Main Meals
Traditionally, Hungarians take their main meal at lunchtime , although the old tendency for restaurants to have fewer dishes available in the evenings has now disappeared. However, it is worth remembering that many places still close early, around 10pm, especially outside the capital. There's some compensation, though, in the bands of musicians that play in many restaurants at lunchtime and in the evening, their violin airs and melodic plonkings of the cimbalom, an essential element of the "scene". Places used to tourists often have menus in German (and sometimes English), a language of which most waiters and waitresses have a smattering. Whilst not common, some tourist-orientated restaurants, particularly in Budapest, may give you a menu without prices, a sure sign that they're expensive, or plan to rip you off - get the waiter to bring you a menu with the prices listed, or leave. Unfortunately, overcharging is not uncommon, and even fluent Hungarian speakers can get burned if they don't check the bill carefully. While some restaurants offer a bargain set menu ( napi menu ) of basic dishes, the majority of places are strictly a la carte . For a three-course meal with wine, expect to pay GBP5-10/$7-14 in an average restaurant, twice that in downtown Budapest. A service charge is rarely included in the bill and so the staff depend on customers tipping (ten percent of the total is customary). Be warned that if you say "thank you" as you hand the money over, this implies that they can keep the change. Unfortunately, standards of service still leave much to be desired, even in many Budapest restaurants, with a certain lethargy afflicting many waiting staff. Hungarians have a variety of words for their finely distinguished restaurants . In theory an etterem is a proper restaurant, while a vendeglo approximates to the Western notion of a bistro, though in practice the terms are often used interchangeably. The old word for an inn, csarda , applies to posh places specializing in certain dishes (for example, a "Fishermen's inn" or halaszcsarda ), restaurants alongside roads or with rustic pretensions, as well as to the humbler rural establishments that the name originally signified. When they can afford to be, Hungarians are enthusiastic eaters, so as a (presumably rich) Westerner you'll be asked if you want a starter ( eloetelek ) - generally a soup or salad. Nobody will mind, however, if you just have one of the dishes offered as the main course ( foetelek ) or, alternatively, order just a soup and a starter. Bread is supplied almost automatically, on the grounds that "a meal without bread is no meal". Drinks are normally listed on the menu under the heading italok .
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