Tastes of Hungary — food tour

A paprika-spiced stew of French, German, and Turkish influences, Hungarian cuisine is deeply tied with both its national identity and the country’s history. You can spend a morning or afternoon exploring Budapest’s gastronomic highlights on this guided tasting tour.

Your guide will take you on a sensory journey through the city’s eateries, with a focus on typical Hungarian dishes. Of course, you’ll have the chance to try goulash and chicken paprikash, but you might also sample traditional dishes like pork-stuffed cabbage leaves, called töltött kápostza, or lángos, a deep-fried flatbread topped with things like sausage, cheese, and garlic sauce.

You’ll visit the Central Market Hall, a soaring 19th-century stone edifice that houses stalls selling local produce, traditional sausages, and aromatic spices, among other delicacies. Stop at some of the city’s renowned coffeehouses for sweets and coffee, sip Tokaji, and enjoy a bowl of goulash.

Your guide will meet you at your hotel for this tour, which can take place in the morning or the afternoon and usually lasts about four hours. The exact tour will vary, depending on your personal tastes and what local shops are available, but will include about four, progressively more substantial tastings.

On your tour, you’ll explore the culture and heritage of Hungary’s cuisine, and discover how cooks have incorporated influences from French, German, and Turkish fare. The tour can be tailored to your preferences, but we don’t recommend it for vegetarians or vegans.

A typical tour might begin with a stop for cakes and coffees at some of the gilded coffeehouses that Budapest is known for. The display cases at coffeehouses are filled with a vast selection of lavishly layered baked goods, including dobos torte, which is made of many tiny layers of moist yellow sponge cake sandwiching thin layers of chocolate buttercream, all of it topped with a golden shard of hard caramel.

From there, you might head to the Central Market Hall, a 19th-century building that houses a vast and lively indoor market. Sample local sausages, taste paprika-infused goods and enjoy other popular snacks like töltött kápostza or lángos. From there, you might enjoy a slice of seared goose liver or try a bowl of the national dish, goulash, at a local restaurant.

You can also sample Hungarian wine, including Tokaji, a sweet, sophisticated dessert wine from the Tokaj region.