Budapest Travel Forum

OK so been reading quite a lot about scams in restaurants of various sorts generally involving being charged more than on original menu - different menu being substituted in when paying, prices being claimed (for meat) to have been for 100 g and minimum portion being 400g etc.

so what's the best way of avoiding being ripped off and if it did happen what's the best way to deal with it ?

also is it, like here in UK, purely a civil matter where threats from restaurateur to call police would be meaningless as they'd not be interested ?

thanks in advance

You're being paranoid! Where did you get your info? I've eaten and drank in many Budapest places (and even gotten a little drunk and thus off-guard) but never had any problems with the bill. There is one scam tho' which revolves around the mafia-run hostess places but if you're stupid enough to enjoy a young girl's company and buy her dinner, that's up to you and you have no comeback!

Take care but don't be paranoid!

just about every guide book I got out of the library and my friend also found some info on the internet - if they're to be believed it goes on a lot.

At restuarant for some pece of meat like T-Bone or fillet/tenderloin it's nearly always indicated the [medium] weigth and its then price, this is quite normal.
At restaurant it's also normal you can have a T-Bone or fillet/tenderloin as thickness as you like and this is a very good sign as the meat should be not frozen in advance and the cut is fresh. This is quite normal, not only in Budapest, it's not scam, it's a restaurant, not a supermarket where fillet/tenderloin or T-Bone are nearly all the same.

....This is quite normal in many place of the world, not only in Budapest....

btw here is one link: http://killingbatteries.com/2006/06/budapest-restaurant-scam-%E2%80%93-let%E2%80%99s-be-careful-out-there/

This happens in a few restaurants everywhere. It's just to protest, unless you haven't been foolish enough to go to a place you never should have visited (which it seems that the author of your link has). If the bill prices are different from what you remember from the menu - ask to see the menu again. If they charge you for things you haven't ordered - refuse to pay. If they put extras on your credit card bill afterwards - protest to the card company, I've done that, and after four weeks, when the restaurant hasn't answered the card company, the card company pays you the money back.

thanks for that :-)

That's the scam I've just warned you about. You getting chatting to a girl in a bar say. You seem to be getting on OK and so you treat her to dinner. When the bill arrives you've just bought all the most exzpensive things on the menu and so there's no comeback. These places are Mafia run and they won't take credit cards. But you'll be escorted to a cash machine if you haven't got the cash.

However if you stick to the main places and don't be conned into buying anybody else a meal then it just won't happen.

I read the link, it's written also "this type of thing happening in Bucharest, Budapest, Paris, Madrid, Warsaw and Athens" but the list could much longer in all continents. The [initial] post was talking about meat, in the link it does not, I would have wanted to read something of more "about every guide book I got out of the library and my friend also found some info on the internet", in the link it's written about "overly amorous local women" and I hope that was not 'the meat'. Shall I mention TO WHO and not where such sort of this scam could happen? I better do not.
I've to say Budapest is on the list of my desiderata town visit, soon or later I'll go there, but like many other places in the world you should pay attention, more in these days of world crisis because anywhere people would try to.... let's say
'have a job' as the one they had is lost. So just pay attention and nothing would happen.
:-) regards

The restaurants that these scams take place in are more like private clubs. They are the sort of place that you would be very unlikely to find by yourself (or even be able to get in) and they don't advertise themselves. They don't have credit card facilities as they are not legally restaurant businesses and I assume they pay off the local law enforcement people in order to be able to run their scams.

You are very very unlikely to get ripped off in any of the ordinary restaurants but there can be, just like anywhere, the occasional mistake on a bill and so it's always best to read it carefully before paying.

thanks all :-)

I recommend you to read some restaurant tips here on VT. Take the time to write a list of 10 restaurants, also looking for their address. You may also check the US Embassy's website, which has a blacklist of places where scems have occured. And really, if a napper of any gender invites you to any place (should that be a restaurant, night club, bar, whatsoever) - just don't go there. A good restaurant simply doesn't need a tout.

Hi all.

well we did stick mainly to VT recommended places - especially loved Soul Cafe (the chicken and apricot dish was soooooooo good) , fatal was good too and Cyrano for breakfast :-).

thanks to all who have posted reviews of restaurants

Hello,
I would like to introduce a famous restaurant in Budapest. Café Miró Grande, the most elegant restaurant and event venue of Budapest. This is located in the heart of Budapest at 9. Liszt Ferenc Square.
The food is excellent and the service is attentive, the hosts were friendly in a great romantic atmosphere. This is traditional Hungarian cuisine. Wine selection is mostly Hungarian Wine.
I recommend the beef tartar, a 'Must Do' lisst when in Budapest.
I tell all my friends to go and eat there if they are going to Budapest.

http://www.cafemiro.hu/grande/