Eating, Drinking & Having Fun in Budapest This December

From midday brunching to late-night carousing, our December gastro guide offers you a wealth of experiences for the last, most festive month of the year. 

Brunch: Lara Café

Breakfast being the most important meal of the day, the Party District’s Lara Café ensures that even the laziest late risers can get their much-needed calories in, offering a combination of sweet and savoury baked goods and eggy dishes (from Eggs Benedict to English breakfast) every day from 8AM to 4PM in a warm and friendly environment. The menu also features specialty coffees, smoothies, and freshly squeezed juices. Are you on a special diet? Worry not, Lara Café has a variety of gluten-free, vegan, and paleo options, including cakes, salads, and porridges.

Fotó: Németh Kriszinta – Egy jó kép rólad

1072 Budapest, Akácfa utca 12.

Holiday Fare: SZÉK Restaurant & Bar

Neighbouring the luxurious art nouveau building of the Paris Department Store, you’ll find the one and only Transylvanian gourmet restaurant in Budapest, SZÉK on Andrássy Avenue. Inspired by the flavours and landscape of beautiful Transylvania, SZÉK strives to introduce the people of the city the authentic meals of the region with a modern twist. In some cases, even the ingredients come from Transylvania: the Harghita plate, for example, boasts the most delicious hams, sausages, and aromatic cheeses of the Székely land. This holiday season, SZÉK welcomes guests with special offers, open even on 24, 25, 26, 31 December and 1 January.

1061 Budapest, Andrássy út 41.

Rooftop Bar: 360 Bar Igloo Garden

True to its name, this secret hideaway gives you a top-notch view over the inner-city rooftops and the Buda Hills, accompanied by an impressive selection of signature cocktails, a wide range of wines, and a scrumptious line-up of international flavours, including Swiss cheese fondue, grilled Hungarian sausages, and ratatouille. Even better, you can now enjoy all of these in the warm embrace of a giant heated igloo! Igloos can be booked for two hours for a maximum of 10 people via the bar’s website or Facebook Messenger.

1061 Budapest, Andrássy út 39.

Daily Menu: Gettó Gulyás

Found on one of the main streets of Budapest’s Jewish District, Gettó Gulyás offers an unpretentious selection of classic Hungarian dishes, its menu focusing on the hearty, meaty side of Magyar cooking. You’ll find a colourful variety of pörkölts (stews) here, with veal, chicken, rooster testicles, beef, deer, catfish, beans and mushrooms as their primary ingredients, garnished with nokedli dumplings and the pickles of your choice. In case you’re on a budget but still would like to get a taste of authentic Hungarian cooking, their wallet-friendly daily menus will be right up your alley!

1077 Budapest, Wesselényi utca 18.

Vegetarian: Greenhabit

Located at the Váli street entrance of Buda’s Allee Shopping Mall, Greenhabit is the place of guilt-free hedonism, a verdant refuge of exhausted shoppers where you don’t have to make a compromise between healthy and fast food. Offering an eye-catching line-up of vegetarian, vegan, and meat dishes tailored to your personal preference, Greenhabit’s protein-packed platters, veggie-heavy bowls, and crunchy flatbreads are not just good for your body, they’re also seriously addictive!

1117 Budapest, Október huszonharmadika utca 8-10.

Live Music: Pompás Budapest

Born from the collaboration between a doctor, two lawyers, and an entrepreneur who auctioned for neighbouring properties, Pompás Budapest awaits guests with a wide array of amenities, from yummy bagels and prime pick-me-ups to unique cocktail creations and the juiciest burgers in the area. In addition, Pompás (which identifies first and foremost as a social bar) also functions as a shop and event space, featuring the products of talented Hungarian designers, and hosting live jazz concerts every Wednesday evening from 7PM.

1096 Budapest, Thaly Kálmán utca 52.

Wine Bar: 0,75 bistro

A favourite hangout spot of Budapest’s secret wine connoisseur society, the snug and cosy 0,75 bistro is located right in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica, offering visitors a selection of drinks, including more than one hundred different wines, craft beers, whiskies, and a colourful cocktail assortment. Hungarian origin is preferred both in terms of the available wines and the main components of the dishes rolling out from 0,75’s kitchen, such as the robust wild boar stew, the classic chicken paprikash, or the heart-warmingly rich venison soup.

1051 Budapest, Szent István tér 6.

Cocktails: Boutiq’Bar

One of the first and most popular cocktail bars in the city is Paulay Ede Street’s small yet prestigious Boutiq’Bar. Established in 2008, the pioneering venue was named as one of the world’s 50 best bars in 2012 by the London-based Drink International magazine, described as Budapest’s cocktail Mecca. Whether you’d like to go for canonical classics like the Hanky Panky, the Vesper Martini, and the Flying Dutchman, or sip on new-fashioned drinks made from seasonal ingredients, the one-of-a-kind Boutiq’Bar is a great choice.

1061 Budapest, Paulay Ede utca 5.

This Month’s Favourite: Bubu Bubble Tea

There are now three places in Budapest where you can get your lips on Asia’s most popular drink specialty, which has been introduced to Hungary by none other than the Bubu Bubble Tea team. With 26 different flavours and an abundance of jelly beans, tapioca and fruit pearls to choose from, the combinations are seemingly endless! Their special and refreshing tea blends also provide some well-needed assistance in the battle against winter’s cold, while you can also make your own bubble teas at home, with ingredients and equipment purchased from Bubu’s online shop.

1052 Budapest, Petőfi Sándor utca 6.

1066 Budapest, Teréz körút 38.

1117 Budapest, Móricz Zsigmond körtér 16.