Where to eat the best goulash in Hungary and in the UK?

Goulash is a stew or soup of meat and vegetables usually seasoned with paprika and other spices. It originates from medieval Hungary but is one of the national dishes of the country even today.

National Geographic collected the best places to eat this Hungarian national dish both in its home country and in the UK.

Gettó Gulyás, Budapest

Located in the old Jewish Quarter, Gettó Gulyás serves classic dishes in offbeat surroundings (corrugated iron-clad walls, antique knickknacks). The goulash is an ‘alföldi’ version, so it contains a mix of root vegetables as well as meat, and you will also find a long list of stews, including a rich ox cheek pörköltek with buttered barley. You should leave room for the Gundel palacsinta (walnut pancakes), as well. The price is moderate, 1,300 HUF (EUR 4) per portion.

Stand25 Bisztró, Budapest

Culinary couple Tamás Széll and Szabina Szulló gained their first Michelin star this year for fine dining restaurant Stand, but at their more casual outpost, Stand25, you will find dishes — including the signature goulash soup — at a fraction of the price. Located in the Downtown Market, Stand25 has an open-plan kitchen dishing up modern twists on local dishes. Try the Mangalica pork pate. A two-course lunch with goulash costs only 5,500 HUF (EUR 17).

Pest-Buda Bistro & Hotel, Budapest

Part of a chic boutique hotel in the historic centre, this restaurant is one of the city’s oldest. On the menu are local favourites such as cottage cheese noodles, catfish with paprika and székely goulash (meat stew with Hungarian sauerkraut). A bowl of classic goulash soup with csipetke will set you back a modest 2,180 HUF (EUR 7), and for another 1,490 HUF (EUR 5) you can wash it down with some Fóti Zwickl, a local, unfiltered craft lager.

Kollázs Brasserie & Bar, Budapest

Kollázs is an upmarket, leather-and-polished-brass type of place, within the art nouveau Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace. On the lunch menu, alongside other traditional dishes such as chicken paprikash and cottage cheese dumplings, you will find a goulash spiked with root veg and csipetke, for 3,800 HUF (EUR 13). Or, if you visit for dinner, try it as a starter.