Would Janis Joplin be caught dead here? We'll never know, but a crowd old enough to remember when Bobby McGee sang the blues gathers in this beautiful old wooden drinking emporium. Guinness, Kilkenny, Budweiser, Radeberger and Gösser on tap. Live music Mon, Tue, Wed. Phone: 266-2619 Open: 16:00-02:00, Fri: 16:00-03:00, Sat: 16:00-03:00, Sun: 18:00-24:00
Five minutes from the opera house, by day, Picasso Point operates as a cafe-restaurant offering Budapest?s equivalent to a pub lunch, while in the evening it develops into a lively down-to-earth bar. Below the earth, however, things become significantly more exciting when the music in the cellar nightclub begins to pound. Phone: 312-1727 Open: 11:00-24:00, Thur: 11:00-02:00, Fri: 11:00-04:00, Sat: 16:00-04:00, Sun: 16:00-24:00
If you fancy an outdoor dance and a beer (in a plastic cup), in the words of James Brown, 'Take it to the bridge!' and jump aboard tram No.4/6 to the Buda side of Petőfi Bridge. On either side of the road you?ll find around a thousand happy-go-lucky 20-somethings thrusting about in a field. Rio is fractionally less debauched than Zöld Pardon! Open: 09:00-06:00
An immediate hit following its opening in May, the success of Szóda (or Soda) is down to its slick presentation. Like the bar?s customers, Szóda is cool. The large windows are emblazoned with its space-age logo and lined with (you got it!) empty soda bottles. Inside, the walls are topped with action shots from Japanese Manga cartoons and the furniture is a mix of 1970s armchairs and coffee tables. The popular drink is beer, despite the fact that a glass of soda is free. There?s a kitchen serving breakfast and hot and cold snacks too. Phone: 06 70-389 6463 / 06 70-389 6462 Open: 08:00-05:00
It seems everyone from touring social rugby sides to pinstripe-suit-wearing yuppies converges at this genuinely Irish, informal HQ for Budapest's expatriate scene. There's a lot of space to fill in Becketts, but they certainly manage Thursdays to Saturdays. The best pub grub in the city, no contest, as well as charming Hungarian waiting staff with Irish accents - and an always reliable pull of Guinness: all conspire to make Becketts our favourite Irish pub in Budapest. (1200 - 2200 Ft) Phone: 311-1033 / 311-1035 Open: 12:00-01:00, Fri: 12:00-02:00, Sat: 12:00-02:00
If you're tired of sitting outside in the heat and you?re looking for somewhere to cool off, this air-conditioned cellar bar opposite the National Museum is just the place. Chill out with a pint of Guinness in one of the brick/wood cubby-holes, tuck in to a pub lunch, or pull up a stool at the whiskey bar and choose from a wide selection of Irish and Scottish whiskeys. There is also live music on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Phone: 266-4085 Open: 11:00-02:00, Fri: 11:00-04:00, Sat: 11:00-04:00, Sun: 17.00-02:00
There's hardly a bit of wall here that's not covered with some form of Americana. It's not an original theme, but Henry does it better than most. You can order burgers and BBQ from the adjoining Chicago Rib Shack. Phone: 302-3112 Open: 12:00-24:00, Thur: 12:00-01:00, Fri: 12:00-01:00, Sat: 12:00-01:00, Sun: 12:00-22:00
A typical example of successful US marketing: Rolling Rock is an extra-pale American brew. The menu boasts steaks, Tex-Mex pub grub and four pages dedicated to merchandising. The chairs and table match the colour of the beer bottle: light green. Live concerts every night on the stage under the big screen. Funky, blues music nightly. Phone: 385-3348 Open: 11:00-24:00
A classy, supper-club atmosphere pervades in this sprawling, partly underground cafe, bar and music club. From the street it looks like a small cafe, and its frontage is just that. In true speakeasy style, dip down the stairs and pull back the curtains to reveal a long room with rows of tables, and a stage for sophisticated, mellow jazz acts and a medium-sized dance floor. There's also a separate cocktail bar area with drinks mostly around the 1000 Ft mark. The downside? The ubiquitous, surly bouncers and the occasional, out-of-place naff theme night (such as when the also-ubiquitous Chippendales show up). Admission free for women, 2,000 Ft for men. Phone: 478 90 30 Open: 10:00-05:00
Imagine you're a 1920s gangster (or his moll) and take a trip down to the Cotton Club. With a cigar in one hand and a brandy in the other, sit back and relax in a dimly lit lounge with comfortable dark wood furnishings and watch mildly entertaining performances of American heyday classics given by the small company of dancers and a seductive blonde singer. Though the name suggests otherwise, the focus of the live entertainment is definitely not the music, so don?t expect to hear Budapest?s answer to Duke Ellington, but it?s enjoyable nonetheless. Phone: 354-0886 Open: 12:00-01:00
Fat Mo's is almost always, always busy. The place was presumably meant to resemble a speakeasy. What you've got here is basically one very long bar, with B & W prints from the good ol' days of prohibition, bootleg moonshine, Al Capone and the St. Valentine's Day massacre (what is it with this town's nightlife and American gangsters?). The crowds that fill the dance floor and prop up the bar are otherwise pre-occupied. Fat Mo's also operates as a daytime lunch joint, serving hearty fare for the hungry hitman (sorry, hitperson). Phone: 267-3199 Open: 12:00-02:00, Wed: 12:00-03:00, Thur: 12:00-04:00, Fri: 12:00-04:00, Sat: 18:00-04:00, Sun: 18:00-02:00
Let's get this straight. We're big fans of the happy hours, smiling bar staff and enthusiastic crowds that gather at the legendary Old Man's Music Pub. We're also rather keen on breathing. Some nights this likeably ramshackle underground bar and dance hall is just too packed, and must surely be a fire hazard. We're talking more than a disco inferno here. And that's it, our one gripe about one of the most fun Budapest nightspots. Live music 21:00 - 23:00. Phone: 322-7645 Open: 15:00-04:00, Fri: 15:00-04:30, Sat: 15:00-04:30
All aboard the night train to proletarian meat-market Budapest nightlife - not that there`s anything wrong with that! Two rooms to shake your booty, one playing it safe with mainstream dance, the other crossing tentatively over to more committed house sounds. In case anyone notices, the theme décor, that of couchettes and train station memorabilia, has been fairly well executed. Cheap enough beers - around the 200 - 300 Ft mark - and friendly service behind the bar, even if the bouncers are a little gruff. Phone: 302-4751 Open: 21:00-04:00, Mon-Wed and Sun: Closed
If you're looking for that big, slightly impersonal international disco, head here. Split into four areas, with a second dance floor featuring 1980s retro. A people watcher's paradise - social and sexual politics are easily perceived (gay/lesbian patches of turf; areas where unattended women dolefully stand; champagne-swilling mafiosa manhandling trophy girlfriends). E-Klub is both amusing and dehumanizing. We didn't stay long. Phone: 263-1614 Admision: Fri 500 Ft for women, 700 Ft for men; Sat 600 Ft for women, 800 Ft for men.
Halló Bár
Budapest 7th. district Király street 65.
Marilyn Night Club
Budapest 8th. district Baross street 4.
Aphrodité Night Club
Budapest 5th. district Kecskeméti street 17.
Belami Night Local & Pansio
Budapest 14th. district Csömöri street
94.
Caligula Night Club
Budapest 2nd. district Szilágyi Erzsébet fasor
37-39.
Club Diamond
Budapest 2nd. district Bimbó street 3.
Club Király
Budapest 6th. district Király street 70.
Dolce Vita
Budapest 5th. district Október 6. street 5.
Iris Night Club
Budapest 3rd. district Árpád fejedelem street 94.
Mambo Night Club, Black Rouge Dance & Night Club
Budapest 1st.
district Hegyalja street 2.
Nirvana Night Club
Budapest 5th. district Szent István krt. 13.
