Eastern Europe

Best and worst restaurants:

Best: everyone was excellent
Why: can't fo wrong with Polish food

susan ford in senoia, GA USA 10/02/2009

Best: Strahov Monestary
Why: Best beer ever!!

L.A. Meharry in Vancouver, WA USA 09/21/2009

Best: Carne Di Hall in Budapest
Why: Not in Rick's book but great food & view of the river & Pest side. Right down the street from the Hotel Victoria. Great staff-very friendly. Expensive-family of four with drinks & good tip $185.00. We ate outside twice & had drinks outside one other night on the way back to the hotel from the subway stop. 1011 Budapest Bem rkp 20.

Scot Dailey in Arlington, Tx USA 08/15/2009

Best: Miod Molina in Kracow.
Why: Excellent variety, good service, food was reasonable and delicious. Ate there twice.

Worst: Podwale Piwna Kompania in Warsaw
Why: My wife and I went on a Saturday evening around 2000. Crowded by no one waiting. We waited for someone to take our order, then it came quickly except my wife's main course never came. Food was average, not very appetizing. We commented that this was first recommended restaurant from Rick that was a disappointment in many years of travel. This place is a tourist stop with good decor but weak food and service.

Don Waddell in Walnut Creek, CA USA 07/25/2009

Best: Bar Mleczny, Krakow Poland
Why: What a fun experience! The food was pretty good, very cheap and the workers were pretty nice to us.

Tim Bolinger in Plano, TX USA 07/14/2009

Worst: Restauracja Farina
Why: We arrived while they were not busy and were seated immediately. That was the last time we had contact with any of the four waitresses working our area. We sat there for a half an hour while other customers were being waited on. In fact one table came in after us, had drinks, placed their order, and were being given bread when we had yet to even request our drinks. We attempted to catch one of the server’s attentions, but it was obvious they were ignoring us. We have no idea what we did to be treated this way; we were polite and greeted them in Polish. It was a big disappointment that left a black mark on our trip. We were surprised this happened, because after reading your review (and our wonderful experience the night before at Miód Malina) we were looking forward to trying their food. Needless to say, we ended up walking out (with the waitresses giggling at us as we left). I sincerely hope that the manager does not condone this type of service, as it is very bad for business.

Liana in Chicago, IL USA 07/14/2009

Best: Chimera (Krakow, Poland)
Why: Great food (lots of vegetarian AND meat options, to satisfy my brother and I) and good prices.

Worst: Two Caves (Mostar)
Why: We didn't wind up actually eating there, because after sitting down and looking at the prices, it was WAAAAY more expensive than it was made out to be in the guidebook.

Amy Tedoff in Colts Neck, NJ USA 07/12/2009

Best: Menza - Page 481
Why: This was an outstanding restaurant, both in terms of the setting and the price of the quality food. I'd recommend stating that reservations are smart, as we only got a table at 19:00 by promising to be out of there when the next guests (who had a reservation) showed up at 20:30.

Jack Martin in Lawrence, KS USA 06/28/2009

Best: Gerlockzy Cafe, Budapest
Why: Great food at great prices. Watch your bill carefully, though, we were charged for a dessert that we did order but never got. Also, you will get charged for the water that comes with your coffee, without even being asked. Still, the food is really good.

Worst: The Sacher Torte at Sacher Cafe
Why: The Sacher torte IS overrated. The topfenstrudel is much better here. In Budapest, the Gerbeaud cake is much better as well.

er in Seattle, WA USA 12/02/2008

Best: Trattoria Toscanna & Duran sandwich shops
Why: We had great meals at Toscanna. Fresh fish was brought to the table for my husband to approve it before it was in the chef's hands. Also, for anyone looking for a low cost lunch in Budapest, Duran is the perfect place. The sandwiches are so fresh and delicious. Two of these open face delights make a great lunch. We had salmon with capers and cream cheese and egg salad with caviar. All our meals in Budapest were very good--no disappointments at all!

Susan Jennings in Atlanta, Ga USA 11/23/2008

Best: geolovsky cafe budapest hungary
Why: excellent food entertainment for a reasonable price

michael potts in lexington , ky USA 10/16/2008

Best: Cafe Gerbaud, Budapest
Why: Overpriced and touristy, but can't be beat for atmosphere and ambience

Jennifer in Portland, OR USA 09/29/2008

Best: Orange Moon and nearby Italian restaurant, Prague
Why: Excellent food and service, as well as having fewer tourist crowds there. Honorable Mention also goes to Taverna Toscana on Michalska just off Old Town Square. Food was excellent!

Judy Mondy in Odessa, TX USA 09/26/2008

Best: Miod Malina, Krakow
Why: The food was excellent, and the variety was great (some folks wanted Polish, some wanted Italian).

Peter Vatne in Nashua, NH USA 09/12/2008

Best: Chimera, Krakow
Why: We ate at the milk bar/buffet rather than the formal restaurant. A wonderfully pleasant diversion from the schnitzel and so forth. Fantastic salads and other vegetarian items that were all reasonably priced and at a convenient location just a few blocks off the square.

David Murray in Avon, IN USA 08/23/2008

Best: Sperun in Split
Why: Good food, varied menu, comfortable, unpretentious setting, and very friendly staff who spoke good English. We ate there 3 times.

Jim Martin in Ashland, OR USA 07/26/2008

Best: Hotel Senator Haz, Eger, Hungary
Why: Outdoor restaurant was quite good and I loved the music in the square.

Christine in Devon, PA USA 07/12/2008

Worst: non-recommended restaurants in castle district in prague
Why: As rick says, do not eat here unless he recommends. We stopped for 2 cappucinos at a simple place and ordered before looking at the menu, which was not posted. The cost was $10 a piece!

mike in tempe, az USA 06/22/2008

Worst: Plzenska Restaurace u Dvou Kocek "By the Two Cats"
Why: Indifferent food at much higher prices noted in your book and much more than night before at nearby Restaurace u Provaznice (also indifferent food but not overpriced). Beer cost 3 times any place else and they were constantly stopping by our table peddling "special drinks."

Gail in Albany, OR USA 01/27/2008

Best: Tabani Terasz Restaurant
Why: The food was amazing - the Goulash Soup is by far the best I've ever had and the service was fantastic. Regarding Mr Herman P. Wu's previous comment about the pricing of wine by the glass.I found that it is standard practice in Budapest (and most countries in Europe) to order the wine by "cl" (that's centilitres). 10cl is a small glass, 20cl is a medium glass, and 30cl is a large glass. When you don't specify which size you want, 20cl is the standard size. There are 70cl in a bottle of wine. Not to worry, Mr. Wu, you were not deceived!

Worst: Art Restaurant
Why: The is a serious tourist trap. The food wasn't edible and it was way too smokey.

Amy Szabados in Toronto, ON Canada 12/06/2007

Best: Budapest - Menza
Why: Franz Liszt square is as charming as can be and this restaurant was one of the highlights of our entire trip. Superb food reasonably priced with very friendly service.

Worst: Krakow - milk bars
Why: Were those pirogues swimming in lard!

Sondra in Portland, OR USA 11/06/2007

Best: Casolgony 26
Why: a new and superb restaurant, with food that rivals some of New York City's best, it is not typical Hungarian, a tip on wine the house wine by the glass is a great deal

Martin in New York, NY USA 10/23/2007

Best: Bohemskaya (sp?) in Budapest
Why: As advertised, unpretentious and bargain-priced dinner entrees. They only would take cash, though.

Worst: Tabani Terasz in Budapest
Why: The food was certainly decent. The thing that left us feeling deceived was the menu pricing for wines by the glass. The menu had prices both by the bottle and for 10 dL (which one would assume to be a glass). Thing was, the waiter claimed to have poured 20 dL for each individual glass, and therefore the price came out to be twice as much as we expected. The waiter did the same thing to the couple seated across from us, who also was there based on Rick Steves's book.

Herman P. Wu in Burlington, WA USA 10/16/2007

Best: Horgasztanya, Budapest
Why: Great food---authentic Hungarian

Worst: Horgasztanya, Budapest
Why: We chose this place because they took credit cards, posted on the door(we were having trouble with the ATM, and had just arrived). They told us the credit card machine was broken and to get cash. When we convinced them they wouldnt' get paid if they didn't take credit, they miraculously found a working machine. Moral, if they say they take credit, they should.

Nancy Williams in Avon, , CT USA 08/05/2007

Best: Arka Noego, Krakow
Why: My husband comes from a Jewish family so we're well exposed to Jewish-American food. In this restaurant, you can find in the menu all the old classics, but cooked in a much tastier way than your usual Jewish meal. Also, the music was fantastic!

Beatriz Costa in Seattle, WA USA 06/29/2007

Worst: Ceska Kuchyne, Prague
Why: We had two very unpleasant experiences in the Ceska Kuchyne restaurant across from the Havelska Market @ Havelska 23. My wife and I spent a week in Prague and both times, at 18:00 and 16:00, they were out of what we wanted. My wife is a Berliner and have had much the same experiences dealing with the same attitudes when there was an East Germany. We were not permitted either time to return outside to choose anything else from the English menu posted outside. We had to take what was recognizable through the steamy windows in the food line. Too much like what used to be Communist Europe.

W. L. Walters in Newark, De USA 06/13/2007

Worst: Klub Arkitektu in Prague
Why: Horrendous service for our ETBD tour group. Very poor acoustics. I could not hear a word said by either the person next to me or across from me.

Mike Wavada in Enfield, CT USA 06/11/2007

Best: Restaurance u Provaznice in Prague, Gundel in Budapest
Why: Restaurance u Provaznice - great atmosphere, friendly staff, not just tourists, locals eating here too, good prices, tasty potato pancakes! Gundel - make a reservation for lunch and you can get a lunch special for around $20 that includes a first course, entree, dessert and a glass of wine. Let yourself be pampered by first rate service.

Doreen in Los Angeles, CA USA 05/27/2007

Best: Vienna - Cafe Central
Why: Best Club Sandwich I ever had anywhere.

Mike Williams in http://mikenbondi.blogspot.com, Australia 04/18/2007

Best: Ceska Kuchyne (Prague) and Restauracja Samoobslugowa Polakowski (Krakow)
Why: Ceska Kuchyne in Prague serves great traditional fare at cheap prices. Our family of 5 ate for about $20. The goulash and dumplings were awesome! By the way, you really don't want to lose the paper they give you on the way in - they will charge you 500 Kc for a lost paper.

The Restauracja Samoobslugowa Polakowski (the restaurant is actually called Polskie Smaki Restauracja) in Krakow is also great and inexpensive. Our family of 5 could eat there for under $20. The cabbage rolls with mushroom gravy were great, as were the apple filled pancakes (with sour cream).

I highly recommend both of these restaurants for good traditional food at cheap prices.

David Carter in Stillwater, OK USA 04/18/2007