Czukor Étterem Offers Bittersweet Lesson in Budapest Restaurant Economics

While we have still yet to see a full-fledged Hungarian restaurant closing apocalypse, signs abound that a slow culling of the herds of eateries in Budapest is underway. In addition to the ongoing appearance of “closed for renovation” signs in area windows, we sometimes now see deals on meals that seem downright desperate.

Exhibits “A” through “C” above come from the somewhat recently opened Czukor Étterem és Söröző in District V, which every weekday offers two different three-course lunch menus each for the pretty much insane price of Ft 850 (€3.10).

Up top is a bean soup with sour cream next to a main of marjoram potato főzelék with broccoli fasírt, followed by a dessert of chocolate-drenched kókuszgolyó (coconut balls). Everything was wonderful, especially the soup, which was toothsome. Mmmm.

Next up: cold apricot soup, spicy chicken strips on a bed of salad, and then an interesting (but impossible to photograph) mint strawberry fruit slice. The salad was way too soaked in dressing, but otherwise everything was just fine.

Finally we have cream of leek soup, grilled spinach polenta with tomato sauce, and a chocolate muffin with poppy-seed dressing. The soup was good and the muffin was great. And while the sauce on the polenta wasn’t the best, and the polenta itself didn’t really seem that grilled, it’s hard to expect perfection in a foreign dish like this for less than the price of an international phone call.

So there you have it: nine courses for under €10, all of which seems to add up to near-certain poverty for anyone trying to make a buck at lunch in today’s restaurant business.