Must-see nightlife in Hungary

  • Tranzit Art Café

    Budapest

    As chilled a place to drink and nosh as you’ll find in south Buda, the Tranzit has made its home in a small disused bus station, put art on the walls and…

  • Rengeteg RomKafe

    Budapest

    Children and adults alike are treated to a warm welcome at this basement rabbit warren attached to the Élesztő ruin pub and cluttered with teddy bears,…

  • Csendes Társ

    Budapest

    In fair weather this little cafe called the 'Silent Partner' sets up a terrace around the gates of peaceful Károlyi kert and serves coffee, wine and light…

  • Blue Tomato

    Budapest

    This big boozer known as the 'Plum Blue Tomato' in Hungarian is like something out of the old American sitcom Cheers, especially the ground-floor bar and…

  • Pántlika

    Budapest

    For a place housed in a communist-era kiosk dating back to the 1970s with a bizarre flyaway roof, this DJ bar and cafe is very hip and has a great terrace…

  • Varosliget Café

    Budapest

    This popular cafe by the edge of the lake in City Park dating back to 1895 is a great place to relax, watch rowers on the lake and have a coffee or…

  • DiVino Borbár

    Budapest

    Central and always heaving, DiVino is Budapest's most popular wine bar, as the crowds spilling out onto the square in front of the Basilica of St Stephen…

  • Steamhouse Cafe

    Castle District

    This lovely new cafe on the top floor of the one-time Batthyány tér covered market takes its coffee very seriously indeed, with blends from Colombia to…

  • Auguszt Cukrászda

    Budapest

    Not the original branch of this 'august' 1870 institution, but it is the most central and convenient one. Take a seat within the opulent interior and…

  • Hippie Island

    Budapest

    This throwback thirsty, with flowers in its hair, peace signs emblazoned on the walls and cringy slogans ('Don't worry, feel hippie') is a comfortable…

  • Kredenc Borbisztró

    Lake Balaton & Southern Transdanubia

    This family-run retro-style wine bar and bistro is a peaceful retreat near the lakefront. The menu is stacked with local wines, and the owner is often on…

  • B8 Pub

    Budapest

    A favourite new watering hole in Buda, this pint-sized pub (though there are three tiny floors) has some 55 craft beers available from Hungary's five…

  • Karolina

    Lake Balaton & Southern Transdanubia

    One of the most popular places in town to grab a drink or a quick bite (dishes 1200Ft to 3100Ft), Karolina is a sophisticated cafe-bar with live music…

  • Terv Presszó

    Budapest

    Dating back to 1854, 'Plan' (as in the communist five-year variety) is a retro-style cafe-bar on two levels, decorated with photographs of Hungarian…

  • Oscar American Bar

    Castle District

    The decor is cinema-inspired (Hollywood memorabilia on the wood-panelled walls, leather director's chairs) and the beautiful crowd often act like they’re…

  • Karavella

    Pécs

    With a curiously boat-shaped wooden ceiling, this snug bar provides a safe haven for lovers of good beer. Apart from craft beers from all over Hungary,…

  • Kertem

    Budapest

    At the southern end of City Park, Kertem is a wonderful beer garden, filled with multicoloured chairs and trees strung with fairy lights. By day it's an…

  • Bereg Bar & Cafe

    Castle District

    Located in Swan House, a remarkable example of Hungarian 'organic architecture', this friendly place welcomes 'wanderers, lovers, artists' and more. There…

  • Cooltour Café

    Pécs

    Cooltour embodies so many cool things it's hard to choose what we love best. It's a ruin pub, yet it's open all day, making it fine for both coffee and…

  • Zhao Zhou

    Castle District

    Anyone who takes their chai very seriously would be advised to visit this 'tea shop and lab' whose owner sources the best and most exotic leaves from…

  • Paris Texas

    Budapest

    One of the original bars on the IX Ráday utca nightlife strip, this place has a coffeehouse feel to it with old sepia-tinted photos on the walls and pool…

  • Nappali Bar

    Pécs

    Nappali is one of the hippest gathering spots in town for a coffee or a glass of wine. Its outdoor seating fills up on warm, lazy evenings, and there's…

  • Tüke Borház

    Pécs

    This wine bar tucked away in a stone house in the hills above Pécs offers a fantastic selection of local wines served by gracious and knowledgable staff…

  • 1000 Tea

    Budapest

    In a small courtyard off lower Váci utca, this is the place to go if you want to sip a soothing blend made by tea-serious staff and relax in a Japanese…

  • Calgary Antik Bár

    Óbuda & Buda Hills

    This teensy bar just over Margaret Bridge, which opened a quarter-century ago, hides an Aladdin’s Cave. It's filled to bursting with antiques and a host…

  • Fekete

    Budapest

    Squeeze into this minute coffee shop (there's just a bar to perch at and tables in the quiet open-air inner courtyard), where you can sample well-poured,…

  • Raqpart

    Budapest

    Covered decks below the southern foot of Széchenyi Chain Bridge on the Pest side form the more sophisticated (but less fun) of Pest's two new fair-weather…

  • LA Bodegita

    Budapest

    The Caribbean-style food here is missable, but you should definitely taste master mixologist András Lajsz's incomparable American-style (hi, LA!)…

  • Filter

    Pécs

    'Drinking coffee is sexy' says the sign outside this thimble-sized place. We agree. Is this a cafe? A wine bar? A bit of both, actually, with carefully…

  • Kaleidoszkóp Ház

    Esztergom

    This cafe-cum-cultural centre in Watertown, with mix-and-match furnishings, a steady stream of events and a shop selling a rare mix of must-have non…

  • Farger Kávé

    Budapest

    This modern cafe is among the leafiest in Pest thanks to an ingenious 'urban gardening' plan and has first-rate views of Szabadság tér through the foliage…

  • Jovialis

    Szentendre

    Our favourite cafe in Szentendre is an ultramodern and very comfortable affair attached to the Margit Kovács Ceramic Collection. The staff are fonts of…

  • Ötkert

    Budapest

    A popular drinking spot in the week with indoor and outdoor spaces (including a cool central courtyard), the 'Five Garden' ('five' as in district V)…

  • Cortado Gastrobar

    Eger

    As much a Latin cocktail bar as a cafe (with Has Bean Bolivian and Ethiopian coffee) and a place for fancy burgers (1890Ft to 2490Ft), Cortado Gastrobar…

  • Double Shot

    Budapest

    With an unfinished, grungy look, and break-your-neck stairs to the small seating area upstairs, this thimble-sized coffee shop is serious about java. The …

  • Vörös Oroszlán Teaház

    Budapest

    This serene place with quite a mouthful of a name just north of Liszt Ferenc tér is rather serious about its teas (940Ft to 1590Ft). Climb up the stairs…

  • Dürer Kert

    Budapest

    A very relaxed open space and club with multiple rooms opposite the southern edge of City Park, Dürer Kert boasts some of the best DJs on the ‘garden’…

  • Bambi Eszpresszó

    Castle District

    Named after a communist-era local soft drink, Bambi has hardly changed since the 1960s and that’s just the way the clientele here likes it. Friendly…

  • Vivamus Borharapó

    Lake Balaton & Southern Transdanubia

    This atmospheric cellar below Anna Grand Hotel serves an excellent selection of local wines, along with meat-and-cheese plates to go with the tipples.

  • Habroló

    Budapest

    Named after a flaky rolled pastry, this welcoming neighbourhood gay bar on ‘Beautiful St’ (could it be anywhere else?) is a cafe with a tiny mezzanine…

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