Feeling Diner: Homesickness Should Never Feel Like This

The first thing I noticed about the Feeling Diner, a new themed restaurant on Király utca in a bustling part of District VII, is the overly-bright sterility of the place. If an expensive private hospital ever wanted a 50’s-themed cafeteria, I imagine this is what it would look like. The second thing I noticed were the two huge, and I mean huge, unfinished burgers on the plates of the couple next to us. If early indications proved right, the now-back-and-bloody Budapest Burgerwar™ was about to see some serious carnage.

Feeling Diner is one of those places that tries to impress you with just how many variations on the hamburger their kitchen can churn out, from Mexican, Greek, to an “American” burger that comes topped with coleslaw. Sticking with the straight up cheeseburger will set you back Ft 1,300 – not bad considering the large portion of fries that ride side-car.

I have to admit, I had high hopes for finding a winner here, but they were soon dashed by the arrival of an egg-glazed kalács, big enough that it could have doubled as a throw pillow. Hiding deep within this catcher’s mitt of a bun rested the burger patty, but for the first several minutes of the meal, it was all bread.

As the picture illustrates, the ground beef, once uncovered, was cooked as ordered, angolosan, or rare. It was good beef, but totally overwhelmed by its sweet kalács padding. The cheese was barely visible, lost amidst green onion, pickles, lettuce and catsup, which they apply for you in the kitchen.

Complaints about Feeling Diner typify my peeves about so many restaurants in Budapest. Foremost on the list are the omnipresent marketing tactics, for which the owner is either reimbursed or gets free goods. From where I sat, I could count eleven marketing ploys, from the Bailey’s place mats, to the Unicum polo on our server, to the caddy on the table which, instead of holding condiments, held drink cards. Worse, the Feeling Diner had none of the beer on the menu available, instead offering another distributor’s line, which spoke to a last minute deal – as owners get an under the table, cash-in-hand payment to exclusively carry one company’s selection.

Hint to Feeling Diner: when the reps from all these foreign companies are courting your business, in addition to the bribe, why not have them proof-read your menu? Beef is not spelled with an a and there is no c in pork. They may not know where the beaf is at Feeling Diner, but the bread is on your plate and in the owner’s palm.

How They Stack Up:

Meat: 7/10
Bun: 2/10
Trimmings: 7/10
Service/Settings: 5/10
Value: 7/10
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Total Score: 5.6/10