During cold winter months Budapest's drinking and partying scene descends into the bars and pubs deep in the smoky cellars. We prefer open-air places but then again you can't sit in a snow-covered garden on Margaret Island in -10 degrees Celsius.
Castro Bistro
Castro Bistro right in the centre of Budapest is a lively place decorated in Cuban style. Apart from reasonably priced drinks they serve Balkan food such as pleskavica and čevapčiči. Our advice is: stay away from the food, it's extremely disappointing (the meat is dry, hard and tasteless). Castro's chef is allegedly from Serbia so he should have known how to make a proper pleskavica unless he came to Budapest because his cooking skills are not good enough to succeed at home.
Location: Pest VII, Madách Imre tér 3. Transport: metro M1, M2 or M3 (Deák Ferenc tér).
Sirály
Sirály is an artistic café which transforms itself into a lively pub in the evenings. An ideal place for an afternoon coffee (bring your laptop to surf the web for free) or evening party. If ground floor is packed, check the first and second floors. Sirály often holds theatre performances and concerts.
Location: Pest VI, Király utca 50. Transport: tram 4, 6 (Király utca). Web: www.siraly.co.hu
Vittula
Dark Vittula in a small cellar accessible via very steep staircase (only god knows how many drunken patrons have rolled down the stairs!) is a sort of an alternative place owned by a foreigner. It is characterised by unusual music, low prices of drinks, thick cigarette smoke and patrons romaing around the place in all imaginable psychological states.
Location: Petta VII, Kertész utca 4. Transport: metro M2 (Blaha Lujza tér), tram 4, 6 (Blaha Lujza tér). Web: www.vittula.hu
Szóda Café
Szóda is an unpretentious bar characterized by simple tables and chairs, the ceiling decorated with drawings, discreet reddish lightning, free wireless Internet and a legendary bottle of soda on every table. Those with extra energy can descend into the cellar to dance.
Location: Pest VIII, Wesselény utca 18. Transport: metro M1, M2, M3 (Deák Ferenc tér), Web: www.szoda.com
Bar and pub areas
If you don't have a particular bar or pub in mind it is best to head to one of the areas with the greatest concentration of bars and pubs in Budapest, such as:
Liszt Ferenc tér
Liszt Ferenc tér near the busy Oktogon intersection, the opera
house and the music academy comes alive every evening, especially
during summer when several dozens of bars, pubs and restaurants arrange
their tables over the entire square. Liszt Ferenc tér tends to be on the
itinerary of most travellers and well-off locals which pushes the prices
up.
Location: Pest VI. Transport: metro M1 (Oktogon), tram 4, 6 (Oktogon).
Ráday utca
Ráday utca miraculously sprang up in the middle of generally scruffy 9th
District. It is lined up with plethora of bars, pubs and restaurants.
We visited several places at Ráday utca but none of them made it to our
favourite drinking places list so we don't go to Ráday utca very often
any more. It is also kind of out of the way compared to Liszt Ferenc tér.
However, if you are staying in one of the nearby hotels, such as Ibis Budapest Centrum, Mercure Budapest Korona or Best Western Hotel Art, then Ráday utca would be your most convenient place to get a couple of drinks in the evening.
Location: Pest IX. Transport: metro M3 (Kálvin tér), tram 47, 49 (Kálvin tér).
Hajós utca
Compared to Liszt Ferenc tér Hajós utca just behind the opera
house is less pretentious and more laid-back. There are not many bars
and pubs on Hajós utca but some find its atmosphere more enjoyable compared
to the nearby Liszt Ferenc tér.
Location: Pest VI. Transport: metro M1 (Opera), M3 (Arany János utca).