Today we are taking a look at the ruin bars of Budapest – a distinctive local attraction. Establishments of this kind are gradually starting to appear in other cities too, but it is Budapest that is the heart of this particular corner of the restaurant business. In this article I will explain how the bars came about, how things work there and, of course, what the prices are like.
1. A brief background
Ruin bars appeared in Budapest relatively recently, around the start of the 2000s. After the Second World War, Budapest’s Jewish quarter was, for obvious reasons, largely emptied. Many of the surviving Jews soon left for the newly created Israel, and the district was left with practically no residents.
The buildings gradually fell into disrepair and began to crumble. The authorities toyed with the idea of demolishing the houses, but bureaucratic delays dragged on, as they always do, and nothing ever came of it. The district looked rather frightening and unsafe, yet nobody wanted to do anything about it.
Meanwhile, enterprising young people took matters into their own hands and occupied one of the abandoned buildings.
There they began pouring beer for themselves and their friends. Business took off, and it was decided to move into a larger building. Old furniture, a car body and plenty of other junk that suited the spirit of the place were all dragged in.
Budapest’s first bar of this type was called Szimpla – which translates as “simple”. Everything here really is simple: no dress code and no rules.
The start of the ruin-pub street:
Afterwards, more and more bars of this kind began to appear. For the most part, though, they are all still in the same old Jewish quarter of Budapest. Interestingly, there are usually no signs above the venues (or they are practically invisible). Visitors come purely through personal recommendations or after spotting a crowd at the entrance.
It is not customary to linger for long in these places – an hour per bar at most. So it is worth visiting several of them in a single day.
2. Practical information
2.1. Where to find them
The bars are located in Budapest’s old Jewish quarter, called Erzsébetváros – the city’s District VII. The best-known bar, Szimpla, is at Budapest, Kazinczy u. 14, 1075.
The address plaque:
On the map it is here:
2.2. How to get there
As the district is an old one, you will not be able to drive right up to the bar’s entrance. The nearest metro station is Astoria – take line M2.
Plan your return with an eye on the clock: since 1 June 2025 the M2–M4 metro lines have been running until around midnight from Sunday to Thursday and until around 01:00 on Friday and Saturday; after that, tram No. 6 and the night buses come to the rescue. If your trip falls at the end of December, bear in mind that, according to BKK’s official calendar for 2026, daytime transport stops running at around 16:00 on 24 December. As of mid-October 2026, BKK had not yet published its detailed timetable for the Christmas and New Year period – in 2025 it came out on 17 December – so check bkk.hu a week before you travel.
You can also walk from the synagogue; ask locals how to get there and they will point the way. Essentially, you simply keep walking along Kazinczy Street.
2.3. When to visit
Opening hours vary from bar to bar, and most of them live in the evening and at night. According to their official websites, as of mid-October 2026 the Instant-Fogas complex is open daily from 18:00 to 6:00, while Doboz is open Wednesday to Saturday from 18:00 to 6:00. We could not find Szimpla’s hours on its website, so check the bar’s listing on the maps before your visit. A separate note on holidays: as of mid-October 2026, the bars’ websites had not yet published their schedules for 24–26 December and 31 December – 1 January, so during the festive week double-check the hours on the venue’s website or page a couple of days before you go.
2.4. Bar prices
Prices differ from bar to bar. As a rough guide, here is the menu Szimpla posted on its website in September 2026:
- draught Soproni beer – 1,900 forints for 0.3 l and 2,200 forints for 0.5 l;
- a burger – 5,800 forints, with potatoes and sauce on the side for another 2,000 forints;
- 40 ml of pálinka – 2,500–3,000 forints (the menus at the different counters don’t match).
For comparison: when we were there in 2019, a plate of goulash cost 2,500 forints, a cheeseburger 2,000 and 40 ml of vodka or a liqueur such as Unicum 1,000 forints.
3. A photo tour of the ruin bars
3.1. Szimpla
The main bar, and the most interesting in terms of decor, is of course Szimpla. That is where we headed.
The entrance to the bar. If you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t notice it straight away:
Guests are asked to keep the noise down:
Step inside – who would have thought this was a respectable establishment?
One of the trademarks of such places is that something absolutely has to dangle from the ceiling – and the more, the better:
The place is full of all sorts of junk; there was even room for a machine that presses souvenir coins:
A curious juxtaposition: the coat of arms of socialist Hungary alongside ducks and ducklings:
Tables by the bar:
The sign pointing to the toilet:
Happy customers:
The core clientele is young people:
Although it may look like complete chaos with no system at all, there actually is one. All the objects are gathered more or less thematically, forming corresponding corners. This one, for example, is clearly dedicated to gardening:
And here they decided to hang chairs from the ceiling:
The bar counter:
In 2019 entry was free and you could take as many photos as you liked:
At first you may well experience a culture shock, of course – but then you gradually adapt:
The bar counter, continued:
A layout of the venue, of sorts:
Small bands often perform here:
Leaving the bar:
3.2. Other bars
Without knowing the area well, it is impossible to identify the bar:
The Cuadro Puerta bar (that was its name in 2019; it could not be confirmed whether it is still open):
In 2019 the following ruin bars were also worth a mention. We checked on them in September 2026: three have closed and one has moved to the other end of the city:
- Kertem – a garden bar in the spirit of socialist Hungary, where you could feel as if you were in a snack bar of that era. It had to leave the City Park in 2020, moved to Kőbánya (District X) in 2021, and since 2026 has been operating as the Babel Kertem garden – which is now far from the Jewish quarter.
- Corvintető – a bar on the roof of the Corvin department store with an observation deck. Closed since July 2018; according to the plans, a hotel will open in the department-store building.
- Meter – in 2019 it was said that alcohol here was sold not in centilitres but by the metre. We have found no confirmation that such a bar is operating now.
- Instant – practically a fully fledged nightclub with several bars and courtyards. It now operates as the large Instant-Fogas complex at Akácfa utca 49–51: open daily from 18:00 to 6:00, free entry.
- Doboz – another take on a nightclub, at Klauzál utca 10. It is still operating, with two dance floors inside.
- Ellátó Kert – a rather original concept here: you could find everything from a billiard table to an image of the Virgin Mary. The alcohol was fairly cheap, so stag parties often revelled here. This garden at Kazinczy 48 closed on 24 November 2019, and its team carried on at the Ellátó bar next door, at Kazinczy 52/B.
- Anker’t – a bar with vegan food on Paulay Ede Street, known for its gay-friendly parties on Fridays. It closed on 1 February 2020.
4. Verdict
The place is quite interesting in terms of local colour and its own particular spirit of freedom. It is definitely no place for children – there is unlikely to be anything educational for them here.
In my view, you should not count on places like this as restaurants, and after dark it isn’t particularly cosy here either. For the average tourist it’s a one-time visit, for the sake of the local colour. The place really is unique, and you can only find anything like it in Budapest.
Have you been to a ruin pub? Tell us what you thought of such places and of this approach to eating out. Would you be surprised to find antique furniture and assorted junk in a bar?
