Where To Find Traditional Hungarian Food In Budapest

From shopping culinary souvenirs to the loveliest lángos in town, here’s where to savour the city’s finest traditional foods

Hearty, humble and consistently comforting, Hungarian cuisine is the definitive soul food. Whether it’s a meaty, paprika-infused goulash or cheese-laden lángos, these dishes are as warming as they are satisfying. Those seeking out authentic Hungarian food in Budapest are spoilt for choice. Join us on a culinary tour around its most charming markets, street food haunts and low-key restaurants.

Food Markets

A cavernous covered market on the Pest side of Liberty Bridge, Central Market Hall is where locals pick up their daily groceries. It’s a wonderland of prime Hungarian produce; crimson strings of paprika hang from one beam, batons of téliszalámi salami from another. Wander through the 19th-century hall’s endless stalls to discover freshly baked pogácsa (potato-stuffed pastries), home-jarred pickles and mountains of seasonal fruit and vegetables. Don’t leave without picking up a souvenir bottle of lethal local tipple pálinka.

Budapest’s ruin bars are legendary; once abandoned buildings transformed into ultra-hip party spots. In the wake of its weekend revellers, the city’s first and most famous ruin bar, Szimpla Kert, sets up a farmers’ market on Sunday morning. Local producers flock here to sell wares such as hand-harvested honey, hot-from-the-oven pastries, organic seasonal fruit and, of course, freshly brewed coffee for a swift wake-up.