Lado Café Budapest: For All Your Chicken Paprikash Needs

If you’ve checked my articles on The Wrap Shack in Portsmouth, New Hampshire or London Coffee Society (also in Budapest, Hungary), then you are well-aware that sometimes I eat a meal that is so divine, that I can’t help but write about it immediately after. Well, I’m back at it again, and this time with a write-up on Lado Cafe – located in Budapest, Hungary over at 50 Dohány utca. 

So, what makes Lado Cafe and worth taking a Frodo Baggins-esque trip across Middle-Earth to get yourself a plate of their chicken paprikash? Let’s take a look. 

Chicken Paprikash: My Favorite Type of Snack-Rikash

I’m not sure what it was, but one late morning in Budapest I woke up foaming at the mouth for chicken paprikash. Don’t get me wrong, the chicken paprikash I had eaten in Budapest up until that point had been great, but I was looking for something spectacular. So, I hopped on my computer, did a quick Google search, and opted for Lado Cafe (which was a reasonable walking distance). 

I didn’t just walk over to Lado Cafe, I full-on “grandma giving it her all at a charity 5k” power walked there. Dripping from the brow and in dire need of some paprikash healing, I entered. As I had arrived just at opening (11:30AM), I was the only one there, and sat down at the nearest table – unwilling to delay my chicken paprikash adventure by even one second more. 

I figured I would ease into my meal by starting with Lado Cafe’’s garlic cream soup with croutons. As I wasn’t planning on kissing anyone later that day or going to the dentist, this seemed like a great choice. I had been exposed to garlic cream soup for the first time in Bratislava, and was blown away. 

I’m not sure how I haven’t had garlic cream soup before, but it is absolutely delightful and my new go-to soup. As one might expect, the “bite” of garlic is full-on and will leave a not-so-subtle garlic-y taste in your mouth for the rest of the day. But this is entirely worth it. Its texture is similar to butternut squash soup, in that it is silky and not entirely smooth. You can tell there is pureeing involved. 

Introducing, The Main Event

Then it came, the Main Event, and what I had been salivating at the mouth for since I woke up (albeit that was only 45 minutes before) – Lado Cafe’s chicken paprikash.

First, Lado Cafe’’s chicken paprikash is astonishingly colorful, which caught my eye as I was sifting through Google reviews. The sauce sports a medium-darkish orange color (similar to a basketball), and is beautifully lined with streaks of sour cream. It is garnished with a red pepper and some sort of green leaf (I wish I was more clear on what it was). The white-ness of the accompanying egg noodles on the other half of the plate almost creates a chicken paprikash yin and yang. 

I have to say, part of the fun of eating chicken paprikash is taking that 10 seconds before diving in, to mix up the dark orange sauce with the white sour cream and watch it turn lighter (I know I sound 5 years old). 

Second, the chicken is extremely tender, and yields a similar “pull-apart” texture to smoked chicken I’ve had in American BBQ. I was coming hot off having eaten a very dry veal paprikash just days earlier, so you can imagine I nearly cried tears of joy when I took my first juicy bite. Because of this, Lado Cafe’s chicken paprikash absorbed the sauce and sour cream well. The sour cream really is perfect for diluting any pungent taste that may be brought about by heated paprika.  

All chicken paprikash dishes that I have eaten have used chicken thighs with the bone-in, which adds an extra layer of richness to the dish. By the end of the meal, I found myself picking up the bones to take care of any excess still left. 

Third, Lado Cafe’’s egg noodles were more on the “spaetzle” side, instead of the thinner and more fragile egg noodles you might find in a soup. I like my side dish to be able to adequately absorb the sauce, and Lado Cafe’s egg noodles did just that. They were fluffy, yet sturdy at the same time, and a worth Robin to the chicken paprikash’s Batman. 

Overall, the dish is extremely rich in flavor and will likely satiate your sour cream cravings for days to come. In my month-long stay in Budapest, I tried to conduct my chicken paprikash due diligence, eating at over 10 chicken paprikash spots. I can confidently say that Lado Cafe’s chicken paprikash was by far the best of any I sampled, and I found myself back there at least once per week (sometimes more) post-christening. 

Website, Address, & Details: http://ladocafe.hu/

When: Monday through Sunday 11:30AM – 12AM

Location: Budapest, Dohány u. 50, 1074 Hungary

Best,

-Big Body