What is the best bar in Budapest?

Szimpla Kert is the original and most famous ruin pub, a maze of salvaged rooms in the District VII Jewish Quarter that defined the Budapest scene. For serious cocktails over ruin-pub atmosphere, Boutiq'Bar is the city's most awarded room. Both sit within a short walk of each other.

What is a ruin pub in Budapest?

A ruin pub, or romkocsma, is a bar built inside a derelict building or courtyard in Budapest's old Jewish Quarter, furnished with mismatched salvage and left deliberately rough. Szimpla Kert opened the format in 2004 and Ellátó kert followed. They are cheap, large and busiest after 10pm.

Which area of Budapest is best for bars?

District VII, the old Jewish Quarter on the Pest side, holds the densest cluster of ruin pubs and cocktail bars, most within a few streets of Kazinczy utca. For rooftop drinks, head to High Note SkyBar or 360 Bar near the basilica and Andrassy Avenue.

How much do drinks cost in Budapest?

Budapest is among the cheaper European capitals for drinking. A beer typically runs about 800 to 1,200 forint (roughly 2 to 3 euros) at a ruin pub, while cocktails at the better rooms such as Boutiq'Bar sit higher. Rooftop bars charge a premium for the view.

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Best-of list · City Guides

The 10 Best Bars in Budapest 2026

The 10 best bars in Budapest for 2026 — Boutiq Bar, High Note SkyBar, Doblo and seven more. The ruin pubs and serious cocktails. Updated 2026.

Tom Callahan

Updated 2026 10 ranked bars

The short answer

Our editors' №1 is Boutiq'Bar.

10 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.

Best overallBoutiq'Bar

Runner-upHigh Note SkyBar

Third pickDiVino Wine Bar

The best bars in Budapest are Szimpla Kert and Ellátó kert for the original ruin-pub scene, Boutiq'Bar and DiVino for serious cocktails and wine, and High Note SkyBar and 360 Bar for rooftop views over the Danube. Most sit in the District VII Jewish Quarter, walkable from Deák Ferenc tér. Ruin pubs stay cheap; the cocktail rooms run higher.

Budapest invented the ruin pub, bars built into abandoned buildings in the city's old Jewish Quarter and kept deliberately decrepit. The 10 below mix the iconic ruin pubs (Szimpla, Ellátó kert) with the serious cocktail bars (Boutiq, Divino) that have emerged in the past decade. Most are walkable from each other in the 7th district.