Walking along District II’s Dékán Street from Buda’s Széll Kálmán Square, an asymmetrically designed structure towers above the intersection of Fény Street, where a spacious doorway is a scene of visitors rushing inside with empty shopping bags, or leaving the building with a basketful of fresh merchandise. On this warm day of spring, we cross Retek Street’s busy thoroughfare to step inside the spacious marketplace, where we are pleasantly surprised to see that despite this semi-open structure being enclosed from the top, we don’t need to spend our next 45 minutes being deprived of natural light, as the sparkling sunshine infiltrates through the market’s huge skylight.
We embark on our tour by starting on the ground level of the two-decade-old bazaar – we are surrounded by chatty vendors greeting us from behind huge piles of elegantly displayed garden-fresh produce that add vibrant colors to the market’s unpretentious settings. From a wide assortment of seasonal fruits and vegetables to meaty treats from around the world, we encounter a lavish selection here: as we navigate between stacked stands, we spot a variety of ripe tomatoes, thick packets of tender asparagus, boxes of shiny apples, jars of golden honey, bunches of hand-picked wild garlic, bags of crimson paprika powder, and pink-hued rhubarb, along with a fascinating assortment of fresh meaty treats, local freshwater fish, and even products from pristine Hungarian wilderness areas. The prices are clearly displayed with each product, so we don’t have to worry about getting overcharged.
This main hall of the building is buzzing with life – we see mothers with prams looking for newly harvested fruits, elder ladies haggling over a kilo of potatoes, or young customers trying to find their way through this maze of merchandise. However, several dimly lit aisles take visitors to often-overlooked parts of the market that are worth discovering for finding hidden gems. At these side branches of the bazaar, the aroma of proffered produce is even more concentrated, and those who traverse the lengthy corridors come across crunchy nuts, aromatic spices, diverse dairy produce, and even a selection of foreign foodstuffs – including pickled olives, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian pasta, or French cheese specialties – which are suitable for preparing varied international meals.
After we browse every nook and cranny across the ground level of the building, we take the escalator to ascend the first floor, where hearty treats are abundant, including assorted meats and dairy products from the Hungarian farms and beyond. Butcher shops are placed side-by-side here, and as we pass by these meat-filled kiosks we soak in the aromas of smoked sausages and salamis that hang from behind glass walls, adding tasteful decoration to the stalls. Whether you are looking for Spanish chorizo, Parma ham from Italy, or Hungarian cracklings made from local Mangalica pork, you can find it all here, alongside an incredible selection of raw meats, including free-range chicken, local pork, Hungarian Grey Cattle beef, precious steaks, excellent venison, or even pre-made patties for burgers. The dairy selection includes creamy milk from the local farms, artisanal cheese specialties, and Magyar-made desserts made of cottage cheese.
While exploring this upper level of the marketplace, we are also offered freshly baked breads, scrumptious pastries, packs of frozen forest mushrooms, and fragrant flowers, while those with a watering mouth can order such ready-made meals as fried hurka (a Magyar-made sausage specialty) or lángos (a Hungarian fried-dough treat) topped with sour cream, cheese, and many other tasteful spreads.
The market even stretches underground through two levels, and between the floors, customers can take the stairs or the escalators, while an elevator makes the building accessible for those with limited mobility. As we cruise around more than 100 shops through this animated bazaar, we come across several small hangouts where we can take a break and sip a freshly brewed coffee specialty or indulge in such Magyar-made meals as a sizeable slice of deep-fried meat or vegetable pottages, but we can also devour international treats, like Italian, Turkish, or Chinese dishes. However, besides the fine edibles, the Fény Street Market is also complete with a pharmacy, a drugstore for pets, a branch of the Hungarian OTP Bank, and numerous small shops selling a selection of antiquated merchandise, kitchenware, clothes, or gift items. The combination of outlets found here makes this central-Buda hotspot a handy destination for replenishing our pantry, while taking care of odds and ends.
It’s easy to lose track of time while pausing at many of the vendors here, but we don’t have to worry about staying out of touch with the world outside of the market, as a free Wi-Fi connection is available throughout the building, with information boards displaying the login details. Thanks to this wireless facility, we can always call home for free to double-check if we’ve got all of the ingredients required for lunch, or for a dinner party. By the end of our visit at the Fény Street Market, we can testify that the place truly lives up to its slogan “Where every shopping session is a festival”, and while we are leaving the building, we indeed feel like as if we just attended a high-spirited gastronomy jamboree in Budapest.
