Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Trendy, traditional or bohemian - whatever you're after in Budapest, you're likely to
find it. Rather than being focused on one central zone, the drinking scene is fairly dif-
fuse, albeit heavily skewed towards Pest. Party central is the VII district, where you'll
find the pick of the ruin bars, Budapest's home-grown drinking trend. In the Belváros,
ErzsébettérhasleapfroggedLisztFerenctérasthein-placetomeetandhangout,while
the outdoor bars on Margit-sziget and at various spots along the Danube do a roar-
ing trade in the summer. For a slightly quieter night the pleasantly chilled area around
thenewlypedestrianizedKecskemétiutcaandtheKárolykertarereliablebets.What's
more, the focus on quality that has transformed the city's restaurants and cafés can be
found here, too, in the new wine and craft beer bars.
Budapest's
ruinbars
(
romkocsma
) have been a firm favourite with visitors for several years.
Szimplakert
and
Instant
have turned into very established enterprises, but the bohemian feel
keeps on spreading across the Seventh and Eighth Districts. Once a deserted series of court-
yards between Király and Dob utca,
Gozsdu udvar
is now packed with places to eat and
drink, and newer venues such as
Lumen
and
Kisüzem
to continue the dilapidated arty tradi-
tion. For alfresco boozing you'll find several
outdoor summer bars
at the southern end of
Margit-sziget, two very successful ones at the Városliget, while up the Danube on the Római-
part the
Fellini Római Kultúrbisztró
offers a more relaxed vibe.
The
wine bar
(
borozó
) scene has changed markedly recently, as the growing interest in
provenance, backed by a passionate belief in promoting Hungarian wine, has led to the emer-
gence of sophisticated bars with clued-up staff.
Doblo
and
Kadarka
are fine examples, but
you can still find the more traditional Hungarian wine bars that are mainly working men's
watering holes offering humble snacks such as
zsíros kenyér
(bread and dripping with onion
and paprika).
Beer
has long lived in the shadow of wine in Hungary. However, the emergence of micro-
breweries has sparked a new curiosity in the humble hop and specialist beer bars (
söröző
)
such as
Élesztő
,
Jonás
and
Monyó
are attracting a new generation of discerning drinkers.
The
club
scene is especially varied in the summer, when it expands into several large out-
door venues, and there are also regular events held in the thermal baths such as the old Turk-
ish Rudas and the big outdoor Széchenyi, or in sites further out of town (advertised via pro-
motional posters). DJs to look out for include Palotai and Mango and anything with the Tilos
Rádió stamp on it. Another interesting new fad is the slam poetry craze, which you can catch
all over town.
