Nicholas Kush writes for the New York Times:
KIRALY STREET in Budapest has staked claim to the title of hip new spot with its restaurants and fine boutiques, but there’s more to the city’s once-gritty District VII than this one storied stretch. Cafes, bars, nightclubs and fashionable stores have sprung up throughout the dark lanes of the old Jewish Quarter, whose history and recent rise to trendiness evoke comparisons to the Lower East Side of New York.
The unpretentious restaurant and bar Koleves (Dob u. 26, 36-20-213-5999; www.koleves.com) epitomized the laid-back charm of the neighborhood one recent afternoon, with the stop-and-start melodies of a band practicing in the basement and an artist hanging his latest works on the walls of the dining room. It would be easy to get lost in the design flourishes like the cheese graters converted into perforated wall lamps or the chandeliers made of dozens of wineglasses, but the food, a mixture of Jewish and Hungarian dishes, demands attention.
Like an overzealous grandmother, Koleves stuffs you with delicious fare in huge portions. The savory roast goose leg at 1,880 forint, or around $10.65, at 180 forint to the dollar, is a steal. With a cup of cappuccino, the matzo flodni — a Jewish layer cake made with apple, poppy seeds and matzo — is nigh irresistible.
