Summer is almost over, but there’s still plenty of time for outdoor barbecues. To get your meat sizzling, you don’t have to have your own garden or sizeable balcony. Budapest has many public hotspots for cooking alfresco, some found by the Danube. A community hangout, a bistro, even a guerilla grill provide suitable (and legal) facilities for getting the barbie going. In this guide, you’ll also find places to source the most important element in this feast: the meat.
Impostor Mistress – the surreal
By focal Szabadság tér, Impostor Mistress is the cool crowd’s destination for sipping speciality coffee by day and drinking cocktails come nightfall. Community events include barbecue parties, where you pay 1,000 forints for the charcoal, but you can use Impostor’s grills and fridges for no additional cost. While drinks should be purchased on the spot, grill gourmands can bring their own ingredients for cooking. Barbecue party packages are also available. Reserving your table and grill is highly recommended.
Két Rombusz – the camp-style
Featuring more than one fireplace for alfresco cooking, Két Rombusz at Római-part in Óbuda is a chaotically romantic locale that has been used for many years for no-frills barbecue parties. Firewood and utilities are provided for free – in return, guests are requested to order their drinks from a converted Setra bus serving as the Két Rombusz bar. A bit rough around the edges, it still makes a perfect place to come with family, friends or your four-legged companion.
KIFOLYÓ grill – the guerilla project
It was just a year ago when the first concrete grill station popped up by the Danube’s Buda embankment, across from the Gellért Hotel. Born out of a collaboration between students at the nearby University of Technology and the local Valyo association, this minimalist cooking station has since become one of the city’s most panoramic places for holding barbecues. As it's a public hangout, no extra utilities are provided, so make sure you bring all the necessary equipment with you, including a scrub sponge for cleaning the racks before you leave.
Valyo Kikötő – the urban
Launched earlier this summer, Valyo Kikötő is Budapest’s latest riverside hangout, a popular space for after-hour community gatherings, drinking, enjoying art projects or watching the sunset. Grills and cauldrons are available on the spot and it costs 5,000 forints for renting the equipment including the charcoal or firewood. Another 2,000 forints per person is payable on top, but in return you get a voucher fully redeemable at the bar. Booking recommended.
Brilliant butcher shops
As much as the location, quality ingredients are also essential to any grill party. Some of Budapest’s most decent butcher shops are found within markets, shopping centres and outer city districts. Steak Shop at the Great Market Hall basement is a prime choice for T-bone, pork chops even for pre-mixed Balkan favourite ćevapi. MészárSteak within the Hegyvidék Center has all things beef from Hungarian Angus to South-American types. In District X, Matusz sells burger patties, seafood and mushroom specialities. For finely seasoned grilled sausages, go to Lala Húsbolt at the District XVII market (Kaszáló utca 47).
