Budapest to the Black Sea (the Food)
One of the top questions we are asked whenever we travel is “How was the food”. I thought I would give a brief overview of our food experience on this trip. This is not a blow by blow description of our dining but just a few examples.
I have done a review of the tour and the accommodations in seperate posts. Here are links if you are interested.
Budapest to the Black Sea review
Budapest to the Black Sea (the Accommodations )
If you have been on any Tauck trip it is very hard to go hungry. This was no exception. Sometimes toward the end of the tour eating becomes a somewhat painful experience. (not really).
We got into Budapest a day early and wanted some Hungarian food. The restaurant was called the Strudel HouseIt was one of the recommendations from the concierge and was also on the Tauck recommendation list. We would highly recommend this restaurant in Budapest.
Onboard the ship there were two dining options. The main dining room is called Compass Rose and a more casual option is Arthurs. Here are some sample menus from each.
Compass Rose Lunch Menu
Arthurs Menu
Our final dinner on the ship was a one seating for everyone on the ship. The menu was a bit more extensive than the normal dinners.
There were some off the ship dining events on this tour. Our welcome reception and dinner was at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Some traditional Hungarian dancers provided entertainment.
In Belgrade an off ship dinner was at the Royal Palace of Dedinje. This was originally supposed to be inside the palace but due to a storm several days earlier, some of the electricity was out. The dinner was moved to an outside patio area which turned out to be a blessing in disguise since the temperature was quite balmy.
Our farewell dinner was held at Bragadiru Palace (a.k.a the Palace of Culture). Food wise, this was at or near the bottom. Unfortunately, I only got a picture of the starter. The main dish was a beef tenderloin which I was trying to cut and chew with little success. Unless one put in a dietary request at the beginning of the tour, this was the choice. Based on the number of plates sent back partially eaten, I think this was not a popular meal. The starter course was visually appealing, but the taste was just so-so.
One highlight of the farewell dinner was entertainment by a violinist playing an actual Stradivarius violin. He was accompanied by someone playing the traditional electronic keyboard. 
Comments
Wow, you've now set the bar high for giving information about meals on tour. I particularly liked the All Rivers Tasting menu.
JohnS - Did you have to make a reservation for the Strudel House?
Great sum up of the food, John S. We really enjoyed the food on the ship and at the Ritz Carlton in Budapest. Three words for Romania- don’t order red meat. Everything is cooked to shoe leather perfection. 🙂
Smiling Sam: I'm answering as JohnS' better half; We could have gotten reservations thru the concierge but being our first night and quite exhausted, we decided to just wing it and hope to get in. We had no trouble being seated and had a seat next to where the pastry chef made the strudels. It was fun to watch while we ate.
Another food experience I can add was on day 2 of the tour. This was a dinner on our own night. There are many restaurants within walking distance of the Ritz-Carlton. There were several along the Danube waterfront. We chose one called Dunacorso which turned out to be a good choice. The food and ambience were both very good.
I had a preparation of Chicken Paprikash which was prepared a bit different than what I have had in the past but was quite good nonetheless.
What regional specialties did they offer and/or give a cooking demonstration of in the ship's lounge? Oftentimes, we've needed to skip dinner or just have soup because of the bountiful hor' dourves! Thanks in advance for responding.
SueMS - thanks for the response on the reservation.
Kfnknfzk – There weren’t any cooking demonstrations on this trip. Most of the regional specialties were choices on the menu throughout the cruise. Our off ship dining had more regional food.
Our lunch at the winery was Hungarian food but I think the places Tauck takes us cater more toward the tastes of us North Americans.
The hor' dourves were always plentiful but one has to limit those if dinner is in the plans.
A pork dish served at lunch at the winery.
Thanks!