TRAVEL. NIGHTLIFE. CITY TRIP.
Exploring the Ruin Bars of Budapest
Our own private pub crawl in the historic center of town
Scribbled walls. Old guitars hanging from the roofs. Green plants next to neon lights and wooden chairs. The vintage style of Budapest’s original ruin bars is one to indulge in.
It’s quite interesting how we approach our travels. While I’m the reader, my husband watches YouTube videos with no end. He often finds interesting aspects of an activity or place which I then read up on and include in our adventures on the road.
The same happened to Budapest or let’s rather say its nightlife. David mentioned he wants to check out some ruin bars and I then made a list of the places I found online.
It was our first evening in the city and we were in for a night. We didn’t want to book an organized tour and made our own pub crawl instead. With my father in tow, we ventured off to the party scene in “pest”, the historic center of town.
On a Friday night.
About the ruin bars of Budapest
The 7th District of Budapest used to be the site of the Jewish ghetto where about 10,000s Jews got deported from in the second world war. All that was left were abandoned buildings about to fall apart.
In an attempt of saving these old buildings, a group of young entrepreneurs took it upon themselves to open up a community space. Instead of renovating the old buildings, the guys rather worked with the natural surroundings of these unique places.
“In 2002, the guys behind Szimpla opened up the very first venue on Kertész utca – where you’ll find the Szimpla Café today. However, the real kick happened in 2004, when Ábel Zsendovits and his friends decided to gamble on a condemned building complex on Kazinczy street, which marked the start of the legendary ruin bar we all know and love today.” — budapestflow.com
Unarguable the number one — Szimpla Kert
Starting off at the place tagged on my list as the original, we maybe should have left it for last but then again, it might have been too full to enjoy its unique charm.
From the outside, this building looks just like all the other buildings in the neighborhood. Old and rundown. A few plants and a simple sign is indicating this legendary ruin bar.
But there was just so much love for detail. The decorations. Light. Music. Chairs. The roof. The stairs. Plants. The windows. Doors. Walls. Simply everything. Enough for me to write a separate article on.
It was still early in the night and not many people were inside. My father quickly picked up the smell of a waterpipe (also known under the name of hookah or shisha).
Lights were dancing across the floor and too many decorative features were lined up to the left and right. I didn’t know where to look and what to marvel at.
We quickly sat down for a beer and watched the space from a corner of the room. But then again you can’t experience the full quirkiness of this place without walking through all rooms on both floors. Yes, there are a lot of spaces in this bar. Tiny and hidden corners or open dance floor type of rooms.
Several bars are offering drinks and a few DJ desks are spread across the building. A young guy was setting up in a corner to perform some live music.
For the hungry — Karavan Street Food Budapest
While we surely would have enjoyed staying longer, we were also more than curious about the other bars on my list. But before getting to the next stop we walked through the street food alleyway.
Located in the middle of the 7th district, this alley is made for all getting hungry after the first beer or before heading out on a long night.
Even a simple street food alley like this one had its own charm with unique decorations and old Mercedes as food trucks.
Modern and simple — Köleves Kert
Our next stop took us a bit further down the street.
Almost missing it from the outside, Köleves Kert is part of the next generation of ruin bars. Still located in an old building, the inside is renovated and has taken on an elegant turn.
A waiter was coming to assign us a table and before we could order our local beer, we got served a jar of still water. The only bar of the night where we drank more than just one beer. We did finish the water.
But also in this place, you can find some really old features. A radio from a time before I was born and a flat iron I have no idea how to use.
But I did like the creative lights. Just a bundle of glasses hung up around a light bulb.
The service was outstanding and so was the beer we were served.
Heading further we could now see the streets of Budapest slowly but surely filling up. Yes, it was Friday night and the city was filled with students, tourists, and locals alike.
The untouchable — Mazel Tow
Our next bar will forever remain a secret to us since we never made it inside. When we first arrived a queue was reaching the road. A queue of people waiting to be seated.
While a friendly waiter was coming outside, walking through the line, and telling us it would possibly take 30-45 minutes to be seated, my father was already too impatient to even wait a minute.
We quickly decided to head on to the next bar and come back later as it appeared to us most people were here to have dinner and it was prime time.
Our next place was a bit further out of the neighborhood and made us walk past the gorgeous State Opera, a beautifully restored building lit up at night.
The bomb shelter — Potkules
We almost walked past this bar since there is no name outside indicating the place. We entered through a hole in the wall leading into a courtyard. I’m sure this yard is a lively place during the summer months but was rather empty on this misty and rainy evening.
David stopped at the bar while I continued into the next room looking for a table to sit at. While many tables were free, they all had a reservation tag on them but we still found a small table big enough for us in the far corner of the shelter.
I call it shelter because that’s what it appeared to us. A former bomb shelter. We could be wrong. It could also be a wine cellar but for both options, there are too many windows in this place. Maybe they were cut into the walls only later. Who knows?
There were a few locals chatting at the table next to us but we also heard a few people speaking English.
Oldies but goldies — Udvar Rom
Heading back into the center we now passed the first drunk crowds on the streets. But we weren’t done yet and after trying one more time Mazel Tow which still had a long waiting line we decided to head into Udvar Rom instead.
This place is inside a courtyard with not many rooms on the sides but quite a bit of space for entertainment. It has some vibes of a sports bar due to the TV screens on the walls showing soccer games from Italy and some pool tables but it also had live music and got a party vibe as the night went on.
The music wasn’t made by the kids born in this century but much older. My father was commenting this wasn’t our type of music but his. Yes, that old-school.
But music back then was anyway better and of higher quality. I think. All three of us enjoyed the girl singing these old songs and just after “Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams, we left the bar.
Time for a chat — Illegal
We walked off my list, at least all those places within walking distance. We still were good for one more beer but instead of driving to one of the further places on my list, we decided to just walk into the next attractive or interesting-looking bar.
We had just sat down on a couch in the corner when my father was pointing at the WiFi code above with the word “illegal” written. I had to laugh and explained it was the name of this place.
Illegal.
People were nicely dressed and sat together on tables upstairs, in the lounging rooms downstairs, or simply standing at the bar.
Enough beers for one night — the conclusion
While there are surely more ruin bars worth a mention, we could only take that much beer in one night and I only write about places I’ve actually been to and experienced.
So yes, this was my selection of bars and of course, the first one was the winner. The rustic decorative and unique style had quickly gotten my attention and while I still enjoyed visiting the other places as well, they didn’t come close to Szimpla Kert.
We walked past more ruins on our way home until we finally settled in the apartment.
A night to remember I’d say.
“You’ll never know until you go.” — Your passport
More about our trip heading east:
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