The best places for street food in Budapest

What is it? Budapest’s main and multi-faceted street-food hub sits right by classic ruin bar Szimpla in the heart of the party zone. Occupying a former car park, this ten-outlet open courtyard covers most bases without sinking to the lowest common denominator. There’s no pizza, for example.

Why we love it ‘Come hungry, come open-minded!’ runs the motto. While giving first-time visitors the chance to sample classic Hungarian fare such as lángos and kürtőskalács, Karaván also offers top-quality burgers, Asian and Mexican delights.

Time Out tip: Little sister of the popular 101 Bistro on Széll Kálmán tér and cousin of the more recently opened outlet at Time Out Market Budapest, 101 Bao concentrates on five prime examples of the steamed-bun genre, most notably the signature confit of prime pork marinated in soy sauce.

Address: Kazinczy utca 18, 1075 Budapest

Opening hours: Daily 11.30am-midnight

What is it? Deservingly showcased at Time Out Market Budapest, Tuning are pioneers of premium burgers in Hungary and a consistent crowd favourite in the heart of District VII.

Why we love it The patties made from meat aged for up to two to three weeks, the sauces created according to their own recipes and the artisanal buns provide a divine taste experience. The range includes wagyu, Hungarian grey cattle, Hortobágy Angus and Omaha beef.

Time Out tip: Cult classics include the mango chutney, the truffle foie gras, the umami and the award-winning Leicester burger.

Address: Akácfa utca 45, 1072 Budapest

Opening hours: Mon-Wed 5pm-11pm, Thur noon-11pm, Fri-Sun noon-11.30pm

Expect to pay: Grey-cattle burgers start at Ft 3,990 (€10), Angus versions at Ft 4,590 (€11.60) and wagyu at Ft 9,120 (€23.20). Side dishes range from Ft 1,390-1,890 (€3.50-4.80-), desserts from Ft 2,000 (€5)

What is it? Serving high-quality vegan burgers, pastas, salads and sandwiches, this popular spot near Margaret Bridge appeals to a customer base of urban professionals and young mums in this trendy locality of Újlipótváros.

Why we love it Tökmag (‘Pumpkin Seed’) uses prime, seasonal ingredients sourced as locally as possible, sticking to its principles while producing delicious daytime delights.

Time Out tip: Don’t be afraid to ask – burgers are also available in gluten-free and whole-grain versions.

Address: Hollán Ernő utca 5, 1136 Budapest

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 11am-8pm, Sun 11am-7pm

Expect to pay: Beetroot burger Ft 5,900 (€15). Green pesto pasta with sun-dried tomatoes Ft 4,700 (€12)

What is it? Roman-style pizza squares with enticing toppings have been served by the Bartolomeo brothers, Paolo and Enrico, since 2014. During that time, Budapest has become awash with pizza places, many equipped with ovens to produce the Neapolitan-style version. Pizzica feels consistently fresh and lively.

Why we love it As well as regularly changing its toppings, created with premium ingredients, Pizzica feels real, both in its spiky soundtrack and in its urban décor. Tats and leather are shown to the fore when it’s time for the Bartolomeo boys to pose for another Facebook pic – this is no bland chain overseen by bored employees.

Time Out tip: Reach for a bottle of infused olive oil from the shelf before you close the cutesy box containing your slices – it makes all the difference.

Address: Nagymező utca 21, 1065 Budapest

Opening hours: Mon-Thur 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11am-midnight. Cloxed Sun

Expect to pay: Pizzica selection of 4 squares Ft 3,590 (€9.35). Mushroom & truffle pizza Ft 3,590 (€9.35)

What is it? Catering for the eworking-week, LEVES. (‘SOUP.’) serves a selection of five nutritious soups a day, in sturdy, eco-friendly cups, along with toasted sandwiches and the ever-present, crowd-pleasing dessert, rice pudding.

Why we love it Depending on your tastes, you can have a different delicious soup for every day of the week, examples from a recent menu including autumn cream of pumpkin with ginger, rosemary and garlic, Sri-Lankan dhal curry with lentils, coconut milk and coriander, and Thai chicken with mushrooms and green beans.

Time Out tip: If you’re superhungry, go for the menu option of a soup and sandwich.

Address: Vámház körút 14, 1056 Budapest

Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9am-4pm. Closed Sat-Sun

Expect to pay: Soups Ft 2,090 (€5.45). Toasted sandwiches Ft 990 (€2.60). Rice pudding Ft 1,290 (€3.35)

What is it? This former classic lángos stand at Arany János utca metro station has managed to adapt to its closure by setting up at a terrace restaurant space opposite and creating a mini-chain of two outlets, the other just off Szabadság tér on Vécsey utca. Retro has also stretched the genre dramatically to cater to the requirements of its mainly foreign clientele.

Why we love it It’s not only the range of lángos on offer – sheeps’ cheese with sausage and spring onion, tzatziki chicken – but the quality of the lángos itself, not heavy or greasy, comfort food without the heavy feeling afterwards.

Time Out tip: For stuffed lángos (BBQ pulled pork, cabbage, chicken), head round to the Vécsey utca branch.

Addresses: Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 25, 1065 Budapest; Vécsey utca 3, 1054 Budapest

Opening hours: Daily 11am-10pm

Expect to pay: Sour cream and cheese with red onion Ft 3,290 (€8.40). BBQ pulled pork Ft 5,190 (€13.25)

What is it? With its launch in 2013, ZING was one of the pioneers of Hungarian street food. Today, they oversee more than 15 locations.

Why we love it They mix their own sauces, bake their buns from a special kalács dough and process the meat themselves. This way, you can be sure that the burgers only contain ingredients that you can find in your own kitchen. In addition, ZING's transparent and family-friendly approach, as well as its consistency in using premium ingredients, make them a real street-food favourite.

Time Out tip: ZING's top picks – Street, Smokey BBQ, Guitar Hero and Hungry Hipster – are all made with premium Angus beef patties, straight from the farm at Balatonfenyves.

Main addresses: Kálvin tér, Nyugati station, Király utca 20

Opening hours: Vary according to location, usually 11am-11pm

Expect to pay: Burgers Ft 2,450-4,450 (€6.25-11.30), side dishes Ft 790-1,590 (€2-4)

What is it? Famously one of only three places the laste Anthony Bourdain patronised during his flying visit to Budapest in 2015, Belvárosi Disznótoros harks back to the timeless Hungary of rural pig-slaughtering and few-frills butcher’s shops with stand-up dining.

Why we love it This could be 1975... Half a century later, albeit behind a slightly jazzier shopfront, it still fills the bellies of steadfast carnivores with top-quality sausages and sundry meaty delights. Preparation and presentation are as simple as they need to be. Welcome to Hungary.

Time Out tip: Whatever you opt for, don’t skimp on the accompaniments, the pickles, the red cabbage or the horseradish.

Address: Károlyi utca 17, 1053 Budapest

Opening hours: Mon-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 11am-5pm. Closed Sun

Expect to pay: Crispy duck leg Ft 2,700 (€7). Blood sausage Ft 1,700 (€4.40)

What is it? Set on busy Kazinczy utca alongside key ruin bar Szimpla, Bors is known for its soups, whose quality invariably generates a queue spilling onto the street from the modest interior. The enviable location also helps with footfall, of course.

Why we love it They change the menu daily, so you can always expect a surprise. The daily specials on offer – sketched on blackboards outside – show commendable creativity and encourage repeat custom.

Time Out tip: Making an appearance alongside your standard gazpacho and vegetable varieties are Hungarian specialities such as fruit soups in spring, but the real draw here are the wacky ones – think Nutella pancakes, Raffaello chocolate and Black Forest gâteau.

Address: Kazinczy utca 10, 1075 Budapest

Opening hours: Mon-Thur, Sun 11.30am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11.30am-10pm

Expect to pay: Soups Ft 2,080 (€5.40). Grilled baguettes Ft 2,850 (€7.40)

What is it? The Bamba Marha burger bar opened its first outlet in the summer of 2015 at Oktogon under the stewardship of burger fanatic János Jancsa, and since then they have expanded to more than ten additional locations.

Why we love it All of their ingredients are fresh and domestic: the buns arrive daily from local bakeries, the patties are made from Hungarian beef and the vegetables are also provided fresh by nearby suppliers. The burgers are only baked to order and they are characterised by simple seasoning – just salt and pepper – so that the taste of the beef dominates. The burgers are accompanied by award-winning brews from Budapest’s First Craft Beer, and if you’re thirsty for something non-alcoholic, you can choose from the small-scale cordials from Valaha Tanya.

Time Out tip: Every Bamba Marha branch has at least one exclusive burger, which is only available at that particular location. Check them out!

Addresses: Árkád, Kolosy tér, Oktogon, Bazilika, Deák Ferenc tér, Astoria, Széll Kálmán tér, Westend, Ferenciek tere, Corvin Plaza and Allee

Opening hours: Vary according to location, usually 11am-10pm

Expect to pay: Basic burgers Ft 2,790-3,790 (€7-9.60), special, extra meaty or seasonal Ft 3,290-4,190 (€8.30-10.60). Side dishes Ft 790-1,890 (€2-4.80), desserts, including churros, from Ft 990 (€2.50)

What is it? The city’s longest-established outlet of its kind, Budapest Bägel sits in a hub of bars and food outlets in the student quarter by Kálvin tér metro station. This end of Baross utca is pedestrianised, so you can find a suitable spot to sit and devour your bagel if all the tables inside and out are taken.

Why we love it Duck liver pâté, pulled beef, mortadella and Serrano ham – there’s far more here than just the basic cream-cheese-and-cucumber at the top of the menu. The coffee is decent and the hot chocolate comes courtesy of Mörk from Melbourne.

Time Out tip: Ask staff about gluten-free bagels – and don’t skimp on napkins, the omelette option can get pretty messy!

Address: Baross utca 4, 1084 Budapest

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 8.30am-5pm, Sun 9am-5pm

Expect to pay: Mortedella bagel with oven-baked tomato and pistachio Ft 2,650 (€6.90). Brie-and-bacon bagel Ft 2,750 (€7.20)

What is it? This ten restaurant-strong food court near Keleti station brings together Thai, Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Vietnamese kitchens in one location. It’s more of a sit-down place than eat-on-the-street, but all outlets have takeaway trays and cutlery if you need.

Why we love it Carnivores, vegetarians and pescatarians can pretty much find what they want at Asian Street Food, quick, slick and affordable.

Time Out tip: Leave room for the shaved ice delights at Hua Fu – mango, chocolate and pistachio, among others.

Address: Thököly út 18, 1076 Budapest

Opening hours: Tue-Sun 11am-9pm. Closed Mon

What is it? A prime outlet for that Transylvanian speciality of chimney cake, Molnár’s on Budapest’s main shopping street is a notch above the manifold competition in the city centre. It also has a smart interior, so you can sit down, get messy and clean up again, ideal if you have kids in tow.

Why we love it The range of flavours – raspberry, pistachio, almond, coconut, chocolate – beats most places and they serve coffee, too, so it

Time Out tip: Molnár’s also an ice-cream parlour, so you can combine your twist of sugary dough with a large helping of vanilla

Address: Vaci utca 31, 1052 Budapest

Opening hours: Daily 9am-8pm

Expect to pay: Regular chimney cake (cinnamon, walnut, almond, coconut, chocolate, poppy-seed) Ft2,200 (€5.70). Chimney cake with ice cream Ft 2,400/3,000 (€6.25-7.80)

What is it? Black Cab Burger is one of the city's revered oldies, and its Mester utca location has been a local favourite for years.

Why we love it Black Cab stands out among the many burger joints in Budapest for its combination of quality ingredients and friendly atmosphere. If you want to eat a carefully prepared burger in a relaxed environment, this is the place to go. The owner of the place was inspired by a London food truck, in front of which black cab drivers, policemen and paramedics would queue up hungry – and, as we all know, this is an excellent indicator of a good burger joint.

Time Out tip: One of the house specialities is the Cabbie burger, which can be ordered in regular and large sizes, even with double meat.

Address: Mester utca 46, 1095 Budapest

Opening hours: Daily 11.30am-10pm

Expect to pay: Burgers range from Ft 1,700-4,600 (€4.30-11.70), hot dogs start at Ft 1,600 (€4), fries Ft 900 (€2.30)

What is it? A mini version of nearby street-food hub Karaván (see above) combines casual grazing with ruin-bar imbibing – as well it should, as the original Rácskert was the pioneer of the genre, at an alfresco location behind the Gellért Hotel in the later 1990s. The phenomenal rise of the Szimpla and followers here in District VII inspired this revival, with food trucks thrown in.

Why we love it More laid-back than its surrounding party-mad counterparts, Rácskert finds the sweet spot between affordability and quality, fun and hedonism. This means you can sip a Moretti or summer cocktail, tuck into a pulled-pork sandwich and still feel in a festive mood. Late opening hours also help.

Time Out tip: If it’s Friday night and the queues are too big around the food trucks, the colourful Mexikói büfé van next door dispenses tacos, burritos and other filling favourites.

Address: Dob utca 40, 1072 Budapest

Opening hours: Mon & Sun 3.30pm-midnight, Tue-Wed 3.30pm-2am, Thur-Sat 3.30pm-3am

Expect to pay: Rácsburger Ft 3,290 (€8.50). Sausage platter Ft 3,290 (€8.50)