What to Eat in Budapest?

What to Eat in Budapest?

7 Hungarian dishes worth trying

If it's your first time in Budapest, you've probably already come across the names goulash and lángos. But Hungarian cooking has a lot more to offer. We've put together the dishes we think are the best place to start.

1. Goulash Soup

Let's start with the one almost everyone looks for. Hungarian goulash is a soup, not the thick meat ragout you often meet abroad. Beef, paprika, potatoes and vegetables make up the base. Hearty, warming, and easily a whole lunch on its own.

At Drum Café you can also try it served in a bread bowl.

Learn more about Hungarian goulash →

2. Lángos

One of Hungary's best-known street foods. Freshly fried dough, crispy outside and soft inside, classically topped with garlic, sour cream and cheese.

If it's your first lángos, we'd start with the classic. The bolder versions can come after that.

Everything about lángos →

3. Beef Stew (Marhapörkölt)

Don't mix this one up with goulash. Pörkölt is a meat dish in a thick, paprika sauce, often served with dumplings.

One of Drum Café's most popular versions is Beef Stew Budapest Style, with home made bacon-and-spring-onion dumplings.

4. Chicken Paprikash

If you want to try a truly classic Hungarian main, chicken paprikash is a good choice. Chicken in a creamy paprika sauce, traditionally served with dumplings.

Not street food, not a tourist attraction — just a dish that's been part of Hungarian cooking for generations.

5. Wiener Schnitzel

Yes, going by the name it's a fair question: is this really Hungarian?

There are plenty of Central European versions of the breaded cutlet, and in Hungary it's long been one of the most popular dishes. If someone in your group is less adventurous, it's usually a safe bet.

6. Pancakes (Palacsinta)

Hungarian palacsinta is thinner than an American pancake and can be filled with all sorts of things. As a dessert, it's one of the easiest ways to say, after a big Hungarian lunch, “all right, there's room for one more.”

7. Something you might not find anywhere else

Once you've tried the classics, it's time for something more unusual. At Drum Café we sometimes rethink Hungarian flavours. That's how the Black Lángos, the Lángos Burger and the Lángos Lasagne came about, among others.

They're not traditional Hungarian dishes — and we don't claim they are. These are our own play on lángos.

What to pick if you only eat one Hungarian dish?

• For a soup: goulash soup.
• For a hearty main: beef stew or chicken paprikash.
• For Hungarian street food: lángos.
• For a safe, familiar choice: Wiener schnitzel.
• For something sweet: pancakes.

And if there are several of you, the simplest solution: order a few different dishes and share.

Where to eat Hungarian food in Budapest?

Drum Café has been running in the heart of Budapest, on Dob Street, since 2006 — a few steps from the Dohány Street Synagogue. We make Hungarian classics, lángos and our own Drum Café specialities.

It's not fine dining. With us the story is simpler than that:

Good food. Big portions. Fair prices.

Drum Café — Lángos & Gulyás Bar
1072 Budapest, Dob utca 2.
Open every day, 9:00–24:00