Rumor Mill: New Dawn for Arcade, Tax Holiday for Chez Daniel
It's no surprise that the increasingly turbulent economic situation (i.e. utter economic collapse) in Hungary has left many Budapest diners wondering what the impact will be on the local restaurant scene. In short: not so good! At the same time, we haven't seen as many places going belly-up as one might expect. Then again, winter has really just begun. In any case, here are a few bits of (mostly unconfirmed) restaurant tittle-tattle we've recently heard. If you've got anything else, drop it into the comments below.
- Longtime "Top 33" member Arcade Bistro (above) has a new owner. The restaurant had been a "sister" of Café Kör since its debut; a divorce in the family was said to have led to the split and sale. While the terms of the five-year up-front deal led some to suspect a "Slavic" angle to the transaction, the new owner is apparently just a local businessman who really likes the place. Our advice: don't spend a fortune on a new look; just clean things up a bit and turn up the heat in the kitchen a notch or two.
- Super-cool Japanese cantina Kyoto is also supposedly looking for new parents. Interested readers can apply at the bar.
- Tom-George is tightening its opening hours by closing on Sunday, and furloughing some staff. This is not bad news, by the way - it's just the latest sign that these guys know what they are doing.
- The Avocado Restaurant & Music Café in District V has closed, apparently for good. The sorta-swanky place had some fans among our friends, but never really grabbed our fancy. Apparently enough people had the same reaction as us.
- Restaurant MO is apparently circling the drain.
- Chez Daniel is closed until February 4th, allegedly because of a problem with the Hungarian taxman. Yet another reason big government is the biggest enemy of good food.
Read More:
arcade bistro
, budapest dining
, cafe kör
, chez daniel
, kyoto
, mo restaurant and bar
, recently-closed
, restaurant news
, rumor mill
, tom-george
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Lou-Lou closed last friday as well...
apparently they owed mone to alot of people...
It seems your Top 33 list will have to change soon
How is it that White Heaven is still open? Have you ever seen anyone in there who wasn't an employee?
I've heard there is a new restaurant called Momo near mompark that serves some great food, but can't seem to find any info about it online. Has anyone else heard of this restaurant or been there?
thx!
Maligan Boretterem has gone down the drain; not the great place it used to be (menu is 1/10th the size, along with the wine list and wines by the glass).. what a shame.
about maligan what i heard is that its moving to a bigger place in the city center next september...
heard as well that viktor segal is looking for a new opening...
if you stop and think in a 2 million city there are 2, maybe 3 Top quality restaurants, its going downfall nem?!
Peter, let us know which are the 2 or 3 top quality restaurants. Thanks
Dan, the size of the menu or the wine list doesn't mean that the restaurant is not great, usually it is better of many other..., but I would like to understand, so, please, tell us how many dishes you think should be written in a menu. Thanks
i think fausto and costes are without a doubt the 2 best places in the city (food quality, service, wine and chefs flair)
the 3rd one i would say bock bistro, i know its not the same level but i like very much to go there myself when i feel to eat hunagrian... i always have a good time and biros is a legend!
Peter, I agree with you, they are top notch, but, in the order, to eat Italian I prefere Mascalzone Latino, to eat international-Hungarian I prefere Raspi (Fertőrákos), for easy-friendly Hungarian I prefer to go out of town, there are many places with good food and where the guests are really welcome.
Thankyou Gladio, I've been looking for a decent Italian since I got here. They've got a website of sorts, and it all looks reet tasty.
http://mascalzonelatinorestaurantinbudapest.blogspot.com/
Yes Will, I have to say they have a "strange" approach with the marketing stuff, but the right one with the food. A nice week end to all.
I've always wondered how the hell Chez Daniel managed to make it to any gastro list other than Restaurants You Should Definetely Avoid to Survive. When we were there the cook (sic) could not cook our mussels for the third time, hence the apparently drunker owner had to give it a try - failing of course. It was so comic and pathetic, one of the worse "dining" experiences in my life. Harsh to say, but thanks god it is going down the drain.
I dont agree and think that Daniel is a very fine cook. If he drinks or not is HIS problem and not yours...
I'd say you're three-quarters right, Peter: Daniel is indeed a good and imaginative cook, but if his boozing interferes with the operation of the restaurant, it's the business of his patrons as well as his own. But I remain a fan of the place, at least in theory, because I love the idea of a French restaurant run by a genuinely eccentric and cranky Frenchman. Hope to make it back soon, though for sure not on Valentine's day....
if his boozing habits where a big problem the restaurant wouldn't be open for so long or would be?! when someone have a bad experience somewhere the odds of going back are very slim if you now what i mean... anyway, i'm not his lawyer :) happy sunday!
Wendy, Momo is in the new building in Csörsz utca opposite MOM Park. (Sportmax, I think.) I haven't tried it yet though....
another gossip...
apparently and under new management all the kitchen staff left Callas leaving them with no other choice than to close . Been there on sunday for lunch and a waiter told me kitchen was closed due to technical problems... guess the are looking for a new Chef if anyone interested
i think i saw artesano being closed... or was it
just the way it looked from outside?
the other rumor ive heard is that the owners are
trying to sell ALL the leroys right now! i heard
tom george is the only restaurant they want to
keep!
Someone with a strange sense of humor has been going around saying the recently opened Queen Victoria Pub on Kertesz is closing.... nothing could be further from the truth. Great new menu, lots of music booked in and seems to be going along just fine.
Kafana on corner of Sörház utca and Molnár utca also seems to have closed for good. The sign has been taken down.
Daniel is an eccentric owner, but I dearly hope that Chez Daniel doesn't go out of business. It's one of the few authentically wonderful restaurants in the city.
Is TG closing down? Or just a facelift?
if TG stands for Tom George i heard that its going to be transformed in "another" pizzeria...