Vietnami Speciális Melegkonyha

Vietnami Speciális Melegkonyha is a bare-bones restaurant outside the city center serving Vietnamese dishes you're unlikely to find elsewhere in Budapest. Location is the only downside: it takes about 20 minutes by car to get to from downtown, but at least you'll discover the less-traveled parts of Budapest. The owners took over the space from an Italian restaurant without redoing the interior, hence the bizarre Tuscan countryside wall paintings.

There are two flawlessly prepared Vietnamese comfort dishes that can make a trek out here worthwhile. One of them is an oversized bowl of canh chua sour soup, a bright, tamarind-laced broth containing pineapple, tomato, and baby clams. The other is the Southern Vietnamese ca kho to, a fillet of braised catfish arriving in a clay pot and smothered in a sweet-tart sauce. Watch out for the bones! The pho is of the traditional northern variety, served in a flavorful broth that speaks of long hours of cooking.