It's always hard to pinpoint when a relatively new trend has stopping being new and has instead become just a normal part of life. But a good sign is when people involved in the trend stop acting as if it's new and revolutionary. And we may now be at the point when we can say with some confidence that the gourmet food shop is now a normal part of life in Budapest. Because the people behind the newest such shop in town didn't even bother giving theirs an exotic or newfangled name, and instead just called it the Gourmet Deli.

On the shelves of this small shop on District VI's Hájos utca you'll find the now-traditional international "best-of," with mostly European nibbles and raw materials and at least one smash hit from almost every country with a culinary tradition worth exporting. Which means you get an array of Patak's curry paste (Britain's offering) lined up alongside caviar, pasta and couscous. There is an entire shelf dedicated to olive oil, and the cheese and meat locker, though small and selective, is no less mouth-watering. (The selection of breads, however, is a little disappointing.) You won't mind handing your cash over to the very young, enthusiastic and knowledgeable guys who run the place either - and the prices are just as friendly.

Then again, if you don't find it friendly, no worries. Because as we've just said, gourmet shops are now nothing new in Budapest, and you only need to walk 10 minutes east or west to find Gastronomia Pomo D'Oro or the Pest-side outlet of Culinaris, as well as any other new gourmet shops that may have popped up between now and then.