Ráday utca is a street burgeoning with restaurants, but I can count on the fingers of one hand those I would eat at. There are still fewer that I do eat at. Topping the list is Eckermann Kávéház, the reincarnation of the iconic café that was a gathering point on Andrássy út to any number of expat riff-raff, intellectuals, artists, German speakers and their groupies. The new Eckermann seems to have lost some of its core audience (this may be a good thing) but the move has also seen the addition of a kitchen (definitely a good thing).

Eckermann Kávéház is not a restaurant, it is a café with food - really good food. As their menu states, in but one of a number of endearing translation gaffs “we favoritize vegetables and fruit and always avoid conserves." It is nice to see a place that is not technically vegetarian "favoritize" if not ‘showcase-ize’ the fresh, delicious vegetables you get in Budapest throughout the summer.

Pick from a brief listing of regular Mediterranean-inspired dishes on the menu, or choose from the rotating specials on the chalkboard. On my last visit I had an appropriately chilly and refreshing gazpacho (Ft 590, €2.40), and a bowl of plump, chewy gnocchi with a creamy spinach sauce (Ft 950, €3.90). Both courses came with preposterously good home-made bread. Most dishes are vegetarian, although, in keeping with the generous spirit that pervades the place, there was token chicken dish for meat-eaters.

After your meal, you can enjoy a wide selection of coffee drinks (it is a café, after all). I recommend the Orient Espresso (Ft 280), spiced with cardamom, or a Budapest Kávé, “espresso in a little can, foamed milk in the cup” as the menu states. There was a time when Eckermann Kávéház was known as having the best coffee in the city - and even if I can't be sure this is still true, it certainly remains among the best.

The Eckermann Kávéház also plays an important role as venue for German/Hungarian cross-cultural events. Any night might find musical performances, literary readings, and there is free wifi if there is work to do. If this is not to your taste, hide in the small garden out back or sit at one of the tables in front. I don’t know if Eckermann has the best food on Ráday - I don’t have the patience to test every new place - all I know is I adorize it.