The best ruin bars in Budapest

You haven’t fully visited Budapest if you at least don’t go to one ruin bar. The ruin bars in Budapest have become part of the culture and they grow more popular by the day. They have evolved from being a hang out place for true hippies to a location that anyone can enjoy. I personally don't feel like I am the biggest fan of ruin bars. I think when you live in Budapest for a while the hype kinda starts to wear off. However, they are still part of that unique experience that everyone should experience at least once.

When it comes to ruin bars the dodgier, the more mysterious and the more hidden the better. Of course due to their undeniable popularity none of these ruin bars have remained hidden anymore.

As a tribute to Budapest’s ruin bars, I'm going to include the best ruin bars our magnificent town has to offer; so you don’t have to randomly wander in the street to find one.

So what is a ruin bar exactly? Well technically it's a wrecked or damaged building that has been transformed into a pub. These old and “ruined” buildings are typically located in the city center and in the “jewish” party district of Pest.

1) Szimpla Kert

Address: Budapest, Kazinczy u. 14, 1075

Yes I know, you’ve probably heard of this place before you come to Budapest. This is probably the first bar that came up on your search engine. And just bear in mind that just because I'm mentioning it as the first option, it doesn’t mean it's the best one.

Szimpla Kert is really famous. You can ask anyone in Budapest if they know where Szimpla Kert is and they would know. Okay that’s probably a slight exaggeration but anyways the place has more than 4000 reviews on Google and so you can see why everyone is tempted to go there.

The ruin pub itself has a really vintage style and people of all ages really dig that. On weekends there is a really huge line to get inside and naturally they check everyone to make sure no one is taking any drinks inside.

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When you first go in, you lose yourself in the crowd, the noise and all the colors. There are various bars within the complex itself. The whole pub has two floors, composed of eerie stairways and hidden corners; I’d say take your time to just explore the place. The exploration might prove to be a little more difficult due to the crowds of people hogging the spaces but you should at least try. If you have the opportunity, don’t go here during the weekend. It is much better during the week and you can actually enjoy the place.

My favorite bar of the entire complex would be: Lab bar. The bartender is really friendly and the drinks are innovative. Speaking of drinks, here they would charge you almost double for anything you order. Okay maybe double could be a little exaggeration but it is more expensive than outside for sure. So if you’re a huge drinker then this place wouldn’t be too kind to your bank account.

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Oh and they also sell shishas here but I'm recommending you not to smoke any. They are so filthy and I feel like they never change the water inside of it.

Overall, I do think Szimpla is overrated but it's still unique and it’s certainly even more unique for people who are visiting Budapest for the first time. So go there and immerse yourself in our culture of ruin bars.

2) Kuplung

Address: Budapest, Király u. 46, 1061

Kuplung is one of those student friendly ruin bars, it's actually a meeting spot for all Erasmus students in Budapest. Well, actually this is how Kuplung came to be the meeting point. On Monday nights, Kuplung had a deal on all their drinks. Everything was 50% off. Yes everything, and any drink you could imagine. So Kuplung Mondays became a thing within all of us, any Monday night that we found ourselves bored, we’d head out there and meet some other students like us. Kuplung also has a dance floor which I'm not too fond of. The music is generic most of the time, but if you found yourself in the mood to dance you can do so.

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I've got bad news though, the Monday deal is no longer on. I know they removed it during the world cup tournament but I don’t know if they re-stated it or not. Anyways even without that Monday madness deal, Kuplung is still pretty affordable. It's certainly not as big as Szimpla Kert and not as well-known but it’s a good place to meet some other people. If you’re in the neighborhood then make sure to pay them a visit.

3) Anker’t

Address: Budapest, Paulay Ede u. 33, 1061

At some point if I heard the phrase “Let’s go to Anker’t” I’d get furious. It's just that there was a point that’s where we all constantly went. My friends were obsessed with it and so the name Anker’t was in all of our conversations. We grew out of it at some point and now we pop there every now and then.

Anker’t has multiple courtyards that are all connected together. A lot of events and meetings happen in Anker’t since it has multiple places you can sit back and have chilled conversations. I have seen it on facebook that various socializing events happen here in Anker’t.

There is also a rather spacious dance floor and even though I'm not a big fan of the music they play, people seem to be having a good time so why the hell not.

4) Fogas Haz

Address: Budapest, Akácfa u. 49-51, 1073

The party in Fogas never stops and that’s why whenever we find ourselves lost and indecisive in regards to where we should go, we go here. Whether it's a Monday night or a Wednesday night Fogas is still lit.

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Fogas is a very hip place indeed. I have a very love hate relationship with Fogas, sometimes it's awesome and sometimes it downright sucks. It's a very spacious place and I don’t get the whole "I'm suffocating" feeling on it’s dance floors.

The drinks in Fogas aren’t expensive, they are quite budget and student friendly specially the beers. So do go here, enjoy a beer or two and meet some likeminded people.

Hope you enjoy this article!

Cheers!

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