The other Michelin starred restaurant we visited was "Onyx", which is the only 2 star restaurant in Budapest. The restaurant only serves tasting menus, and we selected the one called “within our borders…” The menu includes 6 courses, including dessert, as well as 2 “amuse bouche” in the beginning and an incredible granite as a “pre-dessert”. Alisa doesn’t eat beef, and the restaurant was very cooperative in substituting dishes from the other menu. So, we actually had about 10 different dishes, which gave us a very good idea about the quality and variety of the kitchen. The chef even prepared one dish for her that wasn’t on any of the menus.
Among the dishes I remember best were water buffalo tartare, goose liver with coffee and almonds, catfish wrapped in bacon sitting in a fish soup, veal with pea puree and brain, and others…  They served 8 kinds of delicious bread at the beginning. The service was perfect, the décor beautiful and all the dishes were superb. It was a great meal with no letdowns or mistakes.

Aszu was an unexpected surprise. We were looking for a restaurant for lunch for the following day (our last few hours in Budapest) and on the basis of the menu posted outside and a short conversation with the hostess, we made a reservation. We had a nice meal here and because of the early hour, we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. We enjoyed our meal, but the best part was the genuinely entertaining conversation we had with the waiter. Also, they have a nice wine list, and the waiter brought us several to taste until we found the one we wanted.
All the dishes were tasty and well prepared, we had marinated trout, a main of grilled trout, and a lovely dish of goose breast. All in all, a very nice lunch. As for the name, “aszu” is one of the best known types of the famous Hungarian sweet wine called “Tokaji”.

While in Bucharest, we stayed at the Radisson Blu a very nice 5 star hotel selected by Viking Cruise lines.  This is a lovely modern 5 star hotel, with a very nice location. It’s about a 10 minute walk to the old town, and is close to many popular attractions. There are numerous stores and restaurants within walking distance. Our room was fine, the service was excellent, and breakfast was outstanding. Our only complaint would be the WiFi which was very weak in our room and also had to be reconnected almost every time after we rode in the elevator.

Caru' cu bere is one of the best known restaurants in Bucharest. It’s a giant beer hall with a full menu of local fare, from starters to desserts. It’s usually full with lots of the guests who are mostly tourists.
We came at a late lunch hour, and outside it was full, but inside there were plenty of tables. We tasted one of the many beers they have on tap, and ordered a dessert as well. The beer was cold and fresh, the dessert was very good, but the service was totally chaotic. It took a while to find a waiter to serve us, and at the end, it took just as long to find some way to pay.

We also ate at one of the restaurants at the Radisson. (There were at least four!) We ate at the poolside restaurant called "Prime Summer Garden". We were both surprised and a little confused eating here. We wanted to eat at the restaurant inside the Radisson, where we were staying, which is called “Prime Steaks & Seafood” and which looked to be quite good. We found that this place was closed, so we ate at the grill restaurant outside near the pool. There, we were told by the waitress that the restaurant outside is the same as the restaurant inside, but that the restaurant inside closes for the summer.
In any case, we were pleasantly surprised by the food, which was like the menu of the restaurant inside, and far better than the average fare at a poolside grill restaurant. We enjoyed our dinner, and in particular, enjoyed the scallop dish which was delicious and well prepared.

The Artist is the closest thing there is to a Michelin star restaurant to be found in Bucharest. The Dutch chef, Paul Oppenkamp clearly wants one and we think the restaurant is close, but not there quite yet. There are a few little items which could still need a little improvement, like the bread.
The restaurant is in a lovely refurbished villa, with artwork all over, and the walls painted in a most unusual way. The food was lovely, imaginative, and the service was excellent.