Image by Eszter Szilva

El Rapido has introduced a pretty unusual combination to the bar scene of the seventh district. It’s a taco buffet and a deli upstairs, plus a flea market bar in the cellar where everything you see is on sale.

Located in the busy Kazinczy street, El Rapido offers cheap and fast tacos and other Mexican-like fast food. The target group is clear: mainly those who arrive late in the evening from the neighborhood’s clubs and bars. As El Rapido is a deli as well, the shelves are packed with international food such as curry sauces, exotic spices and Mexican beers. 

While the small buffet is mostly crowded with people waiting for their snacks, downstairs you’ll enter a much more tranquil place. The smoky cellar bar is full of old tables, chairs and seemingly useless but funny retro gadgets, books and other bric-a-bracs. It feels a bit like sitting in a storage. That sort of a storage where you can choose from forty different types of Mexican tequilas… The slogan is the following: you can buy anything here. So if you feel that your chair is perfectly comfy, you just have to bargain a nice price and be happy with your Budapest souvenir.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
El Rapido | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Taco al pastor HUF 600
Budapest, 1075, Kazinczy utca 10. | Central Pest | +36302792861
Mon – Tue 11:30 – 02:00, Wed – Fri 11:30 – 03:00, Sat 12:00 – 04:00, Sun 17:00 – 02:00

Image by Szilva Eszter

Facades of classic cinemas with their black letters and neon commercials always impress me. The entrance of Szikra Cool Tour House opposite Nyugati station is one of these spots. The name of this complex institution is a Hunglish word pun: kultúrház (yes, to be pronounced Cool Tour House) means cultural center especially since the early socialist era where different events were organized from official celebrations to concerts of local choirs. Szikra’s programs are just as diverse.

Built in the 1920s, Szikra functioned as a cinema until the end of the 1990s. Its main sensation is the roof of its theatre room which can be opened and closed thanks to a clever machinery. When I was there last time at a Pecha Kucha night, the audience gathering to listen to designers and architects was just as amazed by discovering the starry night above their heads as cinema goers of the 1920s could have been. There’s something magical about sitting in a traditional theatre and watching the sky framed by golden stuccos.

Szikra admittedly goes against Budapest’s famous ruin bar trend by evoking a cabaret milieu. The ornate and shiny decors and the posh bar go perfectly with the atmosphere of the theatre. The program ranges from mainstream to alternative, from jazz concerts to independent theatre performances or DJ sets. The building houses a bar and bistro which you can reach from the street from as early as 8 o’clock in the morning. The snacks and drinks keep you sated until the show begins.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Szikra | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Music, Snacks, Theaters | Espresso HUF 250
Budapest, 1066, Teréz krt. 62. | Central Pest | +3619110911
Sun – Tue 10:00 – 02:00, Wed – Thu 10:00 – 04:00, Fri – Sat 10:00 – 06:00

Image by Eszter Szilva

Retro style is in nowadays, but Bambi is not a neatly designed retro parlor, it’s just a simple café which opened its doors fifty years ago and has not changed much since then. Located in one of Buda’s nicest side streets just a few steps away from Margit bridge, Bambi is equally perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon coffee or some glasses of post-work beer.

Bambi has become an institution, where time literally stood still. However, it’s one of Budapest’s liveliest cafés always brimming with people. If I fancy freshly baked baguettes, sophisticated cakes or triple chocolate latte machiattos with rice milk, I don’t go to Bambi. Here, I get simple or double espresso in a glass, foamed milk comes in a red dotted mug and the classic hot cheese sandwich or debreceni sausage is served with mustard and ketchup. Everything is decent and affordable, but that’s not the point, Bambi is famous for itself.

While most people, especially the non-smokers, prefer sitting at the roomy terrace, regular guests tend to occupy the back corner of the café where they play domino, card or board games all night long. The interior is defined by red faux leather chairs, embroidery tablecloths and yellow-green mosaic pillars.

Bambi has its own rules that you can read in the terrace (only in Hungarian). For example, you have to pay as soon as you get what you ordered. Finally, when you hear a bell ringing, don’t wait for Santa Claus, it’s just the signal of the closing hour.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bambi Eszpresszó | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Espresso HUF 220
Frankel Leó utca 2-4. | Central Buda | +3612123171
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 22:00, Sat – Sun 09:00 – 20:00

Image by Eszter Szilva

Sarki Fűszeres (Grocery store at the corner) is located next to Szent István park in Újlipótváros (thirteenth district), embraced by impressive Bauhaus buildings. It’s literally a corner of a house, often compared to the Flatiron Building of New York, while others tend to think that this place is a piece of Paris in Budapest. I’d rather say that it’s one of Budapest’s nicest faces. You won’t see it as often as the courtyard houses of downtown Pest, but it belongs very much to the city.

Sarki Fűszeres is something between a grocery store, a bistro and a café. Besides coffee and tea, they sell freshly baked breads, croissants, delicious cakes (you might bump into traditional Hungarian sweeties like Rákóczi túrós made with sweet cottage cheese) and a nice selection of cheese and ham. The tall wooden shelves are full of wine. You can order your sandwich with the ingredients you see in the counter or ask for a cheese plate. They are specialized in hearty breakfasts as well.

Unlike most of the cafés here, the lovely terrace of Sarki Fűszeres is open during cold weather – the heaters and blankets guarantee that you won’t freeze. However, you might enhance the warmth by sipping mulled wine cooked at the terrace in a huge caldron. Take your seat and enjoy the sight of the red, old school trolleybuses turning here to Pozsonyi street at a relatively high speed. Noisy and also a bit terrifying for trolley-freaks like me, but definitely part of the Újlipótváros picture.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Sarki Fűszeres | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Espresso HUF 390
Pozsonyi út 53-55 | Outer Pest | +3612380600
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 22:00, Sat 08:00 – 15:00

Image by Eszter Szilva

Huge windows, remarkable ceiling height, and an interesting mix of industrial interior and old coffee-house furniture . When 400 opened last spring, this spacious bar felt to be a bit sterile at first sight but now it has become cozy and welcoming. In the meantime, its neighborhood has grown to be the new centre of Budapest’ night life, with the highest density of bars per square meter. For some reason, 400 has become the centre of the centre, at least for me.

As the owners are originally from Serbia, 400 offers some traditional Balkan dishes such as pljeskavica and cevapi. A hearty sandwich called “Balkan burger” is a must if you’re really hungry but there are different tapas as well if you feel like nibbling on some snacks with your wine.

Even if there’s no real dance floor here, lot of Friday nights end up with dancing in front of the DJ. However, my favorite thing is just sitting at the monumental wooden counter which occupies the middle of the bar and spotting the people around.

And why 400? It has nothing to do with Sparta. The answer is much more simple: 400 is as big as 400 square meters. Impressive!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
400 | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (International) | Balkan burger HUF 1090
Kazinczy utca 52/b | Central Pest | +366207760765
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 02:00, Sat – Sun 12:00 – 02:00