The pre-war edifice may be crumbling—with nearly all the battered,
raw-brick surfaces covered in graffiti. And the courtyard may be overrun
with weeds, but that hasn’t stopped the pleasure-seekers from packing
in the place at all hours of the night. What may look like a squatters
block party at first glance is just a regular weekend night at a romkert
(ruin bar) in downtown Budapest. Deep inside the history-filled rubble
of District VII, the Jewish Quarter, a coterie of wildly disheveled ruin
bars have turned abandoned buildings, old cellars, and derelict public
properties into bastions of Bohemian cool. Ruin bars have become one of
the great Budapest attractions—intriguing places with unexpected layers
of detail which you could easily spend a few hours taking in.

Budapest’s bustling ruin bar scene in the city’s Jewish quarter embodies a gritty
underground vibe with a potent gastronomic touch – you just have to know
where to look.

Over the past decade, ruin bars have introduced a new wave of
entertainment in Budapest. They have expanded beyond boozy revelry into
cultural, and often, gastronomic hotspots. Beyond the eclectic
furniture—which was rejected from others, but characterizes these
places— makeshift artworks and ramshackle dance floors, some ruin pubs
have also become fine places to eat as well drink. Some have set up
burger bars and pizza parlors, others offer artisan beer and high-end
Hungarian tipples, and there’s even one which hosts a farmer’s market
every Sunday.

Here’s a rundown of Budapest’s best bohemian bars. 

Szimpla Kert

Kazinczy utca 14, 1075 Budapest / +36 20 261 8669

The jumping off point for ruin bars is Szimpla Kert (which translates
as “Simple Garden”), a pioneering maze of rooms oriented around an
artfully chaotic garden filled with worn-out tables, chairs and some
truly bizarre objects-turned-furniture (half a bathtub converted into a
couch and half a Trabant turned into chairs). It was launched in 2001 as
an outlawed summer pop-up bar by four young entrepreneurs who, in a few
short years, turn their grass roots endeavor into a bohemian cultural
oasis. Today, Szimpla Kert hosts regular concerts, exhibits and artistic
events, including film festivals, an open-air art house cinema during
the summer, and theatrical performances. Since 2012, it also hosts a
fantastic farmer’s market on Sundays with dozens of local farmers and
producers selling their artisanal products. There’s even a communal
kitchen where there’s a weekly rotating crew of exhibitors and food
bloggers preparing mouth-watering delicacies.

Grandio Bar and Party Hostel

Nagy Diófa utca 8, 1072 Budapest / +36 70 670 0390

Just one street from Szimpla, this is the spot where the late-night
revelry continues until the wee hours in the graffiti-strewn dorm rooms
upstairs. On the ground floor, a dense jungle of plants and street
artist creations lend a mystique to the courtyard, which lures both
local hipsters and bash-and-crash backpackers alike. The drinks menu is
pretty standard (just a handful of local and imported beer, a few
Hungarian wines, and the usual cocktail suspects), but there’s an
outdoor grill where hamburger variations send out deliciously tempting
smells.

Kőleves Kert

Kazinczy utca 37-41, 1075 Budapest / +36 1 322 1011

“Stone Soup Garden” is the summertime extension of the popular
Kőleves restaurant a few houses down This compact nook boasts colorful
seating on layers of pebbles, murals on the wall, and a circular wooden
bar with swings. It’s best to get take-out from the restaurant (the
Jewish-Hungarian classics are all worth a try) and enjoy your meal with a
cool brew or a white wine spritzer (fröccs) in the garden.

Ellátó Kert

Kazinczy utca 45,1075 Budapest / +36 20 527 3018

For more of freewheeling vibe mixed with a touch of Mexican flair,
this hangout is replete with brightly colored furnishings, ping-pong and
foosball tables, and a crowd of cyclists, students post-work
locals thirsty for a hedonistic night out. They serve simple Mexican
dishes (tacos, tortillas, and fajitas) and a good variety of drinks from
fröccs (white wine spritzers) variations to tequilas. The house
specialty is pinky, a pink grapefruit vodka shot.

Fogas Ház & Fogas Kert

Akácfa utca 51, 1072 Budapest / +36 1 783 8820

Bringing a more cultural bent to the boozy carnage, Fogas Ház &
Fogas Kert bills itself as a “cultural reception space” where the
succession of rooms host exhibitions by contemporary artists,
avant-garde theatre productions, and indie concerts. The place arrived
on the scene in 2012 by way of a dynamic team of creatives who
revived the abandoned building and courtyard which had previously been a
dental clinic (hence the name “House of Teeth”) and all the
teeth-themed art. The menu of special cocktails and homemade lemonade is
a welcome addition, as are the more-than-filling snacks (such as
chicken thighs, kolbász, and steak potatoes).

Mazel Tov

Akácfa utca 47,1074 Budapest / +36 70 626 4280

A decidedly more sanitized and sophisticated version of the ruin bar
experience can be had at Mazel Tov, the new kid on the block. The gritty
furnishings and vibrant art that are de rigueur in many ruin bars are
ditched here in favor of simple-yet-sleek design along the lines of
wooden tables, wrought-iron chairs, neat tile work, and strings of bare
light bulbs. The district’s Jewish heritage is honored in both name and
spirit, with a complete (and very tasty) Middle-Eastern kitchen operated
by the proprietor of the city-wide Hummus Bar chain, as well as
traditional and contemporary Israeli music softly wafting through the
loudspeakers.

Corvintető

Blaha Lujza tér 1-2,1085 Budapest  / +36 20 772 2980

Setting up shop on top of a giant Communist-era supermarket, this
rooftop ruin bar quite literally raised the bar on the competition.
There’s a small and hard-to-find service elevator that’s worth asking
around for unless you want to trudge up the six flights of stairs, but
whichever way you make it to the top, you’ll be rewarded with great
views of the city as well as a laid-back crowd of mostly locals. Outdoor
film screenings are held during the summer months, but a sizable dance
floor a floor below curbs dance fever year-round.

Beyond the Jewish Quarter

Dürer Kert

Ajtósi Dürer sor 19-21, 1146 Budapest / +36 1 789 4444

Far from the ever-buzzing Jewish district, next to the leafy City
Park, Dürer Kert is a trendy spot to dance the night away. Despite the
out-of-center location, the city’s young urbanites gather here for the
diverse line-up of concerts, DJ sets, and various new-age exhibits. The
spacious gravel-filled garden has all the usual ruin bar equipment:
mismatched furniture, a large bus filled with ample drinking space and a
few table foosball tables for light evening exercise.

Instant

Nagymező utca 38, 1065 Budapest / +36 1 311 0704

For a hodgepodge of whimsy and electronic sounds nothing beats this
cavernous structure on Budapest’s so-called “Broadway Street”.
Psychedelic design elements such as a chandelier of flying blue fishes,
glowing butterflies, and giant white flying owl or a boar-shaped disco
ball lend a suitably eccentric feel to the place that is beloved by
fun-loving 20- and 30-somethings.

AnKER’T

Paulay Ede utca 33, 1061 Budapest / +36 30 360 3389

Tucked away in a former factory on a street parallel to the Opera
House, this enormous summertime garden bar is made up of connecting
courtyards. The feel is urban-chic and very minimalistic, with a long
bar and dance floor topped with white canvas roofing in the first
courtyard and the city’s first and only sand-filled urban beach in the
following one. The drink selection is extensive and reasonably priced,
but the real daytime attraction is the tasty barbecue and vegetable
dishes that pair well with the televised sports games and the sandy
lounging.