Year: 2022

Michelin-star restaurants in Hungary (2022-23).

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Would you like to eat the best possible food in Budapest? As of November 2022, Hungary has seven restaurants with one Michelin star and two restaurants with two Michelin stars. Would you like to book a table in any of these restaurants? In order to get a table, you need to make your reservation months in advance, but if you are late, you can still give it a try.

Many people believe that the best restaurants in Hungary are all located in Budapest. That is almost true, as seven out of the nine restaurants in Hungary with Michelin stars are located in Budapest. But, there are two exceptions, and one of those exceptions has two Michelin stars. In other words, you can find delicious food outside Budapest as well.

michelin stars in hungary

Michelin-star restaurants in Budapest.

The seven restaurants with Michelin stars in Budapest are.

Two Michelin stars.

  • Stand (Chefs: Tamás Szell and Szabina Szulló)

One Michelin star.

  • Babel (Chef: Kornel Kaszas)
  • Borkonyha (Chef: Ákos Sarkozy)
  • Costes (Chef: Levente Koppany)
  • Essencia (Chef: Tiago Sabarigo)
  • Rumour (Chef: Jeno Racz)
  • Salt (Chef: Szilard Toth)

Michelin-star restaurants outside Budapest.

The two restaurants with Michelin stars outside Budapest are.

Two Michelin stars.

  • Platan Gourmet, Tata (Chef: Istvan Pesti)

One Michelin star.

  • 42, Esztergom (Adam Barna)

Tata and Esztergom are two cities not very far from one another, so you can easily visit both these during a trip to Hungary and to Budapest. Tata is located a 45-minute drive from Budapest, close to the highway in the direction of Györ, Vienna, and Bratislava. Esztergom is a beautiful city next to the Danube, especially known for its fantastic basilica on the top of the hill (the largest church building in Hungary). It is on the border with Slovakia, meaning that you can easily cross the Maria Valeria bridge and also visit Slovakia on your trip (if that sounds interesting).

If you go by car, it should take approximately 60 minutes to drive from Budapest to Esztergom.

Have you been to any of these restaurants? Do you have any comments or thoughts that you would like to share? Write a comment below.

It is Christmas market time in Budapest!

Posted on by Budapest Guide

The Christmas market at Vörösmarty square has already opened, and recently, we also got to know the dates for the fantastic Christmas market in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest. If you haven’t booked your flight tickets yet, go ahead and do so right away. But, be sure to arrive in time, as the Christmas markets close on December 31st (Vörösmarty square) and January 1st (Szent Istvan square).

Would you like to know more about the Christmas markets in Budapest? You can find much more information on our Christmas markets in Budapest page.

what's up in budapest

What else is worth knowing about life in Budapest right now?

Life goes on as usual. There are no masks (unless you have to go to the hospital), restaurants are running with business as usual, and stores are open as they normally are. What might be new and interesting is the fact that two restaurants in Hungary got rewarded with two Michelin stars. One of the restaurants is named Stand and it is located in Budapest. The other restaurant is named Platán Gourment and it is located in the city of Tata (a 50-minute drive from Budapest in the direction of Vienna). If you have time and money, these restaurants are for sure worth visiting.

There are also several restaurants with one Michelin star. All of them are located in Budapest with the exception of one.

  • 42 (Esztergom
  • Babel (Budapest)
  • Borkonyha (Budapest)
  • Costes (Budapest)
  • Essencia (Budapest)
  • Rumour (Budapest)
  • Salt (Budapest)

We hope you will enjoy your stay in Budapest and that you will eat a lot of good food while here.

Is it safe to visit Budapest and Hungary with the present situation in Ukraine?

Is it safe to visit Budapest and Hungary with the present situation in Ukraine?

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Have you been waiting for COVID to disappear so that you could finally come to Budapest (again)? But, as you finally started to plan your trip to Budapest again, the entire conflict between Russia and Ukraine showed up and suddenly you got one more reason to worry. But, do you need to worry about the conflict if you are coming to Budapest and to Hungary?

Hungary has more than 2150km of borders and the biggest part of this is the border shared with Slovakia at a total of more than 650km. The second-largest border is shared with Romania (443km), then followed by Austria with which we share a border of 366km. But, what about Ukraine?

The smallest border part in kilometers is with Slovenia (only 102km), and then comes Ukraine with which Hungary has 133km of common border. And yes, that can be experienced these days as the number of refugees entering Hungary from Ukraine might have reached 500,000 already.

But, it is very important to understand that on the Ukrainian side of the border, there are several cities and villages in which a large part of the population speaks Hungarian. So far, these villages and cities haven’t been attacked at all, meaning that they are still doing good, even though they are a part of Ukraine.

Is it safe to visit Budapest right now?
The Fishermen’s Bastion in Budapest – Source: Pixabay

What is the situation in Hungary?

The Hungarian people have done a wonderful job taking care of the people arriving in the country from Ukraine. Locals have opened up their homes and their wallets, and the government is also working with helping refugees coming to the country. Many of the refugees travel on to elsewhere in Europe from Hungary, while some reside here, hoping to stay here until the situation has calmed down in Ukraine so that they can return to their country once again.

As a tourist in Hungary…

If you come to Hungary as a tourist, you will most likely not notice anything at all. You might hear more of the Ukrainian language than normal, but since you most likely are unable to discern the languages you don’t know, you will not know whether the people you hear speak Hungarian or Ukrainian or any other language that you don’t know.

If you think about security, then there is no need to worry at all. It is considered a negative thing in general that the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Órban has a quite close friendship with Vladimir Putin, but if you think about the security of the country, then that might actually give it a little additional piece of security (if you fear Putin attacking areas outside Ukraine).

What about COVID?

Are you still worried about COVID as well? You might need to use a face mask on the flight carrying you to Budapest and to Hungary, but there is no need to use a face mask elsewhere in Hungary (besides if you have to visit a hospital or medical facility). There are still quite a lot of COVID each and every day and there are still quite some people dying due to COVID daily. However, people mostly live their lives like before COVID and all programs are available as they would normally be.

No matter what, you can come to Hungary without any worries. Get ready for a nice river cruise on the Danube, some tasty Goulash soup, and maybe a sweet sip of some wine from Tokaj?