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V. Váci utca 61, Metro: M3 Ferenciek
tere, Tram 47, 49, Open: 8am-6am Mon-Sat, 10am-6am Sun
You'll be hard pressed to find a better all-nighter than the Amstel Bar. With a downtown setting, a
good selection of beers and pleasant staff, it's all too easy to find yourself drinking until the
early hours.
V. Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 72, Metro: M3
Nyugati pu, Website: www.becketts.hu, Open: noon-2am daily
Expat central and one of the livelier pubs in Budapest. While the atmosphere is perhaps a little
contrived, it's certainly a great place to socialize. As with so many Irish pubs in London, getting
to the bar on Friday and Saturday nights is best left to those with a masochistic streak.
Belgian Brasserie Henri
I. Bem rakpart 12, Metro: M2 Batthyány
tér, Tram 19, Website: www.belgasorozo.com,
Open: noon-midnight daily
As far as we're concerned, you can't go far wrong with a bar that serves Chimay, Duvel and
Hoeggarden. Conveniently located on the Buda embankment (and within easy reach of the M2 metro
line), many of the bar's clientele are unsurprisingly drawn from the nearby French Institute. With
a laid back atmosphere and a menu that includes the ubiquitous moules marinière, we like
this place a lot.
VI. Jókai tér 5, Metro: M1
Oktogon, Tram 4, 6, Website: www.cactusjuice.hu, Open: noon-2am, Mon-Thu, noon-4am Fri-Sat, 4pm-2am Sun
Although on the face of it a Wild West theme bar in downtown Pest may seem just a bit tacky, Cactus
Juice actually works quite well. Cuisine follows suit with a variety of burgers and Tex-mex dishes.
Largely Hungarian clientele with music in the evenings.
VI. Jókai utca 30, Metro: M3 Nyugati pu.
Website: www.crazycafe.hu,
Open: 11am-1am daily
Most of us have thought at one time or another, that sampling every beer in a pub would be a
particularly courageous thing to do. Very few of us actually try it however. Succumb to the
temptation at Crazy Café and quite simply, you'll find yourself on the wrong end of a
stomach pump. Not content with offering around 20 draught beers, Crazy's owners stock five times as
many bottled beers, copious amounts of spirits and virtually every cocktail under the sun (plus a
few more besides). Thankfully the bar menu, which comprises mainly of pizza and simple Hungarian
fare is much easier to grasp.
V. Molnár utca 26, Tram 2, 47,49, Open 3pm-1am Mon-Fri, 5pm-1am
Sat-Sun
Another English-style pub near to Budapest's Elizabeth Bridge, which retains its popularity with
the English speaking expat community, despite the arrival of similar places in town. A gentle crowd
and relaxed atmosphere make this a decent enough place to share a few pints.
V. Király Pal utca 8, Metro: M3 Kalvin
tér, Website: www.janispub.hu,
Open 4pm-2am Mon-Thur, 4 pm-3am Fri/Sat
Named after Texas' most famous blues songstress, Janis Joplin, this downtown pub boasts decent live
music as well as Guinness and Gösser beer on tap. Easy to find and situated close to
Budapest's major hotels.
John Bull Pub
Apáczai Csere János utca 17, Metro: M1
Vörösmarty tér, Website: www.johnbull.hu, Open noon-11pm daily
As the first English-style pub to open in Budapest, it's not surprising that the clientele here are
mainly English and American expats. Located behind the Budapest Marriott Hotel, the John Bull Pub
could almost be mistaken for the Rovers Return in Coronation Street. And that in a nutshell, is its
main flaw. The phony traditional style décor (which includes a darts board) gives a subdued,
rather soulless feel to the place. Moreover, the presence of Double Diamond on tap suggested that
we'd somehow managed to slip into a weird 70s time warp.
VI. Liszt Ferenc tér 3, Metro: M1
Oktogon, Open 10am-midnight Mon-Fri, 12pm-midnight Sat-Sun
A large, trendy bar with loud jazz sounds and an adventurous cocktail menu. As you'd expect, the
place gets rather packed during the summer, with the young crown alternating between here and
Café Mediterranean just across the street.
VII. Dohány utca 7, Website: www.portside.hu,
Metro: M2 Astoria,
Tram 47, 49, Open: noon-2am Mon-Thu, 11am-4am Fri-Sat
Hugely popular at weekends and with a distinctly young clientele, Portside is as good a place as
any to start (or indeed finish) an evening in Budapest. In between rounds, you can try a dish from
the extensive bar menu, play pool, or when it's really packed to the rafters just boogie the night
away.
V. Vaci utca 33, Metro: M1 Vörösmarty
tér, Open 11am-4am Mon-Sat, noon-3pm Sun
Café/club nicely located in Budapest's most famous shopping district. By day, the snazzy
enough café attracts a mixed crowd, although as the sun sets it's predominantly
twenty-something clubbers who turn up for the sounds of the in-house DJ.
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