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[title]Few buildings in Budapest tell as much about the history of the Hungarian capital as the Corvin Palace on Blaha Lujza tér. The former Corvin department store is currently celebrating its centenary, which Time Out Market Budapest is marking with special events throughout March – a weekly changing lunch menu, an anniversary cocktail and a big birthday party are showcasing the past and present of this heritage landmark.
The Corvin Palace opened its doors in 1926 and quickly became a symbol of modern metropolitan life. This elegant, neo-classical building housed shops, services, a restaurant and café, and locals not only came to shop, but also to meet, relax and, for the many who came in from the provinces, experience the big city.
The secret history of the Corvin Palace
In 1931, Hungary’s first escalator was put into operation, a real sensation at the time. Seriously damaged during the war, the original facade was then covered with an aluminium cladding for decades.
After it was removed in more recent times, as part of the reconstruction process, Viktor Balogh and his brother Olivér – owners of the Corvin Palace – came across a number of rare historical finds. In what will be the lobby of the Ruby Hotel, currently being built above the Market, a stone slab served as the take-off and collection point of Budapest’s pigeon post, probably last used around the time of World War I.
Next door stood the offices of Népszabadság, Hungary’s main daily newspaper, and under Communism in the 1950s, a rail line ran in a secret corridor in the basement between the two buildings. The thinking was that if an uprising broke out, they could get editions out to the printers.
Some of the rods for the structure that supported the infamous aluminium cladding went straight through some of the statues that once graced the original department store. Some went completely missing and had to be reconstructed from photographs.
Centenary celebrations at Corvin Palace
Now restored to its former glory, the Corvin Palace witnessed the opening of Time Out Market Budapest in September 2025. It quickly became one of the city’s most exciting culinary and cultural hubs.
To mark the centenary celebrations, a poster exhibition recalls the most important moments in the history of the Corvin Palace with the help of archival photos and graphics, while short films inside the Market tell the story of the changing face of the building and the surrounding area.
Throughout March, a special Corvin 100 lunch menu will also be available on weekdays (in addition to the traditional, week-day lunch menu) between 11.30am and 3.30pm. The three-course anniversary meal draws on a menu the team also found from the original launch in 1926. Dishes that were served within these walls a century ago have been reimagined in contemporary form.
The menu appears in weekly rotation in the Market's four restaurants: Szaletly, LIRA by Essência, Casa Christa and Canteen, reinterpreting the flavours of the era. The price of lunch is Ft 6,900 (€17.50), which includes a soup, main course, dessert, coffee and a drink.
Big birthday bash
The festive atmosphere is also enhanced by the Spirit Bar: the cocktail 1926 will be mixed throughout March, evoking the elegant, sparkling world of Budapest between the wars with rum, passion fruit and cinnamon, stylishly priced at Ft 1,926 (€4.90).
The highlight of anniversary month comes on March 28 when Time Out Market Budapest celebrates the centenary of the Corvin Palace with a big birthday party. DJs will spin hits from past decades and the Market will stay open until 1am. And if you really want to get into the spirit of the era, guests arriving in vintage outfits of the pre-war era will receive a free 1926 cocktail.
A hundred years after its opening, the Corvin Palace is once more bringing one of Budapest’s busiest squares to life. This month, you too can become part of the story – just drop in for lunch, a cocktail or the birthday party.