Central Pest – Local tips (bars & cafes)

The name is playful, it’s the first row of a children’s rhyme. Less childish is the character of the place: the restaurant, the cafe and the basement parties attract guests over 25 according to my experience.

A weekday afternoon can be pretty deserted, ideal for a chill-out lunch in the sun under the glass roof of the winter garden, I’d suggest the daily menu. When the place fills up, the evening gets buzzing and the basements opens its doors to the party seekers by the time you’ve had your seventh after-lunch beer. Don’t forget, a responsible afternoon drinker consumes non-alcoholic beverages and takes some snacks too. Everything at your disposal, this is the ideal half-day program. And it started as a simple lunch!

Free wifi is available for those “I have to show you this video on Youtube” moments, you know what I’m talking about. Neo-nomads are also welcome. Literature and music lovers will enjoy the discussions and live concerts.

I’ve no idea if it has any purpose but the 50-meter-high chimney in the backyard is very cool especially here in the heart of the VIII. district. It’ll watch every step you take.

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Apacuka | Art & culture, Bars, Music, Restaurants | Soproni beer HUF 420
Horánszky utca 5 | Central Pest | +36209382677
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 02:00, Sat – Sun 17:00 – 02:00

You’re walking on Kazinczy street (where Szimpla (check the Szimpla article) and Kőleves (check the Kőleves article) can be found too) and the colour strikes you: lighting pink and blushing green. Hard to resist the temptation so you enter the bar which you thought was a candy shop judging by the colour.

A welcoming and warm interior, comfortable couches await you and two rabbits appear frequently in different situations as part of the design. Many of you from the region surely remember Bob and Bobek from the Czech cartoon series. They started their day every time with some gymnastics after jumping out of the hat. Czech cartoons were frequent guests on Hungarian television in my childhood.

In such a cheerful place there’s only one thing you can do – smile. And then come food and drinks, daily menu or a la carte.

Bobek has a garden in the backyard, prepared for the cold days with roof, walls and heating. Don’t panic if there’s no place in the pink-green oasis at the front, just boldly walk by the bar and grab your chance outdoors. Still no place to sit? Come on, then grab a drink, think of the rabbits and keep smiling.

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Bobek | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants | Ciabatta HUF from 730
Kazinczy utca 53 | Central Pest | +3613220729
Mon – Thu 10:00 – 00:00, Fri 10:00 – 02:00, Sat 11:00 – 02:00, Sun 11:00 – 23:00

Csiga is a friendly, cozy café and restaurant with really nice cuisine, rather popular with local expats. A very nice place; not too big, but it always has a relaxed, laid-back atmosphere, and is a good place to visit with a not-too-large group of friends.

I can’t say I’ve tried everything on the menu, but what I’ve tasted so far has always been fine. If you’re going to stay in Budapest for a while, it’s worth checking back, as part of the menu – the one on the blackboard on the wall – sometimes changes.

They also have wi-fi, if you need it.

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Café Csiga | Bars, Restaurants (Various) | Main dishes HUF 1800
VIII. Vásár utca 2 | Central Pest | +3612100885
11:00 – 01:00 daily

Corvinteto (”Corvin roof”) is a club and bar with an open-air area located inside and atop Corvin Department Store, an ugly, grey, communist-era building at Blaha Lujza metro station.

Finding the place is a bit tricky, which lends it a sort of “hidden treasure” charm: you have to walk into a side street and look for a cargo elevator at the end of a short passageway, inside a fast food buffet with the sign “Corvin Kifozde”. You’ll then have to wait for the elevator to come down for you – it keeps going up and down every few minutes -, and you’ll be taken to the top floor (or you can take the stairs from the street, but that’s much less fun). As a very friendly touch, really thirsty or impatient partygoers can buy some drinks from the friendly elevator attendant’s icebox during the ascent.

Once in the club proper, you can buy some drinks, sit down at a table for a chat, or take to the dance floor. However, if you’re there during the summer and want to see what’s really cool about Corvinteto, you should look for some stairs leading up to the building’s spacious, flat rooftop, which has its own bar, plenty of seating, and much easier conversation without the loud dance music that plays sometimes. On a calm, warm evening you can really chill out here and chat away with a cool urban backdrop surrounding you – and if you get restless, the dance floor is right below.

Do note that the rooftop closes for the winter; no exact closing or opening date, it depends on the weather.

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Corvinteto | Bars, Music | Beer HUF 500
VIII. Blaha Lujza tér 1-2 | Central Pest | +36207722984
Mon – Sat 18:00 – 05:00

Stuff, lots of stuff. On the walls, on the lamps, on the doors. This is the first thing you notice and the collection of Babos Zsili Bertalan grabs your attention for at least a half an hour. Funny reinventions of Barbie dolls, toys, signs, a bike or a lifebuoy stare at you all over the place. Even the menu is a bit special, blackboards are used in many bars but this one is simply enormous. Click for photos.

They have a wise choice of location: off Múzeum körút, just 50 meters away from one of the biggest university campuses in Budapest – the place is packed day and night. The chaos on the walls, the eclectic variety of furniture create a mellow atmosphere but Csendes is not really quiet as the name would suggest. Live music and live acts entertain the guests who, according to the owners’ plans can easily get to know each other and spend quality time together in the ‘living space’ as the place defines itself.

The days of the week are scheduled for various programs: Mondays for films and photos, Tuesdays for old Hungarian music, Wednesdays live music, Thursdays dj-s vs. instruments, Fridays Balkan music, Saturdays apéro i.e. warm-up with aperitifs for the night and finally Sundays literature or theatre.

Relax a bit in Károlyi Kert around the corner before coming inside to join the company.

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Csendes Létterem | Art & culture, Bars, Music | Soproni beer HUF 380
Ferenczy István utca 5 | Central Pest | +36307588935
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 00:00, Sat 10:00 – 00:00, Sun 14:00 – 00:00

Ok this place has quite a strange name as you heard. I guess it even sounds quite strange in Hungarian.

What is important is the fact that this is the heart of the city. Here you can really meet all or almost all of the younger Hungarians. It is just next to the underground junction where the three lines are crossing each other. It is really downtown so if you want you can visit it after a long afternoon walk on the beaten path between the Parliament and the Dohany utca Main Synagogue.

Most of their programs are for free so you do not have to bother yourself with thinking about high entry prices, but the drinks (even the soft ones) are really expensive. That is the reason why many people decide to stay at the top of the place next to the lake and just drink the bottle of wine or can of beer they just bought at the nearby supermarket. On Friday and the week

end days be prepared that the place will be crowded.

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Gödör | Art & culture, Bars, Music
Erzsébet tér | Central Pest
10:00 – 06:00 daily

The former Corvin Áruház hosts two spots at once: Jelen [present] on the ground floor and Corvintető on the top floor. This duality lets you combine alcohol and concerts, starting on the ground floor and going high or beginning at the top and slowly sinking down to the very bottom. It’s close to a major traffic conjunction still in a small street, a cozy and spacey pub at the same time with three rooms, check the photos.

I’ve been wondering why the concert room of Jelen is smaller than the actual pub area. The more the merrier? Indeed. All of my concert memories tell about a heavy crowd although there might have been only 50 people. Nice trick! However, they never charged me for a concert. Regarding the musical profile, I’d tick the ‘jazz’ and ‘world music’ boxes on the query.

It’s an excellent stop on your downtown bar hopping tour, easy to reach and within a block you’ll have several other places to visit. Due to the late closing time there is no hurry, just make sure you find your way back home.

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Jelen | Bars, Music | Kozel beer HUF 450
Blaha Lujza tér 1-2 | Central Pest | +36203443155
Mon – Tue 11:00 – 02:00, Wed – Fri 11:00 – 16:00, Sat 16:00 – 04:00, Sun 16:00 – 02:00

Klassz in Hungarian means something cool or very good. And that could as well be said about Klassz Bistro and Wine Bar, a little, stylish place in Andrássy street, near the Opera. Relaxed atmosphere, excellent food and very affordable price make it a winning combination. Since its opening in 2007 the place has become a fashionable place to go and was also featured in the Hungarian Restaurant and Food Guide 2008 as one of the 10 best restaurants in Hungary.

The place is bright and cozy, the service very friendly, people are coming and going while some jazz music plays in the background. I love to come for lunch or in the afternoon for a short break, sit and observe the beautiful Andrássy street and people passing by.

The place was designed by Theycom Studio and it can win you over with its subtle style and comfortable simplicity. Shortly, it’s a place where you can just simply feel good and of course eat and drink well.

The wine is provided by the Budapest Wine Society and you can choose among some 50 different sorts. You can also buy the wine at the bar (made of piled wine boxes).

The menu changes every week and you will always find interesting creations of international and Hungarian cuisine. Reservations are not accepted, so you will just have to walk by and try your luck. It does get very busy though, especially in the evenings.

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Klassz | Bars, Restaurants (Hungarian) | Main HUF 2000
Andrássy u. 41 | Central Pest
Mon – Sat 11:30 – 23:00, Sun 11:30 – 18:00

Narrow steps lead to the basement of an old house in Kertész street. Bricks and painted surfaces vary on the walls of this small bar. Somewhat enlarged lately but still small. Watch out, if you see pink lights and dancing girls, you’re on the opposite side of the street in the peep show basement. Vittula has some kind of artsy punk feel and I can imagine that in the back catacombs reach under the blocks to the edge of the city.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights alternately entertain with concerts and parties, other nights are for hanging out with drinks. Not Sundays though, that’s for resting. The connecting gallery, Contemporary Art Space presents, guess what, contemporary art, which means funny or confusing stuff worth to see.

Opening times are somewhat chaotic, Vittula might open at 18:00 or not, more importantly they stay open till the break of down, that’s the reason behind most of my visits this far.

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Klub Vittula | Bars, Music | Beer HUF 320
Kertész utca 4 | Central Pest
Mon – Sat from 18:00

Hungarians like food. They also like tales of food. Kőleves or StoneSoup Restobar takes its name after an old folk tale that explains the art of making a soup out of a bare stone. The place is as interesting as its name with a playful and imaginative decor that, as the story of the stone soup, creates something from nothing (lamps out of cheese graters, for example…). It is located in the middle of the 7th district, the historical Jewish quarter where every house could tell a story.

As far as the food goes some of my favourite are Matzo Flodni (Jewish Matzo cake layered with walnuts, apple and poppy seeds), Sólet (Jewish baked beans with smoked goose meat and boiled egg) on Fridays and Saturdays, Túrógombóc (cottage cheese dumplings with sour cream, honey and cinnamon) or simply cold fruit soup. You can get daily menu for 900 HUF. Locals of all ages love to either just drop by and pretend to work hard on their laptops or meet friends or watch the weary explorers of Budapest finding their way to the bar as well.

The place gets to be busy in the evenings so it might be a good idea to make a reservation. Every Tuesday at 21:00 there is a Jazz concert (entrance fee 900 HUF) and you can check their website for more info on the events. Once you are there check the walls as well, local artists regularly exhibit there.

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Kőleves | Art & culture, Bars, Festivals & events, Restaurants (Jewish) | Main from HUF 1500
Kazinczy u. 35 | Central Pest | +3613221011
12:00 – 00:00 daily

Kuplung is an indoors equivalent of the beergardens that became so popular in the last decade, and is an excellent place to go if you want to see the boho grungy side of Pest but it happens to be winter. The street entrance is a bit hard to spot – make sure you know the house number! -, but it’s worth the search.

Like many other venues of this style, Kuplung was once a run-down building – an auto repair shop, hence the name meaning “clutch” – that was fixed up, the walls graffitied in cheerful colours, some durable tables and chairs dropped in, and some clever decor added, this one dominated by a large paper whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling.

The main room, even though some other venues might beat it in total floor area, feels comfortably spacious, so you and your party can have some elbow space even when the place is full. There’s also a smaller room where they sometimes have concerts, and a third, more recently opened bar room with a generous size, but I just haven’t got around to drinking in that one yet, so opinion will be forthcoming later.

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Kuplung | Bars, Music | Beers from HUF 500
VII. Király utca 46 | Central Pest
Mon – Sat open from 14:00, Sun open from 18:00, no fixed closing time

Good food, pleasant atmosphere and friendly service is what can be said about Menza, a restaurant and cafe at Liszt Ferenc square. Menza is a very popular place among locals and tourists alike and definitely one of my favorite places to eat in Budapest at any time of day.

Menza in Hungarian means “canteen” but has, luckily, no reminiscence of it. With its retro feeling and busy but comfortable atmosphere it is a good place to be and meet with others. Thanks for imaginative interior design goes to Theycom Studio that also designed the nearby Klassz.

It can happen you will have to wait for a place to sit so it’s not a bad idea to make a reservation. The staff is attentive and I never felt forgotten while waiting. Food is mostly Hungarian and I simply love their “pumpkin cream soup.” The price is in overall affordable and their daily menu is available for 890 HUF.

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Menza | Bars, Restaurants (Hungarian) | Main meal from HUF 1600
Liszt Ferenc tér 2 | Central Pest | +3614131482
10:00 – 00:00 daily

As the name suggests perfectly, Noir is a chocolate bar. While Hungary is not a chocolate world power like, say, Belgium, Noir certainly does its part in meeting the needs of local chocophiles. It’s got all sorts of chocolates, including hot drinking chocolate, hot drinking chocolate with various spices from chili to cardamom, hot chocolate with or without alchohol, or hot chocolate with or without spices and/or alcohol on ice.

What more need I say? If you have the craving for sweet, sweet (or dark and
bitter) chocolate, this is the place to go. Do reserve a table if you’re planning to visit in the evening, it gets crowded around that time.

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Noir ChocoBar | Bars, Snacks | Hot chocolate from HUF 700
VI. Hegedu utca 6 | Central Pest | +36202228555
Sun – Mon 15:00 – 22:00,Tue – Sat 15:00 – 00:00

Once upon a time there was a building of public ownership. Some people thought a public space should be filled with public and arts and alcohol – thus Sirály was born. Located in the Jewish district the place has roots in the Jewish culture mostly represented by the cultural programmes.

Every year Sirály goes on a summer holiday and reopens in September with new colours and prices. Bulk beer got cheaper this September:)

Sirály has much more than you see at first sight. When you step inside, you find yourself in a cafe that turns into a pub every night. Newspapers, sandwiches, cakes and pastries strengthen the cafe side, the rows of alcohol on the wall tell you what to expect for the nights.

The stairs to the first floor lead to another space full of chairs and tables often used for discussions and presentations. Non-smokers should grab a chair here. Downstairs, in the typical fusty basement of a down town building art and culture have found their home. Click for photos.

Theatre, performances and concerts fill the old basement with new energy.

If you visit Sirály as frequently as I do you’ll notice the same face every time – pretty stable clientele. Use the space as your own, you might find yourself among them.

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Sirály | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Theaters | Soproni beer HUF 380
Király u. 50 | Central Pest
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 00:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 00:00

Szimpla is hands-down the best known and most popular of Budapest’s “kert”-s
(”gardens”) – courtyards of condemned or just abandoned buildings transformed into outdoor summer pubs, originally catering mostly for a young, bohemian clientele. As such, it has all the typical accroutements: crumbling architecture, plain but sturdy benches and tables, beer, totally kooky decor, lots of noise, beer, heavily stickered and graffitied toilets, and beer.

While there are many establishments that follow the same recipe, Szimpla is unique for having its own open-air movie theater, where they often play art movies, sparsely screened documentaries and the like. In recent years, they’ve also covered part of the venue with a roof to let them stay open all year round, and expanded into the upper floor, where you can also get some hot grub with your drinks.

Recently, I’ve heard some friends complain that Szimpla is getting too popular and thus too mainstream these days. Well, maybe that’s true – sometimes the crowd and the noise does get a bit too much for my tastes -, but it’s still more than worth checking out if you’re in town. Loud, friendly, visually lush and exciting; a great place to go when the company you desire is more upbeat than sublime.

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Szimpla Kert | Bars, Restaurants (Various) | Beers HUF 500
VII. Kazinczy utca 14 | Central Pest
12:00 – about 04:00 daily

It all started in the IX. district on 23rd June 2005 in an old, unused factory building that became a buzzing cultural centre. Much more enthusiasm than money unfortunately leads to investor interests being stronger than artists’ desires. After two seasons they had to move, but what a building they found!

Once serving as a part of the ‘Szimpla-empire’ called Szimpla Kiskert (also check the Szimpla Kert article) it is a former elementary school turned into a complex system of cultural art space. First time I came here was with a friend who actually went to this school: she showed me her former classroom, told me about her memories… must have be a weird feeling.

For artists it’s a place for creating: the building has lots of rooms for designers, painters, photographers, sculptors, actors, musicians, dancers etc. to use. And for the other, receiving part of creation, the public will have the opportunity to see, hear, touch and enjoy these cultural products.

Tűzraktér is also a civic centre, and basically open to all kinds of initiative. There’s a freeshop operating for those in need or in abundance of anything. If your bike is broken, bring it to Bike Kitchen Budapest any Tuesday or Thursday 6-9 p.m.

And the list of things to see is still so long!

For more pictures click here.

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Tűzraktér | Art & culture, Bars, Music, Theaters
Hegedű utca 3. | Central Pest
18:00-05:00 daily