bars & cafes | thehub.hu | guide to budapest

Fecske

2009-05-31T17:20:00.026+02:00

Fecske has two wings. Fecske Presszó has recently alighted next to the Central Library, allowing Raday utca to get on with what it's good at (hosting rubbish bars.) Fecske Terasz on the other hand is perched on top of Császár-Komjádi swimming baths, one bus-stop north of Margit hid, on the Buda side, where only the swallows fly.

Fecske Presszó (Rating: 7.4/10)
Szabó Ervin tér [map]
Pest South, VIII, Kalvin tér (M3), 2 min

At the risk of sounding boorishly sentimental, the old Fecske Presszó was great: a coffee shop with a literary atmosphere, a patch of outside seating and a few cosy rooms downstairs with sofas for everyone. Only, I can't really get too teary-eyed about it because, in two years, I must have gone there all of five times. The problem was that it was just that bit far away from anything else. The 'new' Fecske is far more conveniently located in what used to be (yawn) Archivum, and what was once (stop me) my favourite basement brasserie, Kotyogó vendeglő. (I'm weeping nostalgically for my catfish in ginger-butter sauce, gone forever.)

The triumph of this location is that the path opens out into what is nominally a square. In other words, you can sit outside comfortably, without feeling like you're sitting in the road (and with a fine view down Reviczky utca, above.)

So for summer, Fecske's landed on its feet. The problem is when it runs out of outdoor seating, or when the summer runs out of sun.

Inside, it's a real step backwards. Opening up a second room doesn't stop it feeling pretty pokey, and putting up a few posters, sticking a blackboard on the ceiling and throwing books on the shelves, doesn't do enough to turn it into a cool hangout. It's still Archivum, a nothing-special cellar bar, albeit with improved service.

Fecske Terasz (Rating: 9.0/10)
Árpád Fejedelem útja 8 [map]
Buda North, III
Császár-Komjádi uszoda
(B86/160/260/923), 0 min

If outdoor seating is Fecske Presszó's strong point, it's Fecske Terasz's raison d'etre. Only open for the spring and summer, Fecske Terasz makes you feel like you're on holiday, overlooking the pool on one side and the Danube on the other. Unlike Corvintető, it's clear that you really are on the roof.

There are some nice touches too: silly bar stools made out of bicycles, a swing, a patch of sand, ping pong and a giant chess set which I've actually seen people playing. You should too: you're on holiday. Except no one's really on holiday because a bus-stop north of Margit hid doesn't show up on the tourist radar.

Fecske Terasz hangs onto the sun while the rest of the city is already bathed in darkness, but when the night does finally fall, there's a chilled-out, intimate atmosphere. It's not party central but it's a nice place to be. The only drawback is that when you want to leave, Margit hid will seem miles away, even though it's only a five minute walk. There is, however, a night bus, that goes every half hour and follows the 4/6 tram route through Pest.

In the winter, Fecske is a name you can forget but in summertime, it's synonymous with relaxed outdoor drinking. Both bars have the same reasonable menu too, so a quick beer at the Presszó can easily become lunch, and an afternoon at the pool can turn into a long, lazy day out.
fechke, fechker, fetchke, fetchker, kert
Andy Sz.

Gödör Klub

2009-05-19T23:24:00.011+02:00

Erzsébet tér [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Deák tér (M1/2/3), 1 min

Rating: 8.8/10

During the winter months, Gödör is a like a hibernating bear: on the inside it's very much alive, but above ground, there's not much going on. With the first signs of spring, the bear (stick with it) emerges from its cave.

As the weather picks up, people arrive in droves, crowding the steps leading down into the "ditch." Loners with books, gear-heads with their bicycles, and friends hanging out in the sun, blanket nearly every inch of space, inside and out, day and (especially) night.

Gödör occupies the space that was supposed to be the car park for the Hungarian National Theatre (eventually built elsewhere), and they've converted it into a teeming cultural pit. All this space allows it to be a jack-of-all-trades and master of some. What the outside lacks in the dead of winter, it makes up for with the happenings inside. One of the most revered programs is Balkan Beats, a monthly event that sees Balkan fusion bands from around the world coupled with DJs of the same genre. The turnout is pretty epic.

It’s easy to catch the best local musicians and smaller international acts, with shows often free or bearing a reasonable ticket price. Performance art and theatre is a mainstay, and art/design exhibitions regularly take place in one of the many rooms. I recall seeing a rather large group showing of innovative performance pieces in a cellar room – akin to a brand new empty warehouse – which I never knew existed.

The cement supports and many exposed walls give Gödör a minimalist feel that you might expect with a converted space. However, there is little pretense floating around, making it the perfect spot for anyone, regardless of age or background.

Although neither Instant nor Szimpla could really be described as a “meat market” (that being reserved for Morrison's), Gödör is one step further away. Sure you can troll for prospective hook-ups, but that never seems to be the primary fixation. It’s just about hanging out.

As close to the center of the city as they come, Gödör also makes the perfect gathering spot, without having to actually go in! Though drinks are moderately priced, (around 400 forint for standard beers) if you’re going to be doing the majority of your hanging outside, it’s smart to bring your own libations. Beware though, the 24-hour Match located at the end of nearby Király utca seemingly runs out of beer by ten in the evening. The same goes for the surrounding 0-24 shops, so grab your drinks early if you’re drinking on the cheap. The smart choice is cans of Arany Ászok because that's exactly what they sell inside!!!

Whether the weather permits, January or June, Gödör is a place for everyone, with a real range of entertainment. It's a bear that welcomes you no matter what he's up to, no matter what the season, and he won't even be too concerned about whose soup you're eating!

To see what's happening at Gödör, check their official website here.

Service: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 8.5/10
Value for money: 8.5/10
What people we know think: 9.5/10

hub choice

godor club, gudur club, godoor klub, goddar klub, godor klub, goddoor club
To find Gödör, simply surface at Deák tér and look for the grassy patch. You should see the stairs that descend to the club.

Jacob P.

A38 Hajó

2009-03-25T16:16:00.007+01:00

Petőfi hid [map]
Buda, XI, Petőfi híd (Budai hídfő) (T4/6), 2 min

Mention a boat party and an image pops into my head of the cast of Baywatch - they've just wrapped a new series, the sun is slinking out of sight and they're smugly drinking pina coladas.

That however, couldn’t be further removed from Budapest’s own version of a party boat, the A38. This vessel is a not-particularly-glamorous-sounding ‘former Ukrainian stone carrier,’ moored firmly to the foot of Petőfi hid in Buda.

Principally a concert venue, there’s also a restaurant on the top floor. Because of the large windows, this is the only place you can really tell you’re not on dry land. Below deck, the bulk of the ship is a large, dark, and loud auditorium.

Aside from and Petőfi Csarnok, Dürer Kert and Merlin, A38 is one of the few places in town that can host gigs of a certain size, by bands who are popular, but not that popular. The ship’s program is commendably eclectic - local heroes sit alongside internationally recognised artists such as Horrace Andy, Sisters of Mercy, DJ Krush, Erik Truffaz and The Melvins. Big concerts tend to sell out quickly.

One criticism I’ve heard levelled at A38 is that the atmosphere can be a little flat. While there is truth in this, it’s an argument which can be made about most venues here. As ever, a lot depends on the way foreign artists feel about playing in Hungary and how the crowd respond. Catch it on the wrong night and you’ll be disappointed. Catch it on the right night and the room shakes, perhaps to the point where you vaguely question the wisdom of what you're doing and wonder if there's any precedent of party boats capsizing.

Anything remotely Balkan (Fanfare Ciocarlia, Gogol Bordello) is guaranteed to go down well. Tickets are available from the boat or at tex.hu offices.
838, 8 38, a 38, eh 38, the boat, concert boat,
Get off the 4,6 tram at Petőfi hid, Buda side, and walk back towards the river. Go down the steps by the bridge and the boat is in front of you.

Andy T.
838, 8 38, a 38, eh 38, the boat, concert boat,

Dürer Kert

2009-03-08T16:09:00.001+01:00

Ajtósi Dürer sor 19–21 [map]
Outer Pest, XIV, Zichy Géza utca, (Trolley 74, 75), 1 min

Rating: 7.9/10

Adolescence–a strange time, obviously. Overwhelmed at the sight of unforeseen hair, strange feelings “down there,” and more grease on your face than the local 1-hour oil and lube–it’s a rapid change that’s hard to cope with. The same holds true for Dürer Kert.

More often than not, Budapest seems to slip off the radar of renowned touring acts. It’s an up-and-coming city confronted with a new found sense of capitalism. Inevitably, touring bands looking to stop where there’s an audience are starting to give Budapest the time of day and Dürer is proving to be the go-to venue. As the weeks pass, the number of international acts performing here burgeons. Dürer may not be exactly the best candidate for such a rapid succession of concerts night after night, but it has stepped up to the plate and there’s something admirable in that.

While A38 tends to be the venue for larger bands and an audience with an income to match, Dürer is the opposite. Plenty of the shows hover around the 1000 forint mark; the program varies night to night and is oft eclectic, much like the wide-ranging and changing style choices today's youth tend to cycle through. I’ve seen a Norwegian experimental/noise outfit on a Sunday evening, American underground rock and roll, and a Brazilian cultural carnival. Bands that only teenage Goths in black trench coats should [not] see come through at a fervent pace, while Hungarian local outfits and international hip-hop have also featured. Everything is fair game.

While Dürer isn’t in the most convenient of locations, it’s not that far off either. Located at the southeastern edge of City Park, it's on the fence between “too far” and “close enough.” If it were your neighborhood bar, you'd be pumped to have such a place nearby. The beer is cheap (less than 400 forint for most draught beers), there’s plenty of palinka and the bartenders are friendly enough. Aside from the performance space, the area to lounge and have a few drinks is akin to the living room vibe of Mumus, Szimpla Dupla, and other Budapest bar staples. If it were located within the limits of the fifth through eighth districts, otherwise known as “cool town,” it would certainly be mentioned in the same breath.

It’s not likely anyone would venture out so far just for just a moderately priced beer and a spot to chill without the option of other bars and restaurants nearby. However, if a concert is your motive and you're feeling a bit pubescent, then Dürer is an asset, necessity, and a welcomed addition to Budapest’s music scene.

To see what's on right now at Dürer Kert, check their official website here.

Service: 8.0/10
Atmosphere: 7.8/10
Value for money: 8/10
What people we know think: 8/10

durer kert, duer kurt, durer cert, durer cort, durer kort
Once at the Zichy Géza utca trolley stop, simply cross the street, the entrance to Dürer is easy to spot.

Jacob P.

RS9 Kávézó és Szinház

2009-02-26T10:45:00.026+01:00

Rumbach Sebestyén u. 9 [map]
Pest Centre, V, Deák Ferenc tér (M1,2,3), 3 min

Rating: 7.3/10

BB9? SLR? SClub7? - it took me at least four tries to get the name right, or at least reasonably close. Evocative of anything from thumping rave club to beeping Star Wars companion, RS9's portentous moniker is, if not entirely forgettable, perhaps appropriately ambiguous.

RS9 is both kávézó, occasional concert hall, and fringe theater, boasting an impressive resumé of Hungarian language productions that includes everything from Shakespeare to Beckett. It's also probably the only place in town where you'll be shamelessly shushed when a play is going on behind the big red curtain in the other room. But for the less theatrically minded, or at least linguistically limited, RS9 at times feels more jack of all trades and master of none.

From sleepy Rumbach Sebestyén u., the entrance is unassuming to say the least. A newspaper plastered staircase leads down to the cellar kávézó where, unless you're rolling thick cigarettes and donning your best tweed blazer, you can expect some furtive glances from the regulars: a mix of theater-goers and off-duty thespians. The bar staff, however, are more than friendly, and it's hard to be dissuaded all that much when two korsó of Soproni go for 500 forint (between 16:00 and 21:00.)

Apart from a handful of red velvet theater chairs squeezed around a small table, RS9's ambiance is limited to the sum of its patrons. It's easier to find seats in the back room(s) where, between a cold, sparsely decorated brick interior, there are a few tables, often empty.

But lacking the usual pomp that adorns Budapest's more popular hangouts is not necessarily a bad thing. For starters, you'll be hard pressed to hear a lick of English, and for an early evening stop, the humble vibe is far more comforting than the superficially hip. RS9 feels like a söröző with erudite charm or a tiny, unpainted Pótkulcs without the cult status.

Not to be overlooked if you're looking for casual and cheap, RS9 is more than worth your while on a slow weekend evening. Who knows, it may even awaken latent theatrical tendencies...

- Spring has come, with all its gentle showers. Methinks RS9 is but an abbreviation of the street and number, wherein it lies.
- You're so right, love. 'Tis I who overlook'd what lay naked in mine eyes.

Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 5/10
Value for money: 9/10
What people we know think: 7/10

From Deák, walk through Madách tér and follow Rumbach toward Dob until you see a small stairway leading down to a basement. Don't expect cell service inside.

AZL

Café Ponyvaregény

2009-02-19T11:48:00.022+01:00

Bercsényi utca 5 [map]
Buda South, XI, Bertalan Lajos utca (T47/49), 1 min

Rating: 8.0/10

While the maxim "There's nothing much in Buda" holds some water, it usually pours out of the mouths of Pest-dwellers who get queezy every time they get too close to the river. This is a result of budaphobia, which sets in as soon as you start renting a flat in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth district. The budaphobe deletes all knowledge of Buda from the memory. They don’t know where Batthyány tér is. They think Moszkva tér is the airport which serves Balaton.

Three tramstops from Astoria then is beyond the conceptual boundary of almost everyone I know. Yet I found myself there, stepping out into a light rain; into an afternoon ended prematurely by darkness. Buda-folk, bowed-down and bent, scuttled through the shadows, silhouetted, intermittently, by headlights reflected in the road. So this was life in the forbidden zone... or simply the tail end of winter. Whichever, some kind of sanctuary was clearly needed. A part-opened window cast enough light onto Bercsényi utca to suggest I might find it there.

Entering Café Ponyvaregény is like wrapping yourself in a huge quilt; the walls and ceiling look like they’re made of meringue and they have a cosying effect. Like all the best traditional cafes, newspapers (Hungarian only) hang from “carpet-beaters”, which in turn dangle from a hatstand. High shelves are laden with books, not exclusively Magyar: an English copy of Hesse’s Steppenwolf caught my eye.

On a Sunday afternoon, 'bustling' would be overstating it, but Ponyvaregény was mumbling and murmuring away very comfortably. The Scrabble and Catan (don't ask me!) were enjoying time off the shelf, and elsewhere, pencils scribbled busily on the sketchbooks that lie provocatively on every table. (Someone had drawn a cowboy in mine.) With rétes and focaccia available if you get a little peckish, efficient service (if a little formal), reasonable prices and free Wifi, Café Ponyvaregény is a practical choice too.

A pretty flash website is further proof that the owners are no Buda hillbillies, and reveals that they also have a restaurant of the same name - open from April - in the up-and-coming Kopaszi Gát park, south of Lágymányosi híd. While the café on Bercsényi utca is most definitely a winter retreat, it would seem that they have summer covered too. And it's also in Buda!

So budaphobes take note: Pest may have so much charisma that you overlook her quieter, prettier sister but places like Ponyvaregény show that she has a personality too. Go on, give her a try. When you get back home to Pest, you can always say you were working late.

Service: 8.0/10
Atmosphere: 8.0/10
Value for money: 8.0/10
What people we know think: It's in Buda; too far.

Take the 47 or 49 tram from Deák or Astoria and you won't believe how close Buda is!

Andy Sz.

Pótkulcs <-> spare key

2009-01-29T17:27:00.016+01:00

Csengery Utca 65b [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Nyugati/Oktogon (T4/6),
5 min

Rating: 8.8/10

Back in the day, when Budapest was much cooler than you could ever possibly imagine, people from all over the world came to Hungary to share their unconditional love. You could rummage around under a brick or a flower pot outside anyone's house, at any time of day, find the key and let yourself in. Then, after helping yourself to a beer from the fridge, you could lie back on the nearest sofa and chat to Treehugger Dan about what things would be like in the 21st Century.

Cut to present-day Pótkulcs: the keys are safely behind the bar, the beer costs 490Ft and the people sitting over there heard about it by leafing through the EasyJet in-flight magazine.

Pótkulcs has the kind of mystique that tourists crave and many expats pooh-pooh. On your third or fourth visit, the garage-door entrance can still be difficult to spot, mainly because very little light escapes from the bar itself. "Cool" is the inevitable exclamation of the uninitiated, and many a visiting friend will be impressed at your knowledge of underground bars, even though, in reality, you wouldn't know an underground bar if it opened up in your own cellar.

The fact that Budapest's newest recruits are fond of Pótkulcs, is hardly a crime. Being on a quiet street outside the körút gives it a mellower mood than the bars over in the seventh district. The bar-staff are actually friendly. Put them in a line-up with the staff from Szimpla and you could pick them out in a second (no protruding fangs). Meanwhile, the clientele are more likely there for a civilised drink than a wild night.

That's not to say, however, that nothing ever happens. Left of the bar is a large basement room which hosts bands every week. The staple act, Rekontra, plays on Tuesdays, and is a superb introduction to the Hungarian Folk Music revival. It's a far cry from the violinists employed to bother you in restaurants. On other nights you might get mellow jazz, gipsy swing or "cafe punk" - a decent cross-section of the local music scene, all from the 'comfort' of a ropey old sofa.

A rarity in Budapest, the cellar is non-smoking; the main result being that when there's nothing on, everyone stays in the other room unless there are no seats or they want to play csocsó. (On special occasions, there is, in fact, a second bar upstairs - turn right before the toilets.)

Outside, there's an ample 'kert', or to put it less glamorously, a former garage. There's plenty of blue sky but plenty of shade too, which ensures that it's bustling throughout the summer. A modest menu saves you from having to give up your prime piece of bench: the chili con carne being the informed choice. But don't, whatever you do, wait until you're hungry before ordering. A secret pact requires that they keep you waiting for at least an hour.

Whether Pótkulcs can sustain itself as one of your favourite bars might depend on how keen you are on the music, how much you're willing to pay for beer or how long you can stand to wait for your dinner. But it's clear that its far-reaching reputation is built on more than past glories. Its continued popularity with foreigners and Hungarians, many searching for a piece of the real Hungary, is testament to a certain "nem tudom quoi."

Service: 9/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Value for money: 8.5/10
What people we know think: 8.5/10
pot, pót, potch, kulcs, kulch, kult
Csengery utca runs parallel to the körút (4/6 tram route) and is a few minutes' walk from either Nyugati or Oktogon. From either direction, walk along the körút as far as Szondi utca, then walk for two blocks (crossing Eötvös utca) and turn left down Csengery. When you see this garage door, you're there.

Andy Sz.

Art Mozi Triple Threat

2009-01-11T15:36:00.014+01:00

What? Cinemas in the bars section? Are you nuts? No, no, no, these aren’t your Palace Cinemas or huge brand name theatre chains. Budapest has art cinemas (art mozi) dotted throughout the city, and aside from showing indie flicks and the occasional mainstream feature, they tend to have cafes that have a personality and charm of their own. They’re often worth a visit, even if you have no intention of actually seeing a film.

Toldi (Rating: 8/10)
Bajcsy-Zsilinszky ut, 36-38 [map]
Pest, V, Arany János utca (M3), 2 min

A newly revamped Toldi reopened at the tail end of the summer with the Ian Curtis/Joy Division biopic, Control, setting the tone for an offbeat crowd. The modern, whatever-goes style might cause you to make faces here and there if you’re left with a lacklustre choice of furniture to sit on, especially the exercise balls or the low-lying bean bags. The prime spots are the jungle-patterned couches and a few standard café tables and chairs that sit by the windows. Art pieces made from black ribbed tubing hang from the ceiling and double as dysfunctional and dim light fixtures.

More often than not you'll find fixed-gear bikes lining the walls, and their dread-locked owners loitering, smoking cigarettes around the sizeable open café area. The staff are relaxed, maybe because there's no table service, and come around with votive candles for each table as dusk settles in and the crowd grows larger.

Toldi’s ideal for a coffee (250Ft for a cappuccino) or a beer (under 400 for a korsó of Zlaty Bazant) and is pretty chilled out. It's good for reading or working during the quieter early hours, and it's maybe even a decent starting point for a date (after all, you are at the movies). The theatre aspect feels almost secondary, in fact, which is just fine.

Puskin Kávéház (Rating: 8.5/10)
Kossuth Lajos utca 18 [map]
Pest, V, Astoria (M2), 1 min

With a separate entrance, Puskin Kávéház sure feels like an entity in itself, although you can also enter through the cinema lobby. One thing that sets this place apart from most art mozi cafes is the amount of choice on the menu. Coffees start at about 300 forint; there are cocktails, loads of exotic teas, a whole page with a long list of spirits, and even drinks for the kiddies. Beer is a bit steep (in comparison) at 470 for a korsó Dreher. A short list of snacks consisting of sandwiches and the like, as well as a few dinner options like spaghetti Bolognese and generic meat dishes should satisfy any stomach grumbles.

Puskin is cozy despite being pretty spacious, with dozens of little tables. The clientele is pretty diverse: amorous couples, families with small children, students soaking up the WiFi, and literary types reading and smoking. Just don't expect quiet: conversation waxes and wanes but there's always a healthy chatter. There’s even a piano in the corner if you’re trying to channel your inner Elton John or Stevie Wonder, but I’m not too sure the rest of the crowd would be behind you.

Treated as a proper kávéház, Puskin is a fine choice, if a little smoky, and you needn’t feel guilty for spending a relaxed afternoon or an early evening enjoying some drinks without buying a cinema ticket.

Uránia Kávéház (Rating: 7/10)
Rákóczi út 21 [map]
Pest, VIII, Astoria (M 2), 5 min

Walking upstairs from the ground level entrance to the cafe, you may feel like you’ve stepped into a time machine and landed in a flapper-era cinema (if Hungary even had flappers.) The beautiful deep-blue patterned wallpaper, gold trimmed walls, antique chandeliers and ornate ceiling all contribute to a unique atmosphere.

The vast expanse of the second-floor room can be a bit empty, however. The homogeneous tables and chairs give a prim and proper feel: it's not the kind of place you can hang around all afternoon and kick your feet up. But this goes hand in hand with an air of refinement and thankfully, prices remain perfectly reasonable. There's Budvar on tap, and plenty of bottled beers to choose from, starting at 350Ft. Coffee is cheap enough and the standard café fare follows suit.

Uránia Kávéház may not be a big hit on its own but it's a world apart from your modern cinema cafe. Ideal for chewing over a complex plot or holding on to that silver screen feeling for just a little longer.

Jacob P.

Bar Ladino

2009-01-04T22:06:00.020+01:00

Dob utca 53 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Király utca (T4/6), 5 min

Rating: 8.1/10

“BAR LADINO”; the words hit you like the typeface on a magazine cover. Moreover, “Ladino” makes me think of Loaded magazine; it might be another word for “ladette”. A huge knife, fork and spoon are emblazoned unapologetically between the windows and say “Hey lads and ladinos, want a slice of Budapest?” But, for better or worse, Bar Ladino is not full of swaggering beer monsters and Kelly Brook look-a-likes.

Ladino, it turns out, is a language, otherwise known as Judeo-Spanish and you’d be correct to infer that the bar’s located in the old Jewish Quarter, otherwise known as the most interesting part of town.

Bar Ladino is a grower. It lacks the fluxus, beatnik, makeshift chic of Budapest’s most “Budapest” bars but it doesn’t for a moment approach swanky. However, someone with a modicum of design nouse has clearly been involved, with the interior at least. The strikingly trad-style wallpaper looks pretty damn contemporary when it’s limited to the bar and the thick pillar that supports the high ceiling. It’s worth noting, for any anablephobics out there, that the ceiling by the bar is made of brick! The walls double up as an exhibition space, displaying local modern artists, that change from time to time.

By day, Ladino attracts an interesting mix, separated by two generations: bronchial pensioners play cards while the WIFI-enabled gather around the plug sockets. In the evening it becomes a chat-with-friends kind of a place. It can be quite tricky to get a table but it’s in the right part of town to choose alternatives if you fail, or if you want to make more of a night of it: Szimpla Dupla, Elláto, Fészek, Mumus and Lámpás are all in the neighbourhood.

Ladino’s great strength is its menu: basic but decent food at a decent price. The burgers aren’t bad – better when they don’t serve them in a shiny bun – and the 3-course lunch at 990Ft is a godsend, which even has a choice of 6 mains. When you’ve finished trawling the streets looking for that place your friend told you about, and you’re not sure it’s even lunchtime anymore, you can rely on Bar Ladino to help you out – they serve lunch until five!

It’s not often that I think “Let’s go to Bar Ladino!” but I do tend to end up there an awful lot. They may have put ice in my brandy the other day, and service can be a bit lackadaisical when you want the bill, but these I’m willing to forgive. Bar Ladino may not be the perfect plan A but it’s a really good plan B.

Service: 8.0/10
Atmosphere: 8.0/10
Value for money: 8.5/10
What people we know think: 8/10

Take a 4 or 6 tram to either Király utca (or Wesselenyi utca) and walk down (or up) the körút until you get to Dob utca. Then walk in a Deák tér direction for two minutes, and it's on your left. .
laddino, aladino, alladino, aladdino
Andy Sz.

Premier League Sports Bars

2008-12-14T22:32:00.017+01:00

How do Man Utd do it? Why can't Liverpool quite cut it? How many managers will Chelsea get through this time? What's happened to Arsenal? Are the big four even the big four anymore? And can Man City really buy themselves trophies or just petulant Brazilians?

It’s the most exciting league in the Universe, but where on Earth can you watch it?

Well, being in Budapest doesn’t necessarily mean you have to rely on internet live streams (maybe this one) or minute-by-minute reports on the BBC website. Eurosport 2 have exclusive Premier League rights for Hungary this year, and there are a number of bars that subscribe to Setanta and Sky... just in case you were worried about missing a single second of Jamie Redknapp‘s verbal diarrhoea.

Last season, we dealt with Beckett’s, the Manchester United of Hungarian sports bars (review here), but not wishing to take out a loan to finance a small beer, we looked elsewhere...

The Caledonia (Rating: 7/10)
Mozsár utca 9 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Oktogon (M1,T4/6), 3 min

A reasonable bet is this wee Scottish pub in a street behind Oktogon. With a friendly owner and a predominantly ex-pat crowd, it also happens to be one of the few places in the city where you can get bitter on tap. Given the current transfer market (yes, prepare yourself for relentless football metaphor), 500 forint for a korsó seems pretty reasonable to me; 660 for a pint of Best is fair play too.

Slightly officious table staff, however, tend to sully the atmosphere. On a couple of occasions last year, I had stern looks shot at me for not ordering enough cokes! Having said that, the Caledonia has plenty of screens, English commentary, and a British ’pub’ feel that's almost convincing. Worth a shot.

Champs (Rating: 7/10)
Erőd utca 22 [map] Buda, II, Mechwart Liget (T4/6) 1 min
Dohány utca 20 [map] Pest Centre, VII, Astoria (M2), 4 min

If you can’t see Premier League games at Champs, then you're probably not looking at the right screen. They have more televisions than you could ever need, and boast a quirky menu which relates every dish to a famous Hungarian athlete.

With a number of extra German channels, branches on either side of the river, and an enthusiasm for all kinds of sports, they have slightly more strength in depth than the competition. A bit too flashy for my taste though… a bit too Chelsea.

Ezaz Café Bistro
(Rating: 7.5/10)
Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 15 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Arany János utca (M3), 2 min

Ezaz, opposite the Basilica on Bajcsy-Zsilinsky, is not the most likely title contender. No Sky or Setanta, just foreign language channels - watching games here is a little like being Theo Walcott in the Arsenal dressing room. Ezaz opened less than a year ago and isn’t really a sports bar, its youth and inexperience betrayed by a an IKEA smell which lingers on the upholstery.

Still, the complete absence of big match atmosphere is made up for by the fact you can always get a seat, and 520 Ft for a korsó is just about acceptable. (You may have to ask them to switch on Eurosport 2, if it isn’t already on though!) Football without the ceremony.... Middlesborough, perhaps.

Café Vogue (Rating: 8/10)
Teréz körút 41 [map]
Pest Centre, V, Nyugati tér (M3), 3 min

Cafe Vogue is right up there this season and may just edge out the others. Firstly, it's not an ex-pat pub, so there's nothing of that ersatz atmosphere. But unlike Ezaz, there are enough other people in the bar, to stop it feeling like a non-event. There are several screens, one of which is only visible from the gallery, allowing the unique possibility of an unobstructed view, without even having to crane your neck.

The only issue is the beer price. The standard price is 630Ft a korsó, which would usually have the hub running away as fast as Aaron Lennon. But during the day, until 8pm, in fact, there's a ten-hour happy hour, with beer down to 490Ft a pint! Just one thing: you may have to point at the blackboard when you get the bill, just to make sure that they understand that you understand the deal.

Box Utca (Rating: 6.5/10)
Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 21 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Arany János utca (M3), 1 min

And finally, before the referee blows his final whistle on this particular Saturday afternoon, I feel compelled to mention one other popular sports bar/restaurant: Box Utca. Owned by a famous middleweight Hungarian boxer, it’s a reliable place to watch the Premiership (and, indeed, the cricket), but gosh, it's posh, and the over-dressed waiters are a little too eager to refill your glass. What is this, the directors' box?

It seems from the walls, that it has indeed attracted a rather well-to-do clientele - Paul McCartney, for example. No doubt, the prices weren't a problem for him. But price is what you pay; value is what you get... and 690Ft for a korsó is like paying 16.5 million for Darren Bent!.

Andy T and Andy Sz.

Merlin

2008-12-05T00:02:00.017+01:00

Gerlóczy utca 4 [map]
Pest Centre, V, Deák Ferenc tér (M1,2,3), 3 min

Rating: 7.9/10

I can’t remember the number of times I’ve been to Merlin. I can, however, remember that every time I’ve gone, it’s been for something completely different. Such is the common case for this eclectic restaurant/bar/café/theatre/nightclub/concert venue/fashion center.

Thanks to the sundry events going on there day to day, Merlin is a unique spot in Budapest, without feeling very “Budapest” at all. Aesthetically, it's certainly lacking. Once you get up the awkwardly spaced spiral steps you feel like you’re in sort of bar/whatever else purgatory. That is if purgatory had a giant, cumbersome hole right in the middle of it (thanks to those damned stairs). It’s stuck somewhere between the vastness of a high-ceilinged warehouse (exposed ductwork and all), a dentist's office (tacky gold chairs and sterile environment), and an art cinema/concert venue. All this could have you saying, “Make up your mind Merlin. Please just decide already!”

On the other hand, they do make an effort to liven it up a little in the evening, with projections on nearly all of the upstairs walls. It’s a novel concept but the expanse that is the broad open room is a bit of an odd, uncomfortable space for the idea to actually take shape. (It is quite practical for displaying the menu though.) Maybe if Merlin were a bit cozier, the projections would feel a bit more organic.

Looking at it from another perspective, the fact that Merlin doesn’t stick to just one thing allows them to accommodate a varied list of events and an even more varied clientele. It’s the only place in Budapest I’ve been for coffee and to make use of their Wifi hotspot, for a Slovakian exhibitionist theatre performance in English where all the actors ended up naked, and to catch international bands perform as well.

A friend put it to me that, "it's the place in Budapest for people who want to go to the theatre, but can’t afford it.” Quite true, but with regular fashion events and DJ/dance nights, it's much more than that. Whatever your fancy, whether it be lunch and their passable napi menu (business lunch), a late-night rave, a walk down the catwalk, or just an evening of drinks with friends, Merlin caters to your every need, making it more of a butler than a magician.

To see what's on right now at Merlin, check their official website here.

Service: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10
What people we know think: 8/10

Merlin is easily spotted from Deák. Simply walk down the korut (towards Astoria) a minute and hang a right onto Gerlóczy and the maze-ish entrance to Merlin will be on your right.

Jacob P.

Instant & Mumus

2008-11-19T23:23:00.014+01:00

"Let's call it Instant!", they thought, in an instant. "Let's call it Mumus!", they thought, since that's what the old one was called. (Mumus [n.] - the kind of monster you frighten your children with; the bogeyman.)

Two bars in the Budapest low-life that have nothing to do with each other, except for the fact that they sprang up at the same time (i.e. a few months ago) and work on the same model: the Szimpla model, if you like. But it does now seem that if you're the new derelict building on the block, you have to enter the quirk competition, which means more than szimply juggling the furniture.

Working out where to put a bar that will fill up as quickly as you can say "there's a new rom kocsma, let's check it out!", doesn't require a great deal of thought. It just requires a large, empty building, near the centre of town, somewhere where the neighbours aren't too fussy about noise. ("Rom kocsma" or "ruin pub" - you can either sound like an over-seasoned expat or like you've just read the easyJet magazine, there's no getting away from it.) As far as getting custom is concerned, there's no real trick - people will show up, as long as they think it's cool. And dilapidated buildings are inherently cool, as long as there's a bar. The clever bit is creating the atmosphere, which is what makes Instant and Mumus different beasts.

Instant
Nagymező utca 38 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Oktogon (T4/6), 5 min

Rating: 7.9/10

Instant, for starters, has a large courtyard - covered, in winter - and despite the heaters is cold enough out of season to make you reflect whether you have indeed been sitting outdoors. A shoal of fish hovers above, swimming amongst multicoloured lights, against a backdrop of ivy.

So far, so good, except it's phenomenonly busy. Venturing upstairs, in search of seats, there's an ample choice of rooms, few with any room in them; one with a bar. It's here that Instant begins to disappoint. Despite a few attempts at quirking it up - a dentist's chair; furniture on the ceiling; a bathroom exhibit - there's one thing missing: Instant doesn't appear to have a soul.

Maybe it's the white light and cold, windowless walls - and that's not every room - or maybe it's these quirky things themselves. Who needs a room with a dentist's chair? And who wants to look at a small bathroom with portraits on the tiles? Why didn't they spend more time furnishing the actual bathroom? It's just not very comfortable.

Mumus
Dob utca 15 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Astoria (M2), 5 min

Rating: 9.2/10

Mumus, conversely, has an atmosphere to cherish. With such a mild October, it remained a kert-based operation until November; and it's a lovely kert. A huge tree at one end draws the eye skywards and gives a sense of nature and space. Tables fashioned from old metal barrels don't sound inspiring but they are, in fact, inspired: the light inside escapes through holes pierced in the sides and they look... enchanting.

As the summer faded into winter (there was no autumn), a cosy, low-lit indoor bar opened more frequently, but I couldn't help casting my eyes up the gated stairs every time I went there, wondering if there was more to come...

It is here, upstairs, that Mumus has certain similarities to Instant but the feeling that ambience comes first, is for the most part, still apparent. The rooms feel warmer, and the designs, the quirks, as I appear to have termed them, work for the soul, not against it. The lighting is ambitious and atmospheric: a radial sun; a neon drop of light. There's a DJ and dancing - no dancefloor as such - just the kind you'd see at a house party. Only the tentacled television-eye in the corner of one room fits the current vogue of "what the fuck?" decor.

Of the two, Instant is larger and apparently more popular but then it is on a main road, and has prominent signs, not to mention bomber-jacket bouncers, outside. Now I'm not saying that a sign or a bouncer is some kind of betrayal but, Mumus, hiding out on Dob utca, with a couple of normal-looking guys on the door, feels a lot more human, no matter how you look at it.

For Instant, walk down Nagymező from Andrassy and you'll see the bouncers on the left. For Mumus, walk up Dob utca from Astoria and it's on the left, a little after Spinoza and Lámpás.
mummus, instanz, instance
Andy Sz.

Csendes

2008-10-24T20:27:00.006+02:00

Ferenczy István utca [map]
Pest Centre, V, Astoria (M2), 2 min

Rating: 8.5/10

Once upon a time, there lived a small boy called Csendes. He was a quiet boy with a vivid imagination. Csendes lived with his aunt who lived in a tiny little house. She didn't have an awful lot of money but one day inherited a large room on Ferenczy István utca from her grandfather. She took Csendes along to see. As they looked around the empty room, at the blank walls and up to the high ceiling, she began to cry.

"Why are you crying?", asked the boy.
"Well, I've got this big room but I don't have anything to put in it."

That night, Csendes tried to think of some things to put in the room. Tables and chairs, he thought, and lots of lamps. He thought about the blank walls and he pictured a duck eating its dinner. But the duck looked lonely so he thought of a man with big lop-sided ears, holding a cat in his arms. They can have a party, he thought. And then, one by one, other animals joined in.

Csendes was dreaming now. At the window, he saw a huge bird with a bright green head, who squawked at a piglet flying across the room. The piglet narrowly avoided a wooden elephant, who wasn't looking as he tried to get out of the way of a parachuting duck. In one corner, a crowd of animals watched a football match, while in another, a pair of legs in pyjamas got off a bicycle, climbed into a boat and sailed off down Tátika utca...

So this is Csendes: the dreams of a child turned into a cafe which turns into a bar when the skies grow dark. And although half of me thinks it's way over the top, the other half can't help but notice people's faces lighting up as soon as they enter the room. The joss-sticks, rugs, tablecloths and piano jazz add to the atmosphere, as do the waitresses, who are polite and friendly, and there when you need them.

Although it's a big room, it isn't that big, and being opposite ELTE university, it fills up pretty quickly in the evening. There is also some low-key entertainment: DJs sets, sometimes with vocals, and the occasional Jazz trio. Drinks are reasonably priced and displayed on an enormous blackboard behind the bar.

Csendes gets infinity points for trying and from the outset, looks like it has belonged in Budapest for years. In a city where many bars go for 'quirky', Csendes has trumped them all by taking it to the absolute limit. What's more, if you're waiting for your friends to turn up, you'll have some company to pass the time. "That's right!", oinked the piglet, still hovering above.

Service: 9/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Value for money: 8/10
What people we know think: 8/10

Andy Sz.

Café Csiga

2008-09-19T00:43:00.018+02:00

Vásár utca [map] [website]
Pest South, VIII, Rákóczi tér (T4/6), 2 mins

Rating: 8.5/10

I wonder what the owners of Café Csiga think about Metro 4. At the moment, the construction work is making it almost invisible, not that it particularly stood out before. Rákóczi tér was never the height of sophistication either – it used to be the height of prostitution – so when the Metro’s eventually completed, their location, and that end of town in general, will be that much more desirable.

But will Csiga survive it? It’s 1.30 on a Wednesday afternoon and there’s practically no one in here. It’s surprising because, as soon as I step through the door and out of the construction noise, it’s an oasis of warm colours, gentle music – Goldfrapp / Belle & Sebastian – and arty homeliness. There’s a beercan palm tree by the door and the works of local contemporary artists dominate the walls. I look up at a golden Buddha-like woman, who seems to be in the right place, along with everything else. Although Csiga has plenty of quirks, it looks like someone’s chosen with a discerning eye, rather than making do with a visit to the flea market.

Csiga should be a hive of activity at lunch time because their daily menu, at 990Ft is extremely good value. The Egyptian lentil soup is a more generous serving than I would expect for a first course and is also pretty tasty. The main, a more traditional Paprikás Chicken with galuska (gnocchi) is decent too and by the end of it, I’m stuffed. Alternatively, and if it’s not lunchtime, you can choose à la blackboard: soups at 500Ft, mains, sides included, below 2000Ft. (Shhhh... my wallet need never know that I’ve been eating out.)

In the evenings, Csiga remains relaxed and fills up quite a bit, so much so that you may find yourself milling around at the bar waiting for a table. There’s a small leafy mezzanine, which is particularly cosy. Certainly, it's a place for drinks and conversation rather than an all-out piss-up, but definitely a bar rather than a coffee shop. You have a choice of Arany Ászok or Dreher on tap too.

Csiga means snail and is pretty slow-paced to match but it’s not too far from Corvintető or Jelen, if you want to up the tempo. It has the atmosphere of a Rothko painting with a lot more detail, and is a good option for a satisfying low-cost lunch, a chat and a beer, or simply time-out from city living... at least until Metro 4 brings it out of its shell. Luckily, Hungarian engineering is pretty slow-paced too, so you may have a few years yet.

Service: 8.5/10
Atmosphere: 8.5/10
Value for money: 8.5/10
What people we know think: 8.5/10

Get off the 4/6 tram at Rákóczi tér and walk down the left hand side of the square. It's at the end, on the left.

Andy Sz.

The Island Kerts

2008-06-17T15:48:00.015+02:00

Margit sziget, [map]
Between Buda and Pest, II, Margit hid (T4/6), 2-5 min

Rating: 9.4/10 (Overall)

You might not find the word ‘kert’ in the Oxford English Dictionary yet but you’d be hard pushed to get through a spring in Budapest, without hearing someone ask: “When are the kerts opening?”

The kerts are open-air bars with a transient existence that begins in late May and ends in September. When they open, you know that the summer’s started and when they close, you know it’s over. Margit sziget hosts its fair share.

Holdudvar (Rating: 8.4/10)

The most sizeable and versatile of the island kerts combines restaurant, bar, and late-night dancefloor. Tables stretch out under orange West Balkan-style lanterns, past table-tennis, table-football, drinks bar, sausage bar (which smells pretty good), palinka bar and around the corner to a calmer grassy area at the back.

There’s a sense that Holdudvar is trying just a bit too hard to be all things to all people. It succeeds to a large extent, due to the fact that it’s so vast, but it does all feel a bit contrived. The dancefloor is now indoors and invariably packed. Music though is largely unimaginative but popular amongst tourists in holiday mood: “...murmer, murmer, LAST FOREVER... murmer, murmer... BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE!”

It claims to have an art gallery as well, whose true function is a place to wait for people who are in the toilets.

Sark kert (Rating: 9.3/10)

The most basic and Hungarian of the kerts on the island sits between Holdudvar and the river. Two days before it opened this year, it really didn’t look like it was going to. It’s not the most sophisticated place: a few huts house the bars, including one that sells sausages, hekk and pörkölt; seating is a bit rickety, and the floor is a kind of dry soil. There are always a couple of dogs running around too.

Sark kert though, has a hippy soul and is infused with a carefree, relaxed atmosphere. Sitting in the blazing sun, with some relief from the parasols, this might be Budapest or it could be somewhere on the other side of the world. There’s the occasional band too, and concerts tend to evolve into late night jams.

Cha Cha Cha - Terasz (Rating: 8.2/10)

Cha cha cha is not really a place for sitting around. It feels like a bar at some holiday resort – a wooden shack dancefloor at least assures you that you’re somewhere more exotic than Northamptonshire, while the accompanying leisure centre does nothing of the sort. Music is holiday-friendly, perhaps not as cheesy as Holdudvar. The bassline from Billy Jean escapes from its dance rehash and collides with Rihanna’s Umbrella. Cha cha cha does have its own personality though and always seems to be full of girls and indeed anyone who wants to dance.

By some well-thought out plan, they’ve decided to charge for the toilets, evidently with the aim of encouraging you to find the nearest tree instead, which is exactly what everybody does.

The other one (Rating: 7.0/10)

Now, it’s easy to forget that Margit Sziget has another bar: the imaginatively titled Sziget Klub Terasz. Given that it’s the first one you get to and the only one that has a river view without having to stand on tiptoes, it should be a much bigger draw than it is.

However, it looks like it might be a restaurant and no one’s ever going to remember that name. Besides, the music, coming courtesy of the radio, holds neither surprises nor atmosphere. An identity of some kind would work wonders – ideas anyone? Still, it’s quite a pleasant place to sip a beer and watch the river flow.
Hold, udvar, shark, club, terrace, outdoor, drinking, siget, hub choice

Walking down the island from Margit hid (Margaret Bridge), Sziget Klub Terasz is almost immediately on your left, and Cha Cha Cha follows soon after. For Holdudvar, continue in a straight line, past the fountain, and you should see the orange lanterns through the trees. Sark kert is to the right of this, bordering the river, with entrances on either side.

Andy Sz.

Corvintető

2008-05-27T00:20:00.137+02:00

Corvin Áruház, Blaha Lujza tér 1-2 [map]
Pest Centre, VIII, Blaha Lujza tér (M2, T4/6), 1 min

Rating: 8/10

'Red stays red on top of the city at Corvintető.' Red stays red, on top of the city. On top of the city, red stays red.

Every fortnight, in the ‘have fun’ section of another English-language Budapest guide, this phrase precedes a profile of Corvintető. And whenever I climb the brown-tiled staircase to the roof terrace (brown really does stay brown on the way up to the top of the city), it runs through my mind.

Like ‘The Wasteland,' the meaning is hard to grasp. Most likely, it's an attempt to link the bar to the communist-era department store on which it sits. However, maybe 'red stays red' is supposed to be taken at face value - was Corvintető's redness recently under threat? I have absolutely no idea. What isn’t in doubt is that firstly, in my head, this phrase is inextricably linked with Corvintető, and secondly it's another red Budapest bar. Simply Red, the Red Baron, Redd Fox, The Hunt for Red October - it’s red when you go in and red when you come out.

Last summer, this unlikely 'kert' was Budapest’s hot new thing. One year on, it’s still the only place in town where you can lean over the edge of a roof, watch lights flicking off in rooms across the square, take in the grandiose towers of the New York Palace Hotel, or in the opposite direction, squint at the illuminated Citadella jutting up into the night.

So, what’s new this season? Well, like Fecske last year, there’s an old lady parked permanently in the bathroom, keeping an eye out for trouble/people weeing on the floor/tips. And now that Corvintető is a long-term fixture, concerts and djs appear downstairs every night. Nothing I’ve seen listed in the last month could be described as particularly essential, but the cover charge probably makes a lot more sense at 1 am. Apart from that, it’s just the same. There’s still the odd cockroach scuttling about, the sound system blasts out Studio One reggae, and the terrace remains oddly un-rooflike when you’re not standing, or perched on a stool.

Personally, I'm glad it’s back. In February, when the terrace was closed, Corvintető felt a bit like Ken without Barbie - nice enough but not terribly exciting. In summer it's altogether different, and there's no better outdoor bar to watch the sunrise from. When the city's slowly coming to life, five storeys above ground is just about far enough away to imagine that you're right, and everyone else is on a different planet.

Service: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 8.5/10
Value for money: 8/10
What people we know think: 8/10

From Blaha Lujza tér, walk to the first corner of the Corvin áruház (the big department store with Kaisers), and go into an entrance next to a Gyros shop. From there, you can walk up the stairs, but if you fancy a ride in an elevator, with a bellboy, walk past the Gyros shop and look right.

Andy T.

Főbe-járat

2008-05-05T13:45:00.149+02:00

Károly körút 5 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, (M 1,2,3) 4 min

Rating: 6.8/10

The latest variation on this traditional Hungarian favourite is Főbe-járat, a dark, basement bar near Subway on Deák (...so near to Subway, in fact, that they share the same toilets.)

There's no Japanese manga on the ceiling and the furniture isn't made up of mismatched lim-lom. In this particular version, it's been personalised with surprisingly pleasant staff and an odd wooden finish - if somebody decided to turn their garden shed into a bar, and their garden shed was underground, it might look something like this.

When I was in there on a recent Saturday, the music was a mixed bag; the DJ threw on Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Blues Brothers, Jurassic 5 and Michael Jackson in quick succession. It didn't really fit together, but it seemed about right... the place had a feeling of carefree abandon. A bartender was playing with a toy which made his thumbs light up, much to the amusement of himself, while customers and staff pranced about like nobody was watching. In truth, given the amount of people in there, nobody really was.

Still, with bluegrass nights, karaoke, concerts, and even a táncház, you get the feeling that Főbe-járat is making a commendable amount of effort, that all ten fingers are in ten pies. And while it's a perfectly acceptable space, there's a sense that it doesn't really stand out, that adding a pinch of Szimpla, a spoonful of West Balkan and a dollop of Szóda leaves you with little more than just another familiar, red, underground bar. Having said that, any place at which the bouncers give out cake can't be all that bad. Perhaps it just needs a little time to find its feet.

Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Value for money: 6/10
What people we know think: 6/10

From Deák, head towards the Synagogue and Astoria. Take the stairs between Pizza Hut and Subway, into the basement.

Andy T.

Lámpás

2008-04-15T19:27:00.016+02:00

Dob utca 15 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Király utca (T4/6), 5 min

Rating: 9.1/10

Beneath the respectable Spinóza Café, lies a dark basement.

A small sign reading "Lámpás" hangs over a metal door, which opens onto a concrete staircase. Not exactly inviting but intriguing, perhaps. "Hey, what kind of place is it?", an American voice rang out from the opposite sidewalk. That's the thing with Lámpás: from its outer appearance, it could be a brothel, for all you know. It isn't.

For a basement bar, Lámpás is pretty cosy, despite being fairly rudimentary. The huge silver pipes are disguised with green netting. Where the ceiling is low enough for you to bump your head, they've placed ample wedges of foam (making it all the more likely that you will bump your head, if in a pleasant kind of way.) Like the vast majority of atmospheric bars in Budapest, Lámpás leans towards the red, despite a variety of coloured lamps and globular fairy lights. The combined effect comes out kind of Christmassy.

Tables and chairs fill almost the whole floorspace, although in the evenings, you'll be lucky to find any that are free. Just as frustratingly, getting to the tiny bar can be a problem, with two or three bar staff working their way through, on average, three rows of people (which is actually only 6 or 7 people).

Once there, however, the prices will warm your insides almost as much as the pálinka itself, of which there's enough to weather a nuclear storm in fairly high spirits. For a bar steeped in underground cool, it's astonishing that they've kept their prices down - a korsó Borsodi (a perfectly reasonable pint) costs no more than it would in a working class söröző, and undercuts Szimpla, for example, by over 100 Ft!

Lámpás' value doesn't rest there either. Although there's hardly space for it, musicians perform regularly: those that don't have too much kit. Jazz bands or DJs usually, in my experience. The program of events is a little hard to come by, although it is posted on the wall, if you can decipher it.

So really, you have to take your chances with Lámpás. If there's a seat, sit down; if there's music, enjoy. If you're not sure which toilet is which, guess. Cosiness, foggyness and cheap drinks, on the other hand, are all guaranteed.

Service: 9.0/10
Atmosphere: 9.0/10
Value for money: 9.5/10
What people we know think: 9.0/10

Lámpás opens from September to May, since no one wants to sit in a basement while the sun's out. Walk up Dob utca from Károly körút and its ominous door is just to the left of Spinóza Café.
Lampas, Lampás, Lámpas, Lampash, hub choice
Andy Sz.

Drinking by the Synagogue

2008-04-07T19:52:00.021+02:00

Dohány u. [map]
Pest Centre, VII, Astoria (M2), 3 min

Rating: 7.3/10 (Overall)

At the Astoria end of Dohány utca, a cluster of bars compete for the passing trade. They’re an odd bunch but provide an opportunity to either take in the Synagogue over a coffee or indeed, take part in a 100-metre pub crawl.

On the corner is Katapult Kávéház (Rating: 6.4/10) quirky underground chic, taken from the same litter as the Szimplas, Kuplungs and Szódas of this world. Toy ladybirds litter the window-ledge, colourful original artworks compete for wall-space, while rainbow lampshades and fairy lights complete the low-technicholor vision. “My sea...g...a..hol....it!” The music’s too loud for a bar that’s too small for a dancefloor. My seat’s got a hole in it too.

There is, however, something that disappoints about Katapult. There’s no table service, which isn’t in itself a problem, but I would, then, expect to be served at the bar. At its best, service is surly, at worst, the wait will test your patience. Prices aren’t rising as quickly as elsewhere, and this probably helps to preserve the local contingent, which has a tendency to turn its collective head as you enter but ignore you thereafter. Come on, drink up, let’s try...

Actually let’s not. Café Zenit (Rating: 4/10) has plenty of window space for Synagogue browsing but is itself all varnish and no character. Perhaps the management knew this would happen. Perhaps this explains their bizarre decision to make the bar in the shape of a boat. (Presumably, the barman pretends that he’s the captain of a ship when nobody’s looking.) Anything to wish himself away from the reality.

Mister Söröző (Rating: 4.5/10), on the other hand, is yellow and basic, like all Mister Sörözős. “Korsó: 145Ft!” it shouts from the window. A pint for 145Ft might be enough to lure you in depending on whether you’re doing a pub crawl. Probably not though.

Haverok (Rating: 6.6/10) or “mates”, in English, is a safe option but pleasant enough. It looks very new, and whoever designed it made an effort with the lighting and the photography: kids hanging out, playing baseball; a happy old man sits with his dogs. They’ve thought about the image, even if it doesn’t quite work. It’s a shame about the wood-look tables (they must have been on a budget) and a shame too that the garden at the back is inaccessible. Points for trying.

Turiszt Büfé (Rating: 8.2/10), then, is the unlikely gem. Now, you might consider that they’ve got the name wrong: at first glance, it looks about as tourist-friendly as Mister Söröző. But dare to walk in and you’ll find a small slice of times-gone-by. Plates painted with stags, a little collection of pots above the door, the ends of wine-barrels advertising Tokaji Aszű and Egri Bikaver.

It sounds like chintz and it is chintz. But it’s genuine chintz. I think that the old lady behind the bar puts them there because she thinks they look nice. There’s a wall clock in the shape of an over-sized watch – there’s no way this place has been designed. It’s 15 minutes fast, or perhaps 30 years slow. Either way, the idea that this kind of place can exist in downtown Budapest for much longer is doubtful.

In just a short stretch of road, you can get a good idea about what Budapest is: a multifaceted city, moving awkwardly into the 21st century. From moody-cool, through tourist-tat to old-time remnants, the variety might not include the perfect customer experience but it’s definitely worth a look, while all sides are still there to see.

From Astoria, walk up Károly körút, and turn right at the synagogue. Catapult, turist, tourist, buffet

Andy Sz.

Mozaik Teaház

2008-03-17T00:11:00.005+01:00

Király utca 18 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Deák Ferenc tér (M1/2/3), 3 min

Rating: 7.2/10

There's something about Mozaik that reminds me of Christmas: the way the hookah pipes shine from the corner, the way the little star-shaped lamps hang down in front of them, and the mahogany, deep reds and creams that paint the cafe warm.

This is the tea-shop part, incidentally. Downstairs is a straight-forward, no-great-shakes coffee shop, so only stop there if you're in a rush. What's more, it feels like a coffee chain, the walls adorned with soulless coffee-babble.

Upstairs, however, you'll find some kind of sanctuary, plenty of choice in teas (menu here) and maybe a lunch-time snack, such as the vegetable lasagne which, in truth, is fairly standard fare. But with its art deco lamps, tile-mosaic tables and quaint little bar, they've got the atmosphere right. It is a teashop rather than a restaurant, after all.

The layout too is pretty quirky and a little bit short on space. The tea-bar is visible through the bottom half of a partially knocked-through wall, creating enough room for a few extra seats in the form of cushions. Not the kind of thing you find in Starbucks.

And finally, last-things-last and, actually, the waitress didn't offer last time, you can usually roll three dice before paying the bill. If they come up the same, your teas are on the house, so the professional Yahtzee player should go home happy. Probability: 0.46%. Good luck.

Service: 6.5/10
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Value for money: 7/10
What people we know think: 7/10
mosaic, mozaic, mosaik, mózaik, mósaik
Andy Sz.

Castro Bisztró

2008-03-01T18:19:00.018+01:00

Madách Imre tér [map]
Pest Centre, VII, Deák Ferenc tér (M1/2/3), 3 min

Rating: 9.1/10

Stashed away in the corner of Madach tér, Castro Bisztró is in no way Cuban or communist, so don't be fooled by the name. They probably called it that because it sounds cool. It is cool, knowingly so.

Behind the bar, film posters and postcards mingle with Andy Warhol's tomato soup like some hip student's bedroom. There's a photo-wall, which, when closely examined, isn't made up of real photos. The rest of the decor changes from time to time, with artwork from local artists: Hungarian pastries are somewhat tamer than the mischievous monkeys they replaced. Patterned tablecloths serve the dual purpose of disguising the aging tables and hinting at tradition.

The food has a Serbian angle and, in my personal experience, is a little unreliable. Think "eat-while-you're-there" rather than "go-there-to-eat". Try the csevapcsicsa (Balkan-style sausage meat) with pita and a bit of salad and you can't go wrong, although you might find your light-fingered friends diving in.

Indeed, Castro is conducive to groups rather than to meeting new people, even in the evening. Music is varied: the ubiquitous Depeche Mode relenting to some Turkish pipes and violins in the blink of an eye. From time to time, a live-act (usually free) occupies the far corner, making it even harder to find a table than usual - which can be problematic. The clientele is mixed, and you're as likely to hear English as Hungarian. The guy to my left, in his fifties, might look a little out-of-place, if not for his laptop. Free Wifi is always a bonus and Castro goes one better, with a couple of free terminals.

So do I like Castro or not? An old friend used to come here religiously every Sunday, sit at the bar and read the papers, and I can understand that. (Ironically, he used to describe himself as communist and, like Castro Bisztró, he blatantly wasn't.) It's relaxed and undaunting; foreigner-friendly, central but off the tourist radar. Castro might be a little under-staffed and a little over-engineered but nevertheless, it's got something that's hard to dislike.

Service: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 9.0/10
Value for money: 8.5/10
What people we know think: 9.0/10

From Deák Ferenc tér, walk down Károly körút towards Astoria and you'll see a vast brick building on your left, which accommodates Madách Imre tér. Castro Bisztró is just to the right of the arch.
Castro's, Castros, Bisztro, Bistro, hub choice
Andy Sz.

Szóda

2008-02-20T00:28:00.034+01:00

Wesselényi u. 18 [map]
Pest Centre, VII, Astoria (M2), 5 min

Rating: 7.7/10

Not so long ago, I happened upon a New York Times travel article about Budapest’s VII district, a place that had really rather impressed the writer. Apparently, it was the city‘s ‘hip new spot’ whose 'recent rise to trendiness' 'warranted a comparison to New York’s Lower East Side!'

I read that, from the perspective of my (dope) bedroom on (hip) Kiraly utca in the (gnarly) VII district, and couldn’t help feeling that it was slightly ridiculous. Aside from the fact that some of the choices - such as Bobek - looked to be a touch arbitrary, the article ended with brief profiles of Szimpla and Szóda. Now, as much as I like those bars, I wouldn‘t consider either of them particularly hip… they’ve been around for ages, for one thing. Szimpla’s the bar which isn’t as authentic as it used to be, because it‘s full of foreigners (New Yorkers?), and Szóda’s the place you go to when you’ve been kicked out of Szimpla.

Szóda’s appeal is plain - there‘s no cover charge, the long thin basement has a dance floor, and if you hit it in the early hours when everyone’s a little bleary, it isn’t very hard to make friends. At this time, it can actually feel like a decidedly un-hip university student disco party, right down to the fact that in between the chart hits and old school hip-hop, the DJ has no qualms about sticking on his Grease mega-mix.

Upstairs, things are more restrained, and on weekdays, Szóda becomes a kind of coffee shop. Still, there’s something not quite right about being there with light streaming through the windows... it's the orange walls and red chairs perhaps, or the fact that the Japanese manga (which is plastered all over the ceiling), looks just that little bit more pointless.

However, as a solid late night bar, Szóda is welcoming and reliable. It's like an unremarkable friend who hangs out with you, doesn’t say anything very interesting, but is perfectly happy to carry on drinking after everyone else has gone home.

Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Value for money: 8/10
What people we know think: 6.5/10

From the synagogue, walk along Wesselényi utca, until you hit Szóda which is on the right hand side. Alternatively, stagger around the corner from Szimpla. Don't make too much noise!

Andy T.

Jelen

2008-02-02T17:07:00.005+01:00

Blaha Lujza tér [map]
Pest South, XIII, Blaha Lujza tér (M2 or T4/6), 3 mins

Rating: 9.0/10

Arty but not too pretentious, spacious but not daunting for agoraphobics. Jelen is well worth a few hours of your life, even if it is full of people carefully wearing their scruffiest brown jumper.

It has everything you might need for a good night out, a well-stocked bar with draught beer and eight different pálinkas, a kitchen which serves nourishing meals until midnight, and even a little munchies-kiosk for later on. This is my favourite corner – a little duck-egg blue cubby-hole rescued from the village shop of your childhood, selling everything you craved as a stoned teenager. It has chocolate bars and scones; tobacco and skins; and since this is Hungary, hot wine, Unicum and túró rudi too.

The monochrome walls are covered in well-designed posters, all of which say the word ‘jazz’, but all I can hear from the dance floor in the other room is Smash Mouth and Deee-lite remixes. They often host concerts here though, and the high ceilings make for a good acoustic. Most nights however, all you hear in the main room is excitable magyar chatter, easily heard over the music from next door.

It’s obvious someone’s thought hard about how Jelen should look, but with bikes in the entrance, and the occasional dog wagging under the table, it’s still unfussy and welcoming. They could do with being a bit fussier about the loos, mind you. Jelen may be full of sociable folk discussing their favourite Jan Svankmajer films, but they still pee on the toilet seat and clog up the sink.

Service: 6.5/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value for money: 7/10
What people we know think: 8/10

Lucy F

From Blaha Lujza tér, walk around two corners of the Corvin áruház (the big department store with Kaisers), and you'll find Jelen on a corner round the back of the same building. Open 4pm-4am except on Sun and Mon when it closes at 2am.

Moszkva tér Bisztro "Síház"

2008-01-12T00:33:00.002+01:00

Moszkva tér [map]
Buda North, II, Moszkva tér (M2, T4/6), 0 min

Rating: 6.8/10

Underground stations rarely house the most attractive or inviting bars. If they did, I would have seen a lot less of overground Budapest. No, usually they are the homes to professional drunks and people who wear string vests in public.

Not so, with Moszkva tér Bisztro. Firstly, it’s not underground but on the roof, with an outside terrace and panoramic views of a bustling square: one that has hardly changed in 25 years. For the vast majority of the year, it has a London Underground theme, purloining the logo and sporting a huge neon tube map, should you need to know how to get from Tokaji to Dreher. But for the winter, someone has seen sense in rebranding the whole thing as a ski hut.

It’s difficult to see how this marketing ploy is likely to pay off in the space of three months but it does contribute to the atmosphere, as you sit huddled beneath the indoor-outdoor heaters in your winter coat, surrounded by skis and sleds. You can get hot wine and hot bar snacks, in the form of kolbász (sausage), which might be enough heat to see you on your way, despite the glaring absence of proper walls.

The table football and cult-appeal draws in a wealth of sixth-form students but the convenience of the location also appeals to anyone who wants to take the weight off their feet. If you’re looking to relax however, beware that the regular barman is of the ‘entertaining’ kind, hurling a bottle around like Tom Cruise , to the wide-eyed admiration of anyone under 18.

Prices are generally reasonable, especially if you’re game for the “Bisztro Beer”, and you can even buy a hoody, if you like it so much that you feel like parting with 6000Ft.

Service: 6.5/10
Atmosphere: 6.5/10
Value for money: 7/10
What people we know think: 7/10

The 'bisztro' is directly above the metro station at Moszkva tér. It remains the Síház until 9th March.

Andy Sz.

Beckett's Irish Bar and Restaurant

2007-12-31T14:29:00.000+01:00

Bajcsy Zsilinszky út 72 [map]
Pest Centre, V, between Nyugati (M3, T4/6) and Arany Janos (M3), 5 min

Rating: 5.9/10

Going to an Irish bar in Budapest is perhaps a little Irish, particularly when you have to pay through the nose for the experience. However, there are two valid reasons to visit: the football and the rugby.

With plenty of televisions and a range of channels, if you can’t see it here, you’re unlikely to find it elsewhere. Now that the English Premier League has shifted to Eurosport 2, the choice of venues is somewhat limited. To its credit, Beckett’s is reasonably spacious and does, at least, feel like a proper pub, drawing a good crowd for the big games. It also has Guinness on tap, if you've got a spare grand floating about in your wallet!

Sadly, Beckett's falls short in a few other areas. As with many Irish bars outside Ireland, the craic is a little muted. Service is really not the greatest: today, the poor barmaid is rushed off her feet, while her colleague faffs around with the TV remote, unconcerned by the burgeoning mass at the bar. If there's more than one game on, you may also find yourself shifted from one television to the next at the whim of the management. Elevated prices make this harder to swallow, while the food is on the measly side. The menu does have one saving grace: English sausages.

Unfortunately, with the lack of competition for sports bars, there’s little incentive to make any changes. As it stands, Beckett's provides just enough to keep the fans going back for more.

Service: 5.5/10
Atmosphere: 6.5/10
Value for money: 5/10
What people we know think: 6.5/10

From Nyugati, walk down Bajcsy-Zsilinsky utca, which runs perpendicular to the 4/6 tram-route. Beckett's is on the right, after a three minute walk.
Becketts, Beckets, Becket's, Irish Pub
Andy Sz.

Jég Büfé

2007-12-10T22:11:00.002+01:00

Ferenciek tere [map]
Pest Centre, V, Ferenciek tere (M3), 0 min

Rating: 8.0/10

For coffee, cakes, waffles or ice cream on the run, Jég Büfé is fast, functional and reassuringly Hungarian.

This is not a cafe; you can’t sit down, for one. The more leisurely customers stand at the window counters, their eyes drifting out across Ferenciek tere, as they unconsciously persuade vast cream cakes to fit into their tiny mouths.

As with that other Hungarian institution, Hentes - the eat-in butcher's shop, there’s a procedure that you have to master:

decide what you want
remember the name
mumble something incomprehensible to the woman at the cash desk
pay
take your receipt back to the counter to see if you've bought the right thing

God only knows what happens if you choose the last piece of chocolate cake and someone else claims it while you’re busy paying at the till! I'm sure there must be a system to deal with it though because Jég Büfé has an answer for everything. In the summer, part of the shop front opens up to sell ice cream; in the winter, a small round hatch ensures that waffles are despatched before your bus leaves.

There are plenty of sit-down cafes in the immediate vicinity so if you want to relax, there’s no need to compromise. However, Jég Büfé is convenient, cheap and a great place for people-watching. So if you’ve just got twenty minutes to kill, it’s ideal.

Service: 7/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Value for money: 8/10
What people we know think: 7/10

In the metro underpass, look for bus signs that say "Buda felé". Jég Büfé is right there by the bus stop.
jeg, yeg, jegy, buffet, bufe
Andy Sz.

Cökxpôn

2007-12-10T19:51:00.004+01:00

Soroksári út 8-10 [map]
Pest South, IX, Boráros tér (T4/6), 4 min

Rating: 9.2/10

This cheap bar, under the Raiffeisen Bank sign in Boráros tér, is a funny little place. Inside, it looks as if an interior designer, who also happens to be a teahouse enthusiast and a hippy, has thrown a bit of a wobbly.

None of the tables are at the same height, it’s dark in some places, light in others, and the drapes suspended from the centre of the ceiling make you feel like you’re drinking in a Big Top. And, while at first it isn’t exactly clear whether you should take your shoes off, downstairs in the concert space (usually worth the entrance fee), this decision is made for you. A cloakroom attendant collects them, leaving everyone in stocking feet. It makes for a rather quaint dance floor.

The bar itself is part of the sinister-sounding ‘Cökxpôn Ambient Society,’ which is actually an organisation formed in 1999 for young artists and environmentalists who like ambient music. They have close ties to Tilos radio and regularly operate a tent at the Sziget festival. However, in spite of the name, acts booked to play here are varied - the Szilvási Gypsy Folk Band for example, are hardly famous for chill out sets.

Still, Cökxpôn isn’t for everyone. The toilets seem to be under construction (they aren‘t), and the location feels a little inconvenient, unless you live in the 8th district or are on your way to A38. But that‘s part of the appeal. If it were in Central Pest, full of people every night and spotlessly clean, then it wouldn‘t be anywhere near as interesting. It’s open from six pm until very late.

Service: 8.5/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Value for money: 9/10
What people we know think: 8.5/10

Get off the 4,6 tram at Mester Utca and walk towards the river. When you get to the night bus stop at Boráros, turn left onto the square and start walking towards LUMU. Carry on for about two minutes and Cökxpôn is on the left, directly under the Maxell sign. hub choice
cokspon, cokspawn cock spon coxpon, cokspponn, coksponn, coksponn, cock sponn cok sponn
Andy T.

Café Alibi

2007-12-10T13:57:00.002+01:00

Egyetem tér 4 [map]
Pest Centre, V, Ferenciek tere (M3) & Kálvin tér (M3), 5 min

Rating: 8.1/10

Forget the New York Kavehaz and the famed Gerbaud; it's Café Alibi that keeps on being voted Hungary's Coffee House of the Year. On the hatstand, there's a bowler hat and a black umbrella. Painted posters advertise Italian coffee and Absinthe, while an antique cash register stands proudly atop the counter. The clinking of china mingles with the background jazz and the customers’ murmurs. Only the coffee itself departs from the 1920s theme by being really quite expensive.

The over-sized wall clock says five past six and free tables are becoming scarce. Perhaps it's the draw of the chocolate cake which I've seen paraded around a few of the tables. The blackboard menu, chalked up in English and Hungarian, is pretty ambitious too and at a very reasonable price: salmon steak and asparagus with creamy sauce; grilled 'young' squid in dill sauce...

Being next door to the University of Law, ensures a certain student presence but being so central, the clientele is broad, if strictly middle class. The location too beats that of the clutch of coffee shops a little further along Károlyi Mihály utca which have to contend with an absurd amount of traffic.

It's clear to see why Café Alibi has received such plaudits. Its bygone era feel is deliberate but not sterile, and an impressive food selection gives it the edge over many of its neighbours.

Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value for money: 6/10
What people we know think: 7/10

From Ferenciek tere, head south onto Károlyi Mihály utca, which leads on to Egyetem tér, notable for its dirty orange church and a rather grand university building. Alternatively, from Kálvin tér, take Kecskeméti utca, which approaches from the opposite direction.
Allibi, alabi, allabi, alliby, allaby, cafe
Andy Sz.

Szimpla Kert

2007-12-10T13:27:00.001+01:00

Kazinczy utca 14 [map]
Pest Centre, VII, Astoria (M2), 5 min

Rating: 8.3/10

What makes a place good? If it’s five star facilities then Szimpla Kert is rubbish. The building is a husk, a wreck; a rabbit warren of doorless rooms filled with a baffling collection of rickety chairs and tables that aren’t always capable of supporting your drink. And then there’s the famed ‘kert’: the open-air ground-floor concrete remains of a one-time building.

But Szimpla isn’t rubbish; it’s an institution. It’s as much Budapest as the Parliament building or Széchenyi Lanchid. There are no other serious contenders for ‘social hub of the city.’ Like it or loathe it, everyone knows it and just about everyone goes there: students, tourists, ex-pats, locals... the lot.

Three bars; two floors; one kert. There’s even a no smoking room that no one uses until it gets really packed. You can get food on the first floor too – toasted sandwiches that are edible if you’re really hungry. Of course Szimpla’s not what it once was. There are those who don’t like what it’s become, no doubt pining after the days when you could get a beer for half as much; when you could listen and hear Hungarian voices rather than the international prittle-prattle of excitable Erasmus students.

However, the current Szimpla is the only one I know and it’s ridiculously sociable, despite the absence of a dancefloor. It’s not the kind of place where people keep themselves to themselves. If you’re perturbed by the fact that you haven’t met any Scandinavians in Budapest yet, endure it no longer.

Budapest is a changing city: you can see it from one year to the next. The fact that the wheel’s still in spin is what makes it exciting. In five years time people will still be saying that Szimpla’s lost its vibe. Szimpla is a picture of Budapest today: take it or leave it.

Service: 5/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Value for money: 8.5/10
What people we know think: 8.5/10

From the synagogue, walk along Wesselényi utca, past Szóda, and turn right down Kazinczy utca. A small cream sign indicates the unlikely entrance.
simpler, simpla, simple, szimpler, szimple, zimpla, zimpler, hub choice
Andy Sz.

Prága Kávéház és Teázó

2007-11-29T15:30:00.002+01:00

Baross utca 8 [map]
Pest South, VIII, Kalvin tér (M3), 2 min

Rating: 8.6/10

Prága Kávéház is effortlessly satisfying. It has a traditional feel, without laying it on too thick, coffee served in a myriad of ways, a decent selection of teas and wines, beer on tap, and a few light snacks that are pretty light but reasonably priced.

In winter, shell lamps diffuse a warm glow through the basement-level windows, while in summer, the pavement outside is ample enough for enjoying a drink without feeling like you’re sitting in the road.

Prága seems proud of its coffee. It’s hard to escape the fact that they use “100% Arabica coffee”, and the menu, in English and Hungarian, goes as far as to make a distinction between a latte and a tejeskávé. The fact that it’s served with a small biscuit and a shot glass of water doesn’t do any harm to the idea that you’re being ever-so-slightly pampered either. (Perhaps I’m easy to please!)

The furniture, photographs, dark, bare floorboards, and staff who seem to know what they’re doing all contribute to the ambiance. Low-level music, of which I can only hear the bass and tripped-out rhythms proves that you can still create the right atmosphere without setting everything back to 1910.

Prága Kávéház is bigger than you think too, so if it looks too full don’t turn back too soon because it’s hard to find such range, value and atmosphere elsewhere in the city.

Service: 8.5/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Value for money: 8.5/10
What people we know think: 9/10

From Kálvin tér, walk down Baross utca. Prága Kávéház és Teázó is on the left, as the pavement starts to widen out.
Praga, Prague, Praha, hub choice
Andy Sz.

Kuplung

2007-11-27T17:56:00.001+01:00

Király utca 46 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Király utca (T4/6), 5 min

Rating: 7.7/10

It’s fair to say that Kuplung is probably the only bar in Central Europe which is located in a disused mechanic’s repair shop, and also has an enormous whale skeleton as its central feature.

Constructed out of papier mache and wire, the whale hangs somewhat precariously above rickety wooden tables, usually thronged with customers. At one stage, dozens of fairy lights were threaded through the skull, ribs and tail, the bizarre structure lighting up the room like a Christmas decoration from another world. However, at the time of writing, most of the lights had flickered out, and just a dark shell remains.

Located on Király utca, the entrance to the bar is unmarked but easy to spot. Crowds of young inebriated hipsters, wannabe-hipsters, punks, skaters or students are usually loitering outside, getting glared at and hushed by the tough-looking door staff. Once through the door, an intimidatingly large entrance hall leads to a large hangar with graffiti-covered walls. There is also an art gallery, as well as table football and table tennis. A separate concert hall is open at weekends and in the corner, a DJ plays tunes that nobody really dances to.

Kuplung might have a grimy feel - it’s impossible to leave without your clothes reeking of cigarettes – but it is cheap and once you're through the door, quite welcoming. For a cross-section of young, vibrant Budapest, it's as good a place as any to start.

Service: 7/10
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Value for money: 7.5/10
What people we know think: 7/10

From the Körút, walk down Király utca towards Deák ter. The bar is at number 46, two doors down from Sirály.
kup lunk, cuplung, kurplung, kerplunk, kerplung, kuplunk
Andy T.

Sirály

2007-11-24T10:34:00.010+01:00

Király utca 50 [map]
Pest Centre, VI, Király utca (T4/6), 5 min

Rating: 8.5/10

Not the most cosmetic of Budapest’s bars or coffee shops, Sirály is worth a visit as an informal, low-priced, student and Wifi hotspot. And sometimes, on certain evenings, you might stumble on some strange goings on in the basement.

As the day progresses, the ground floor slowly morphs from cafe to bar. Drinks are pretty cheap, no matter what you’re drinking and there's a basket of bready snacks on the bar, if you're feeling peckish.

A spiral staircase winds it’s way past the first floor, little more than a lovers’ couch, to a more studious second floor. The Wifi connection can be a bit patchy but there is plenty of room to spread paper across the desks. Students may find that the library doesn't quite meet the cut.

Although actual decoration is pretty sparse, there’s usually some art exhibited at the top of the staircase and the whole place is littered with photos and flyers. I get the feeling that if you asked them to put anything up on the wall, they would. But Sirály's artistic tendencies only reach their full potential when there's something happening downstairs in the basement.

It's sometimes a theatre, sometimes a music venue: street-dance, French pop, experimental clarinet-driven Polish jazz. Sirály is not a stranger to a strange brew. And you can sometimes get away with whatever's in your pockets as an entrance fee: the plastic dinosaur you found in your cereal packet this morning, half a packet of chewing gum...

No-frills but customer-and bicycle-friendly, Sirály is the kind of place that you can sit around in for as long as your battery will last, without feeling any pressure to keep buying drinks. This might explain the fact that it never feels particularly empty, despite being pretty sizeable. And, if you hang on into the evening, you might just find something that you never knew you were looking for.

Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10
What people we know think: 8.5/10

Walk down Király utca from Erzsébet körút. After the yellow church, look for an unremarkable-looking cafe on the right.
Siraly, Siraj, Shiraly, Shiraj, Shiray, Shirai
Andy Sz.

hub choice

2007-11-21T13:55:00.000+01:00

No matter how long you're in Budapest for, there are a few places we think you should really check out. So we've created:

Click on the logo above, or in the right-hand menu in any of the sections: bars & cafes; eating out; or sightseeing, to find our list of unmissables. Or just keep your eyes peeled for the tag.

If there's anywhere you think we've overlooked, please let us know.

Andy T.

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