chew top 33
May 13 '09
New M. Menu Offers Venison Stew, Stewing Vegetarians
People are always asking why we are fans of M. (link to previous stories), Budapest's crazy-aunt-in-the-attic Hungarian/International bistro. Here's yet another reason: on the current menu, the mains are led off by a "vegetarian surprise," and no matter how...
Feb 24 '09
Closing Time (I): Lou-Lou Aimed for the Michelin Stars, Fell to Earth
Last March I wrote a piece entitled "For Now, Lou-Lou (and Hungary) Will Have to Settle for the Top 33" about how a high-end Budapest restaurant that had been openly pining for a Michelin "star" would have to console...
Feb 10 '09
A Pair of Valentine's Day Specials We Could Learn to Love
Unlike in the past, this year we're not going to go out of our way to provide loving coverage to all the restaurants in town offering special menus and extras for Valentine's Day, for the simple reason that we generally...
Dec 12 '08
Luxury, Lost
Usually I like to end the week here with something nice for readers to chew over. But unfortunately today is not one of those days, as I have the distinct displeasure of reporting that longtime Chew "Top 33" member...
Dec 09 '08
Mmmmm. M. is Back
The restaurant known only as M. (follow link for contact details and user feedback) and its tiny District VII storefront made a quiet splash when it opened seven years ago, earning a following with its inventive comfort food, frequently...
Nov 05 '08
An Olympic Achievement in Culinary Invention
The two most recent restaurant reviews I've written on this site - of glamorous Japanese dining spot Kyoto and the more humble Chinese eatery Wang Mester Konyhája - were both very positive, but prefaced with lots of grumbling about...
Oct 27 '08
Master Wang Masters the Top 33
As I wrote in my review last week of Kyoto, posting has been light as of late in part because of a general sense of "blahs" about the local dining scene I have recently been experiencing. Another reason is...
Oct 07 '08
Páva Fluffs Up Its Fall Feathers
The last time we checked in with long-time "Top 33" A-lister Páva (follow link for contact details and user feedback), our writer enjoyed her free PR lunch at the "Peacock" so much she said she would have gladly paid...
Sep 26 '08
Breakfast of Champions: The Két Szerecsen Bundáskenyér / Bécsi Virsli Combo
Among the restaurants that have been on our "Top 33" list for a long time without a proper review is District VI bistro Két Szerecsen (follow link for contact details and user feedback). That will have to wait, as...
Jul 29 '08
Closing Time: Third Time No Charm for Papageno
We'll close out our most recent round of eatery obituaries with what must be one of the saddest and strangest restaurant deaths we've ever witnessed, either in Budapest or anywhere else. It's sad because, at one point in its...
Jul 10 '08
An Expensive PR Lunch I'd Actually Pay For
I generally avoid attending events held for the press for the sole purpose of having nice articles published - not only because they are manufactured, but also because they tend to be boring. I’d much rather eat with my...
Jun 11 '08
Artesano Too Astonishing to Wait for a Proper Review
One of my biggest faults as a restaurant critic is that I always end up waiting forever to publish reviews of places I've been to, in part due to simple laziness and incompetence, but also because I keep thinking...
May 27 '08
Budapest Burgerwar: The Pampas Angus Burger
Since the day this site was launched, I've wanted to do a full review of the Pampas Argentine Steakhouse, which for just as long has been sitting pretty on our "Top 33" list of better Budapest restaurants. I don't...
Apr 24 '08
Kohinoor: Diamond in the Rough, or Just Another Indo-Pak Étkezde?
What do the Indian restaurants in Budapest have in common with the city's étkezdék, or traditional Hungarian diners? The answer is, of course, not much, except everybody has a favorite they swear by. There seem to be lots of...
Apr 04 '08
Fly to the Nightingale Before the Spring Birds Really Start to Sing
Despite a weather forecast for this weekend indicating gray skies and icy-cold rain, it's otherwise clear that Spring has finally arrived in Hungary. While in general this is a great thing (especially if, like me, you like your fruits...
Mar 14 '08
For Now, Lou-Lou (and Hungary) Will Have to Settle for the Top 33
Because this publication follows the rather quaint (at least in Hungary) policy of not taking free meals from restaurants - or any sort of compensation/bribes - when doing reviews, we try to make sure that whenever we splash out...
Mar 10 '08
International News (III): Chaos as Hungarian-French Bistro Debuts Norwegian-English Fish 'n Chips
While on a routine checkup of current "Top 33" member Gerlóczy Kávéház [details/user feedback] [related Chew items] last Friday we were stunned to see on the list of specials a plate of "salmon fish 'n chips" (Ft 2,630/€10) with...
Feb 08 '08
New Therapy Session for Chocolate Addicts Tonight at Segal
So due to the usual screwups here in the office, we didn't get word until this morning of a two-day special menu offering ending tonight over at recently-reopened "Top 33" stalwart Segal focusing on the world's mostly widely-used dangerously addictive...
Nov 09 '07
Reader Tips, Automatic TIP, Topple Menza from "Top 33"
When our "Top 33" list of Budapest restaurants was started by our sister site Pestiside.hu back in the fall of 2004, the idea was simply to publish a regularly-updated register of our favorite dining spots in the Hungarian capital. Not...
Sep 18 '07
Service Blog Snaps at Csalogány 26, Unbeatable Lunch Special Bites Back
The last time we checked in with Csalogány 26 we were worried that the very promising Hungarian/International restaurant would not stay long on the "Top 33" because of a lack of patrons. Now, however, there is a different concern....
Aug 29 '07
Reports of Segal's Premature Demise Premature
While no publication likes to print corrections, we've just found an exception to the rule. As you may recall, last week we wrote, sadly, that "Top33" staple Segal had closed up shop. But according to an email we just got...
Aug 21 '07
Is the Gerlóczy Kávéház Good Enough for the Top33? We Sure Hope So!
In addition to leaving a gaping hole in Hungary's high-end dining scene, the sudden closure of Segal left an opening in our "Top 33" list of our favorite Budapest restaurants. Faced with a similar void last week, we didn't...
Aug 14 '07
Looks Like Time to Open Up a New Tag for "Recently-Closed"
With the summer tourist season in full swing, these should be great days for Budapest's restaurants, especially those catering to tourists and other higher-spending patrons. Alas, this does not seem to be the case for everyone. And if three...
Jul 16 '07
A Quick Peek at Taiwan's Quick Peking Duck
We've occasionally gotten grief from readers and friends about the ongoing "Top 33" status of the Taiwan Kínai Étterem [details/user feedback] [related Chew items], the sprawling banquet-style restaurant that sits in a nondescript building in Budapest's District IX, and...
Jul 06 '07
Klassz Notes (II): The Mysterious Appeal of Foaming Duck
While we're on the topic of somewhat mysterious things going on at Klassz, how about the fact that the restaurant's current menu contains not one but two dishes containing duck liver, and foam?...
Jun 08 '07
Ciao Budapest (VIII): No Fear of Flying Blind at Fausto's
We close out our "Italy Week" with a meal we had a while back at "Top 33" holdout Fausto's Ristorante. (This is the "new/old" Fausto's, not to be confused with the "old/new" Fausto's.) We didn't post about the meal...
Jun 05 '07
Ciao Budapest (II): Krizia Has Almost Everything, Except You
In our first proper "Italy Week" post, we take you to District VI eatery Ristorante Krizia. If you haven't been to Krizia, we're not surprised. Despite the fact that it's been on our list of Top 33 Restaurants in...
May 22 '07
Tune in To Csalogány 26 Before it Gets Cancelled
One of the great mysteries of the Budapest dining scene is how so many tables in so many "white tablecloth" restaurants can manage to remain empty on any given night. In one sense this glut is a boon to...
Apr 20 '07
Time to Go Drop Some Money at Papageno
[Editor's Note: This restaurant has closed for business.] As you may have seen, we've recently spiffed-up our list of Top 33 restaurants in Budapest, giving the T33 its own attractively-designed page, and including links to the "tags" for articles...
Mar 23 '07
Five Big Reasons Café Kör Will Probably Stay on the Top 33 Forever
We're not going to list all of the restaurants that seem likely to remain on our "Top 33" list of Budapest restaurants forever. But having given five little reasons why the manically inventive Baraka can claim near-permanent T33 status,...
Mar 23 '07
Five Little Reasons Baraka Will Probably Stay on the Top 33 Forever
Posting may be light over the next few days, as we are currently in the process of re-working our "Top 33" list of Budapest restaurants, adding a few eateries that we think are among the best in BP, and...
Mar 21 '07
Klassz Outclasses Crass Hit-and-Run Critics
This site prides itself on usually being the first to write (at least in English) about recently-opened restaurants in Budapest. But we take even more pride in doing a good, thorough job when passing judgment on notable new establishments....
Feb 21 '07
Wine News Flash: 2004 Gere Kopár to Debut Tonight at Baraka
In addition to yesterday's just-in-the-nick-of-time announcement of tomorrow's "Gluttonous Thursday" restaurant extravaganza, we've just gotten late word of another important local epicurean event that is happening even earlier, as in tonight. Last night we stopped in for a little bite...
Feb 14 '07
Last Call for Food-Lover-Lovers' Big Night
With just hours remaining until the big event, we have a pair of late additions to Monday's rundown of Valentin Nap specials being offered by some of our 33 favorite restaurants in Budapest. Maybe we're just in the mood, but...
Feb 12 '07
Enjoy Valentine's Day, the Top 33 Way
For sure, Valentine's Day may be a cheesy "Hallmark Holiday" and an unparalleled suicide trigger for romantic no-hopers around the world. But it can also be an excellent excuse to treat yourself and a loved one to a nice...
Jan 09 '07
The Majesty and Mystery of Taiwan's Prawn Dumpling Soup
As we said back in September, some of our more favorite sentences contain the two words "shellfish" and "soup." It is therefore no surprise that one of our long-time local Asian standbys is the Ráktáska leves (prawn/shrimp dumpling soup)...
Nov 27 '06
There is Simply No Way Segal Doesn't Make the Top 33
It's been more than a month since we scoped out Segal, which recently opened in the former District V digs of culinary wonderland Baraka (Note: See updates appended below). Unlike the normal laziness that leaves us sitting on reviews...
Nov 21 '06
M. Splashes Cold Water on Bottle-Pushing Competition
We've always adored M., the rough-and-ready bistro on District VII's Kertész utca that has been a member of our elite "Top 33" club for the past year or so. The food is generally very good, the décor is charming...
Nov 02 '06
German Winter Combo Onslaught (II): Haxen Király's Double-Knuckle Punch
In addition to heaving plates of sausages, the other essential bone-warming Germanic winter treat to be had in Budapest is knusprige Hachse gegrillt auf Holzkohlenglut, a.k.a. charcoal-grilled crispy pig's knuckle. We say "Germanic" rather than "German" because Hungarians also...
Oct 11 '06
Articsóka Peels Off New Leaf and Plops Into Top 33
As was reported on our sister site Pestiside.hu last week, what had been known as the "Pestiside Top 33" list of best restaurants in Budapest will from now on be known as the Chew "Top 33". Unfortunately, as the...
Oct 02 '06
A Big Hot Cheese Appetizer That Will Melt Your Little Brain
Back in the dark days of Hungary's recent culinary past, vegetarians who dared to dine out were often left with no other alternative than a hunk of fried cheese slathered in some variety of sauce. As a result, a...
