While many dieticians advise against eating after 6pm, if you’re on your way home after drinking late into the night, a big pizza slice or cheeseburger may be just what the doctor ordered to prevent a terrible hangover. Fortunately, in the last few years Budapest’s after-hours restaurant scene has expanded from a few kebab stands to a diverse and often high-quality selection of street-food hotspots – so, since the city is now so well-off when it comes to quality “junk” food, we present this list of 17 of our favorite late-night eateries which eagerly welcome staggering snackers.
1/8
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In case the night ends “early” and you still want to catch the last metro, we know a few places to prevent the next day’s hangover – until midnight, at least. Such is 2Spaghi in Udvar, given that you’d prefer that someone else to fix you a nice arrabbiata. We can also order a burger at Black Cab Burger until 11:45pm.
It’s also important to note the places where we can drink and eat at the same time – like Fekete Kutya with its tasty tapas, or KisÜzem. We can’t forget about the schnitzel sandwich of Wichmann Kocsma, either, which is available until 2am. BpBARBq also sets the bar high by paying just as much attention to its weekend bar-life as its smoked meats, staying open from Wednesday through Saturday until midnight. But if midnight has come and gone and you’re blearily looking for a solid bite, read on...
2/8
Hot Dog Cold Beer #2 - Gozsdu Courtyard (Closed)
The corn dog is not only an essential snack of American amusement parks and children’s parties, but also a great food for drunks – just like most deep-fried meats. In addition to extreme hot dogs, Hot Dog Cold Beer also offers heaps of battered sausages late into the night, as well as freshly fried potato chips on a stick. At the St. Stephen's Basilica location, we can get corn dogs until 3am on Wednesday and until 6am from Thursday through Saturday; at the Gozsdu Courtyard branch we can order until 4am from Sunday through Thursday, and until 6am on Fridays and Saturdays. UPDATE: Closed
3/8
Retro Lángos
Pretty much every partygoer who hangs out at Toldi is tempted at some point to take a break to eat a greasy lángos fried-dough snack with cheese and sour cream at the nearby Retro Lángos. They found a niche in the market, and not only are their products filling, but also stand out among the best of the city’s lángos lineup – both in terms of dough and toppings. It’s just good. They keep the fryers boiling until 2am from Sunday to Tuesday, until 4am on Wednesday and Thursday, and until 6am on Friday and Saturday.
4/8
Zing Burger
We can always turn to ZING with the utmost confidence, as they reliably offer delicious hamburgers for fair prices. This is especially true if we’re talking about their deluxe wagyu burger... but we’re content with a Street Burger or Guitar Hero, especially late at night. On Király Street, Nádor Street, and at Széll Kálmán Square, we can enjoy the homegrown burger chain’s juicy goods until 1am from Thursday through Saturday.
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El Rapido Grill & Tequila Bar (Closed)
Kazinczy Street’s tequila bar and taco station has picked up the street’s rhythm,and awaits customers with tacos, burritos, or chili con carne with nachos until 2am on Sunday, until 3:30am from Monday through Thursday, and until 4am on Friday and Saturday.
6/8
Paneer (Closed)
Fried cheese is crowd favorite among both vegetarians and meat-eaters, whether we’re talking about camembert or a less characteristic variation. Király Street’s Paneer provides a great drunk-food alternative for those who’d like to skip gyros or just don’t eat meat – as we mentioned before, fried goods will always win in this category. In addition to various grilled and fried cheeses, Paneer also offers grilled-cheese sandwiches. The kitchen is open until 1am on Thursday, and until 2am on Friday and Saturday.
7/8
IGEN
IGEN at Madách Imre Square sells Neapolitan-style pizza straight from a wood-fired oven to exhausted partygoers with growling stomachs, whether they walked half an hour for a slice or have been drinking beer a few meters away for hours. This place isn’t open on Mondays, but bake the freshest pizzas until midnight from Tuesday through Thursday, and until 2am on Friday and Saturday.
8/8
Csirke Csibész
CsirkeCsibész is an iconic nighttime eatery that doesn’t defy trends or come up with great innovations – instead, it calls attention to itself with its simplicity and history. Despite the party district stretching on the other side of Andrássy Avenue, this humble canteen always has people lining up for numbered chicken sandwiches, with or without liver. They are open until 5am from Wednesday to Saturday.
