Hungarian Food

In Hungary, meals are served at different times and at a different style than in America. Most people don’t eat a large breakfast, and the restaurants don’t open until 9am. There are some cafes open earlier, but it would be difficult to find a good breakfast early in the morning before class. We usually get food at a bakery around 9, since our class starts at 9:30. People also eat dinner later, and lunch is seen as a more important meal. Most people leave work for at least an hour to eat lunch, so it is hard to find a quick take out option. We usually have to have a sit down lunch, but it is consistently cheaper than take out in the US anyway. Dinner also happens later at night, so when we go out at six or seven, there aren’t that many people at the restaurants. Even so, there are a lot of reservations, so sometimes it is difficult to get a table. We have limited cell service, so it is difficult to get a reservation, meaning it is sometimes hard to find a place to eat.
Restaurant service here is not as friendly as it is in United States, which can sometimes be frustrating. Most people speak English but waiters still seem to be annoyed when we can’t speak Hungarian. I know a few words, but unfortunately Hungarian is one of the most difficult languages to learn, so it’s extremely difficult to understand even the basics. The waitstaff here are also not as prompt, and usually you have to ask the them to bring the bill and flag them down to make orders. People tip less (it’s typically 10% of the bill), but the service is not nearly so good, so there is definitely a trade off.
Portion sizes here are about the same as in the US, and a lot of things have meat in them. I’m a vegetarian, so it can be difficult to find good options, but usually something is available at most places. Although vegetarianism isn’t really part of the culture here, other dietary restrictions such as gluten free and paleo diets seem very common, which I didn’t expect.There are some traditionally vegetarian Hungarian foods such as sour cherry soup and stuffed peppers, most have meat so I tend to avoid the traditional foods. Sour cherry soup is alright, as are stuffed peppers, but they are not my favorites. I can often find a caprese sandwich or some type of salad which I enjoy more. There’s also a pretty good healthy food scene here.
Food here is very inexpensive, so we eat most of our meals out. A typical breakfast or lunch is less than $5, and dinner is less than $10. Sometimes we get food to go, but usually there is full service for a very low cost. My favorite food over here is definitely the pastries and the coffee, both of which are amazing. There’s also a lot of Mediterranean food (falafel!) which I really enjoy and have been eating several times a week. More vegetarian options exist than I expected, so I’m pretty happy with the food on the whole.