours normally last 90 minutes, and you get to see the most famous buildings and the panorama as mentioned above on these tours. We can warmly recommend such a tour in the evenings, because Budapest is at its most beautiful in the evening!

There are tours daily during the main tourist season to Szentendre, Visegrad and Esztergom as well, and for those who want to leave Hungary, there are opportunities to visit Bratislava and Vienna as well. The only problem with such tours are the fact that they last for such a long time, that you can not do a t/r trip in one day, which means you need to sleep one night at the destionation, or find another way of returning to Budapest again in the evening.

If you are looking for more information about a Danube Cruise, and would like to book a dinner cruise with live gipsy music or so on, take a look and read more about these options at our Danube Cruise page.