bars & cafes | thehub.hu | guide to budapest

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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:

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