Quick ‘n’ Tasty: Black Cab Burger

Step into Black Cab Burger in Ferencváros and journey straight to London’s vibrant food scene. Savor premium beef, chicken, or salmon burgers customized to your exact taste, or indulge in their signature Cabbie Burger – a masterpiece of melted cheddar, spicy jalapeño, and crispy bacon that captures London’s bold culinary spirit. Fresh-cut chips fried in peanut oil pair perfectly with authentic Fuller’s beer or refreshing Crabbie’s ginger beer, completing this British experience. For variety seekers, their Frankfurt-style hot dogs provide another delicious avenue to explore, making this Budapest outpost a true destination for locals and tourists craving that unmistakable London street food magic.

1095 Budapest, Mester utca 46. | Website

Summer Refreshment: Bubu Bubble Tea

Escape the scorching summer heat with Bubu Bubble Tea – Budapest’s beloved Asian sensation that continues to define refreshment in the city’s gastro scene. Dive into their world of 26 vibrant flavors that perfectly capture summer’s essence, from tropical paradise to orchard freshness. Every sip becomes an adventure as you customize your creation with colorful jelly beans, chewy tapioca pearls, or bursting fruit bubbles – the possibilities are endless. Grab your favorite concoction to go and head straight to the poolside, or bring the bubble tea magic home with premium ingredients from Bubu’s online store!

1052 Budapest, Petőfi Sándor utca 6. // 1066 Budapest, Teréz körút 38. // 1117 Budapest, Móricz Zsigmond körtér 16. | Facebook

Downtown Oasis: VAJ Sas

Just steps from St. Stephen’s Basilica, VAJ Sas invites you to linger on their spacious, shade-dappled terrace or retreat to their stylishly cool interior – an urban oasis open daily throughout summer. Their commitment to craftsmanship defines every offering: freshly baked pastries with house-made fillings and sandwiches on signature sourdough, all created with premium ingredients transformed by skilled hands. Refresh yourself with vibrant house-made lemonades, iced teas, and juices, or discover their light-roast specialty coffee in cooling summer variations and artisanal kombuchas, perfect companions for languid days in Budapest’s elegant center.

1051 Budapest, Sas utca 2. | Website

Secret Garden: ARAZ

ARAZ Restaurant offers a refreshing alternative to the typical downtown dining experience. The establishment’s verdant inner terrace provides a welcome retreat from big city buzz while maintaining the district’s cosmopolitan atmosphere. Beginning June 24, Tuesday evenings feature a specialized grill menu showcasing expertly prepared octopus, rib-eye steak, traditional köfte, and succulent chicken breast – all prepared over open flame to enhance natural flavors. The restaurant’s Small Plate concept merits particular attention, presenting Hungarian culinary traditions through a contemporary lens in portions designed for exploration and sharing.

1074 Budapest, Dohány utca 42-44. | Website

Modern Tradition: Macesz Bistro

Looking for that perfect blend of tradition and trendiness? Macesz Bistro on Dob Street continues to be one of our favorite spots, maintaining its stylish ambiance while constantly refreshing its culinary offerings. Chef Ákos Tasnádi is working his magic in the kitchen, balancing grandmother-approved favorites (hello, perfect matzo ball soup and hearty cholent!) with contemporary seasonal stunners, like their vegan milk pudding topped with passion fruit and pistachio. Whether you’re a longtime fan or curious about Jewish cuisine, Macesz Bistro’s fresh take on beloved recipes makes it an essential stop on your culinary adventures this summer.

1072 Budapest, Dob utca 26. | Website

Gluten-Free Gluttony: Zelenák Sütiház

Zelenák Sütiház masterfully recreates classic Hungarian desserts without a trace of gluten – and yes, they taste just like the originals! All of the products are 100% gluten-free, and the thoughtfully curated shop also features a special selection of treats that are additionally free from dairy, sugar, and eggs. Their ever-changing seasonal specialties give you plenty of reasons to become a regular visitor. Whether you follow a specific diet or simply want desserts with less guilt, this patisserie delivers satisfaction for both your taste buds and your conscience.

1105 Budapest, Gitár utca 4. | Website

Make sure to check out these fun activities as well:

6 Ways to Soak Up Summer in Budapest

Summer is probably the most perfect season to experience Budapest like a local. It is a great time to step off the beaten path and explore the city from a less touristy perspective.

Funzine

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Grandma's Bread

Being one of the most widely consumed foods all around the world, bread was central to the formation of early societies. In Hungary, we celebrate the festival of new bread on 20 August. Thanks to an artisan Budapest bakery, Három Tarka Macska, we'll share a traditional bread recipe with you.

Ingredients

• 350 g wheat flour for bread stoneground, if possible
• 210 g water
• 8 g salt
• 200 g ripe leaven

Instructions

• In a large bowl, mix flour and water, stir to combine them well. Then knead it for 5 minutes.
• Cover the dough, leave it to rest for around 1 hour, then add the salt and the leaven, and knead again for 7-10 minutes until satin smooth and mildly soft.
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead slowly, forming a ball. Cover with clean cloth and leave it to rest for around 2 hours at room temperature. After the first hour, carefully fold the dough, after the second, form a round loaf and place it upside down in a heavily floured proofing basket.
• Put a thin layer of flour on top of the dough, and keep it covered for around 12 hours in 10-12°C. (Wine coolers are perfect for the purpose.)
• Before baking, preheat the oven to 240-250°C, and heat a thin tray on the lowest temperature.
• Take the dough out of the proofing basket, place it on wax paper on top of a tray, and decorate it with a knife, cutting a 2-3 cm deep cross on the surface. When baking, use the middle rack of your oven, and pour a glass of water into the tray so that enough steam is created for the bread baking process. Close the oven door and bake your bread for 40 minutes until dark brown.
• After baking, leave the bread to rest for 40 minutes at room temperature on a grid, so that its bottom can breathe too.

Három Tarka Macska

Opened in 2017, Három Tarka Macska (it translates to three mottled cats) is an artisan bakery working with a variety of carefully selected flour types. The assortment is very good: classics like fresh bread, cocoa rolls, croissants, loafs and delicious coffee are only the tip of the iceberg. Daily soups, lemonades, yogurts, non-alcoholic beverages, and many more quality bakery products are purchasable. Every bakery creation is hand-made on the spot, and while most ingredients come from Hungarian suppliers, the baguette flour comes straight from a French family mill under the name Bourgeois. They are open from 6.30 AM to 7.30 PM on weekdays, but you can visit them at the weekend too, at different opening hours. Home delivery is also available!

1137 Budapest, Pozsonyi út 41.

Artizán Budapest

Located in the heart of District V, Artizán Budapest is all about premium quality bakery products handmade with fresh, local ingredients. The baker team is led by Gergő Fekete who came back to Hungary in 2015 to launch his very own business after 12 years of working abroad in several restaurants and bakeries: Artizán Budapest has been providing Budapest locals with additive free delicacies ever since. There’s not enough space to praise all the products they make but once there, make sure to try their vanilla-cardamom roll and take their Bread of the Sun (flavoured with dill and feta cheese) home. Daily menus made from seasonal ingredients are also available.

1054 Budapest, Hold utca 3.

Pipacs Pékség

After experiencing the monotony of office jobs, Ádám, Márton and Máté – soon-to-be founders of Pipacs Pékség – decided to hit the road to France to learn everything about one of the oldest trades of all, bread making. For a few years, they worked as French bread bakers’ apprentices and returned to the old country to make long-fermented, craft breads from organic flour. Today their bakery situated in District III is open from Monday to Thursday, while on Saturdays you’ll find them at Mom Bio Market – just follow the heavenly freshly baked bread smell among the food stalls crammed with local produces. Milk loafs, croissants, pain au chocolat, sweet rolls, and waffles also entice the customers in Pipacs Pékség.

1037 Budapest, Bécsi út 267.

Pékesség

Set amid vintage treasures, Pékesség aims to evoke the flavours (and ambience) of the past with its artisan bakery products. In the Lajos utca venue founded by András Noszvai in late 2014, the smell of freshly roasted coffee, homemade ginger tea, and pastries that have just left the oven fills the air from 7 AM to 1 PM in summer (until 6 PM after 20 August). Although Pékesség puts special emphasis on traditions, it boasts an open kitchen where a baker and a confectioner work jointly on all kinds of eye-catching pies, scones, milk loafs, bundt cakes, and Linzer cookies that, when done, you’ll see on the packed shelves – and later on your plate.

1036 Budapest, Lajos utca 93-99.

Pékműhely

What makes a perfect loaf of bread? Pékműhely swears to premium quality flour, water, salt, sourdough, and a pinch of love. The family-run bakery was established in 2010 with the sole aim of kneading their grandparents’ enthusiasm and respect for the bread together until they get delicious and healthy craft breads. The Pékműhely team believes in using the best quality ingredients available on the market, so their supply is not that wide but it is for sure made with love. Do you fancy a cocoa roll with rum soaked cherries or a slice of salty potato bread? Head to any of the Pékműhely venues seen below to sate your hunger!

1015 Budapest, Batthyányi u. 24.
1114 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 15/b
1024 Budapest, Lövőház utca 7-9.