Artificially generated food photographs created with AI have been circulating on social media for some time — initially used by provincial restaurants and food festivals as nostalgic, neat table-scene images, and later appearing on restaurant shopfronts, menus and posters. In recent weeks the reporter toured Budapest’s downtown and found many venues that partly or entirely rely on AI-generated images for their visual identity.
The phenomenon is not unique to Budapest: the New York Times and The Guardian have reported similar developments abroad, where the reaction has sometimes been stronger, including acts of vandalism and grassroots campaigns that promote hand-drawn menus as a protest. In Hungary the issue presents differently: often the problem is not deliberate deception but that the images are visually unattractive and degrade the city centre’s appearance.
Views from photographers and industry insiders
Photographer Heim Alexandra notes that turning to AI for menu illustrations is surprising given that a mid-range smartphone can already produce very good food photos. Professional food photography typically relies on light, composition and small staging tricks rather than the kind of heavy artificial manipulation that AI produces. She also pointed out that many hospitality businesses face tight budgets and cannot afford professional shoots and ongoing content production, which makes cheaper AI solutions appealing.
Why it spread
Over the past 15 years competition in gastronomy has increased: dishes need to look more striking and “Instagram-friendly” to attract attention. That visual pressure drives restaurants to display eye-catching images. AI tools offer a fast, inexpensive way to produce apparently "perfect" pictures — even when those images often do not exist in reality or bear little resemblance to the actual dishes.
On-the-ground findings: examples from the city
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Hungarian breakfast: an AI image showed perfectly regular sausage slices and uniformly holey bread reminiscent of a cartoon. The real meal was a decent fried sausage with ordinary yeast bread — presentable but unremarkable.
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Thai dessert surrealism: one venue’s illustration depicted a large, purple, frothy dessert that was hard to identify. The ordered dish was a toasted brioche-like cake topped with flavored whipped cream and a scoop of ice cream; the expected taro taste did not materialize and the overall composition felt confused.
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Goulash soup: many restaurants advertise with AI-generated goulash images ranging from modest to wildly imaginative. A pictured bowl highlighting carrot, potato and meat chunks looked inviting; the actual soup served was an average, canteen-style goulash that was edible but not as appealing as the image.
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Lángos: a classic Hungarian tourist item offered at premium prices. One place that relied on AI art promised numerous variants on the menu, many of which were unavailable. The ordered tuna lángos smelled fishy and was over-dried at the edges — far from the attractive illustration.
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Burger: while unrealistic burger advertising predates AI, in one non-multinational downtown outlet the real burger fell far short of the entrance poster: the bun was limp and wrinkled, patties dry, bacon slices thin and the cheese barely melted.
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Chinese steamed dumplings: smaller Asian restaurants are among the boldest users of AI imagery. One dumpling stall’s window showed exaggerated long fillings; the served dumplings were not bad, but the filling was oversalted, sweet and not visually like the picture.
What to take away
The lesson is not simply to avoid places that use AI images — many such restaurants still serve acceptable or even good food. The broader issue is that tourist-targeted venues often charge high prices for mediocre or in some cases inedible dishes while relying on misleading or unattractive visuals. Customers are therefore advised to research independently (for example via Google reviews and guest comments) rather than relying solely on an establishment’s own imagery before spending money on a meal.
Summary
AI-generated food imagery is increasingly pervasive in Budapest’s city centre and often shows unrealistic, stylized, or unappetizing representations that do not match the served food. The trend is driven by marketing pressures and limited budgets, and while not always indicative of poor cuisine, it can mislead tourists and contributes to a diminished visual character of the downtown hospitality scene.
