Budapest surprised us in so many ways. The sights were more awesome than we expected, the people were more friendly than we anticipated, the sweets exceeded my wildest dreams, and Beer in Budapest did not disappoint! Budapest was markedly the end of the “wine phase” of our European adventure. From this point out, things definitely shifted over to a Beer focus. Kevin was ecstatic. In his words, “About freaking time!”
Budapest is every beer-lover’s playground. The Craft Beer scene is absolutely going nuts there right now! You almost can’t walk anywhere without stumbling past a craft beer bar or bottle shop, which is dangerous for my liver, but wonderful in a city where you have to pay $1 to use public restrooms. I’d rather pay for a $2 beer!
I’m not sure I’d even call Budapest’s craft beer scene young anymore – there are far too many breweries for that now. But even though it has matured and really become a fun part of the city, the beer is still incredibly inexpensive! In this post, I’ll take you in a photo tour of a few of our favorite bars and bottle shops in Budapest.
The bars below are ordered in the same way you should consume your beers and wines: the best first, and the less exciting stuff later. Cheers!
Élesztő Bar
By far our favorite spot in Budapest for beer is Élesztő Bar. Élesztő is the Hungarian word for yeast, so they get points with me for being clever. Élesztő is technically a ruin pub, which means it was opened up in a building that may otherwise have been left abandoned or demolished. That means one thing: ambiance. Élesztő is enormous, with a giant, awesome outdoor area and even more indoor space.
Peering into the Élesztő courtyard. This is such a fun place to sit and enjoy a beer when it’s nice outside.
The only bad thing about Élesztő is its location. It’s a bit of a hike from the tourist core of Budapest, but is totally worth the walk or the cost of taking a tram. Anything in Budapest seems to take an hour to walk to anyway, and I’m promising you great beer at the end of the walk. Clearly, you must go.
Inside the Élesztő, where all the magic happens. (I’m talking about the magic of pouring beers.)
There are TWENTY ONE BEER TAPS at Élesztő. That’s right. TWENTY ONE. We had our work cut out for us. Luckly, you can get small sizes of every beer, and most beers are priced so that you’re not saving money by ordering the large size. I liked that, because I didn’t feel like we were wasting money to try more of a variety of beers.
Look at that beer list!!
We focused on beers that were from Hungarian Breweries, but you can find beers here from all over Europe.
Left: Propaganda Pilsner. Right: Pineapple Noir Saison.
Left: Sorostyen Red Lager (Yum). Right: Mosaic in Black Porter.
The Facts:
- Élesztő Location: 1094 Budapest, Tűzoltó utca 22
- Élesztő Hours: Daily 3pm-3am
- Élesztő Facebook Site
- Élesztő Website
Csak a Jó Sör (Only Good Beer)
The first thing you should learn when arriving in Budapest is that the Hungarian word for Beer is Sör. Once you know that, you can handle anything. Our favorite stop to buy bottled beer in all of Budapest was an awesome little bottle shop called Csak a Jó Sör, which translates to Only Good Beer.
We tried a couple of the beers they had on tap and weren’t very impressed. You actually get a lot more bang for your “Forint” (Hungarian currency) when you buy bottles, so we recommend focusing on those.
Beers on tap at Csak a Jó Sör. Kevin had the Citron IPA and I ordered the Coffee Porter. I’m STILL experiencing a coffee buzz from how much coffee they put in this puppy. TOO MUCH COFFEE.
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- The tap list at Csak a Jó Sör is always changing.
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- If you’re homesmick for American beers, they have you covered! There were TONS of Sierra Nevada, Anderson Valley, etc.
Kevin took the opportunity to try as many Belgian beers as he could while we were in Budapest. Most bottles were $3 or less, which is WAY more reasonable than anything you’d pay for Belgian beer in the States.
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- Checkin’ out the bottled beer selection at Csak a Jó Sör.
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- Bottled deliciousness at Csak a Jó Sör.
A few of the Belgian beers Kevin enjoyed from Csak a Jó Sör:
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- Rochefort 8
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- St. Bernardus
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- Rochefort 10
Yum.
The Facts:
- Csak a Jó Sör Location: 1072 Budapest, Kertész utca 42-44
- Csak a Jó Sör Hours: Monday-Saturday 2pm-9pm. Closed Sunday.
- Csak a Jó Sör Website
Schimpla Kert Ruin Pub
For ambiance alone, this puppy is ranked #3 with us. Élesztő was our first ruin pub, but Schimpla is decidedly more ruin-like. I’m pretty sure that most of their furniture has been scavenged from the side of the road or from junk yards, but it actually lends the space a really fun vibe and looks pretty cool! Schimpla is located in the Jewish Quarter of Budapest, so it’s really easy to reach for most tourists. We definitely categorize this as a not-to-be-missed stop on your beer tour of the city.
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- The inside of Schimpla when you first walk in.
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- Walk around and explore the whole bar – it’s fun to see what you’ll find.
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- Scavenged and DIY are buzzwords in this bar.
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- And there is this creepy guy. This would scare the bejeezus out of me at night in the dark!
We weren’t super excited about the drinks we ordered, but that’s ok. You’re there for the experience.
Kevin’s dark beer, my cider, and a shot of Unicum, Hungary’s most famous (and most disgusting) liquor.
Unicum has been described to be “like Jagermeister, but with a distinctly stronger flavor”. Excellent… Everyone says you have to try it, so we clearly did…
…and here’s what Kevin thought of it.
The best part of Schimpla is their awesome outdoor area. You can even sit in a car-turned-dining-table!
The outdoor area of Schipmla, with the old converted car.
Schimpla even serves food, if you’re there when the kitchen is open.
The Facts:
- Schimpla Location: 1075 Budapest, Kazinczy utca 14
- Schimpla Hours: Daily noon-4am
- Schimpla Website
Hopfanatic
Hopfanatic Pub in Budapest
If you’re craving an IPA, head to Hopfanatic, as that’s just about all they brew. They have 10 beers on tap, most of which are IPAs or Pale Ales. They also had a Porter on tap.
Beers on tap at Hopfanatic.
The bartenders aren’t very friendly or knowledgable at Hopfanatic, but that’s not why you go. You go to Hopfanatic because of their awesome urinals:
Why don’t we have urinals like these in the States? It’s almost cool enough to put in my house. Almost.
The Facts:
- Hopfanatic Location: 1067 Budapest, Hunyadi tér 11
- Hopfanatic on Tripadvisor
Léhűtő, a bar for the Hipsters
Every city has a gathering place for hipsters. There’s Brooklyn in NYC, Capitol Hill in Seattle, and the Pearl District in Portland. I’m not trying to call anyone out here – I love skinny jeans and mustaches as much as the next person, and usually these neighborhoods are among my favorites. I just think it’s amazing how an entire area can feel like it falls into this category. In Budapest, the hipster neighborhood is the Jewish Quarter, and the epicenter seems to be Léhűtő.
Léhűtő, a fun little bar in the Jewish Quarter of Budapest.
Their beers are a bit pricier than what we found elsewhere, but they’ve got a huge selection and the bartender was nice enough to help us pick our poison. Added bonus? This bar is easy to find and close to the tourist core of Budapest.
The Facts:
- Léhűtő Location: 1076 Budapest, Holló utca 12-14
- Léhűtő hours: Opens daily at 4pm. Closes Fri/Sat at 4am, Sun/Mon at Midnight, and Tues-Thurs at 2am.
- Lehuto on Foursquare
Unconventional Drinking
One of the greatest things about Europe is that you can drink almost anywhere! There are no fenced off beer gardens here, no one is waiting to give you a citation for holding a beer on the street, and it’s borderline acceptable to BYOB on a train ride. If I’m being honest, I think a more casual attitude towards drinking by a culture as a whole makes kids less likely to sneak alcohol and overdo things. Drinking is not something that is forbidden; it’s something you do socially and responsibly with friends. It’s ok for kids to see that!
Let me set my soapbox aside and show you some of Budapest’s finest unconventional drinking spots.
Drinking at a VW Beer Van!
Budapest’s VW Beer Van.
If you ever find yourself at a festival in Budapest, look for the cute little blue Kézmüves Sör VW van selling pints of beer!
Kevin ordering up a pint.
Nothing beats drinking a delicious dark wheat beer next to an old-ass castle.
We stumbled onto the beer van by sheer dumb luck, and you should certainly stop for a drink if you happen to find it. If you speak Hungarian (or arm yourself with Google Translate and some patience) you might be able to figure out where they are from the Kézmüves Sör Website. Good luck.
Drinking in City Park
One of our favorite places to sit and enjoy a beer was in City Park, which is essentially Budapest’s answer to NYC’s Central Park. We were staying in an apartment only a few blocks away, and took every chance we got to soak up some sun while enjoying a German hefeweisen.
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- Beers in City Park.
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- Enjoying a beer at one of City Park’s outdoor bar/cafe spots.
If you find yourself in City Park, wander around, you’ll find a bar eventually. There’s even one in an old repurposed railroad car in the NE corner of the park!
Drinking while Biking
Especially huge in Budapest is “Beers on Wheels”, the drink-while-you-pedal bars rolling all over the city. You bike to power the cart, and a bartender will keep your beer topped up. I’m not sure who mans the steering wheel.
Drink while you get your exercise in Budapest.
The downside? It doesn’t seem like you can book just a couple spots in one of these moving bars. You need to be traveling with a group and have to book out the whole thing.
Drinking on Trains
Remember when I said it’s borderline acceptable to drink on a train? I’m not sure it’s 100% legal, but locals won’t bat an eye. The best way to make a several-hour train ride from Budapest to Vienna fly by is to BYOB. Trust us, you won’t regret it.
Enjoying some cider with my lunch on the train to Vienna.
We Want to Hear From You!
Where in the world did you have your most memorable beer/wine/cocktail? Mine will forever be Oktoberfest in Munich in 2012, but we just got home from Prague which was also awesome. (Posts on Prague to come soon!)
Leave us a comment to let us know!
Heading there tomorrow, thanks for sharing!!
Nice quick survey of the beer scene in Budapest. Some corrections/updates: Hopfanatic is closed, Ogre Bacsi Pub opened in its place, owned by Szent András Brewery. (a early craft brewer in HU) Don’t go there for hoppy beers though. Szimpla (pronounced SEEM plah) is the grandaddy of the ruin pubs. Many different beers are served there now. Rizsmajer, another longtime craft brewer owns that VW bus.They have a pub now at the busy Blaha Lujza square. In the city park (Varosliget) you drank at Pantlika. The building is a socialist-era award winning design because it is shaped like a five-pointed red star from its overhead view. The railway car bar in the NE corner has been bulldozed and much of the park is a construction zone to build a bunch of museums
Vladimir, thanks so much for these updates! We’ll be sure to refer to your comment next time we return to Budapest. Cheers!
Oh yeah. The beer bikes are pretty much outlawed from operating many of the Budapest districts where tourists frequent.