Welcome To Budapest’s Great Market Hall!
It’s one of Hungary’s most majestic buildings – and since it is full of classic local food, we had to pop in and explore!
The Great Market Food Hall was built in 1897 – making it the largest, oldest and most beautiful of all Budapest market halls!
C’mon inside – the Central Market Hall is one of the most popular tourist attractions of the city, because you can shop, stroll and eat all kinds of Hungarian delicacies!
Three Floors Of Fun!
The market hall has three levels. This is the basement, which has butcher shops, a fish market, and vegetable stalls…
Most of the stalls are on the ground floor – they have fresh produce, meats (especially dry salami and sausage), as well as Hungarian pastries, candies, spices, and spirits….here are some:
A Pound Of Paprika Please!
Of course we had to buy some Paprika, which seems to be the national spice of Hungary…and we also bought Hungarian wine as well, which was very good – the reds were a bit lighter in flavor, but tasty – and speaking of taste: it was time to go upstairs for lunch!
The second floor has stalls for souvenirs, but the real reason to go upstairs, aside from the great overview of the entire market, is to eat Hungarian food!
We chose the iconic Fakanal Etterem Restaurant, which is enormous, and offers a huge menu of traditional Hungarian food, served cafeteria style, and there is always a line!
Yes, there is a second menu posted in English as well, but who wants that? Here is a look at the process: you get in line, grab a tray, and then go along and tell them which items you want!
See what’s there on the top left of the photo? That’s Spaetzle, Hungary’s version of “pasta meets orzo!” And it was exactly what I wanted, topped by a Hungarian classic:
Wiener Schnitzel And Spätzle!
That’s right, a piece of veal thinly pounded, breaded and pan fried, sitting on top of Spaetzle, with a wedge of lemon…an iconic Hungarian dish!
Oh, except Alex got something even MORE iconic!
Hungarian Goulash!
Alex opted for a thick, meaty bowl of Goulash, served alongside some potato salad…it was a heartier version of Goulash than she had the day before – take a look at the picture she posted of that dish on Instagram:
This one was served as an appetizer, so it was more of a stew…either way, they were both delicious and filling, just as my Schnitzel was!
Oh, and one other very popular dish was this one:
It was a pork trotter, held in place with a big carving knife, and served with a great Hungarian beer! Yes, we had to get one of their local beers as well:
There you go: traditional Hungarian food at Budapest’s oldest and most iconic market – just one of the many incredible adventures we had in this incredible city!
Oh, and we arrived on the Orient Express train, but I didn’t expect this to happen when I filmed it:
Budapest at night is bathed in golden light, an incredible sigh to see – here are pictures and video of a sunset cruise on the Danube:
Alex and I love to travel, and we always eat the local food:
And remember this?
Yes, we had 14 containers of leftover middle eastern food – click here to see what we made out of it!
Cooking is always an adventure – even when it doesn’t go as planned…
Oops! Like that time I cooked Scallops and turned them blue! Oh well, you can make them three ways with the recipes I shared here:
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Let me know if you are a fan of Schnitzel and Spaetzle!
Categories: Alcohol And Bars, Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Eat This!, Food, Food Pictures, Food Porn, Food Travel, Recipes, Restaurants, Travel, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
I’m oh , I love both of your choices and that market looks great
I would have had the same choice as you, John. Veal is hard to find in the UK now, but is one of my favourites. I’m sure you would also like Prague, (can’t remember if you have been there) as the food is very hearty and there are lots of meat choices.
Best wishes, Pete.
All the food looks and sounds delicious , John my choice would be goulash as its looks delicious 🙂