See how Budapest’s most revered restaurants, bars and bistros looked over the last 100 years

Home delivery is now operating across the city in earnest, and you can support your favourite establishments by placing orders with them. You also can also appreciate the former locales that built Budapest’s emblematic culinary scene through the ages. Have a gander at a few historic gems below.

This was the dining room of the Grand Hotel Hungária, opened in 1871 and pictured in 1890. This was one of the most renowned luxury restaurants of the day, hosting the cream of the Hungarian aristocracy. It also welcomed great figures such as King Edward VII, who visited the hotel on four separate occasions – he was almost a regular. This building also served as the headquarters of the Revolutionary Governing Council during the period of the Hungarian Soviet Republic after World War I Near the end of World War II, the entire building was completely destroyed during the Siege of Budapest.

There is not much left of István Prontvai’s eatery, but we do know that its former location was Nyár utca 11. In this picture from 1922, Újpest (District IV) was not yet part of Budapest, but a developing industrial area with a stable lower middle-class population. Based on the photograph, Prontvai’s guests were among them.

This could be one of the last images depicting József Havas’ restaurant in the Tabán, as this atmospheric tavern quarter set on a hillside, occasionally referred to as Buda’s Montmartre, was torn down from 1933 onwards, the year this shot was taken. We can assume from the photo that it had a little inner garden and, as all proper Tabán taverns did, it displayed a Dreher beer ad as well.

The verdant stretches of Hűvösvölgy in District II were popular hiking destinations back in the day, just as they are now. This picture shows a frequented garden restaurant next to the local Catholic church, taken in one of the last peaceful summers in Hungary would enjoy for several years, 1940.

A serving lady in 1949, standing in front of the Ilkovics. Izidor Ilkovics bought this tiny restaurant at Teréz körűt 62 in 1925. Thanks to its proximity to Nyugati station, it quickly started filling with customers, allowing it to modernise and expand. As a former projectionist, the owner was the first to introduce vending machines at his restaurant, and he also divided the place into a bar, a buffet and a restaurant section.


As one of the more affordable venues in the area, they relied on a quick turnover of guests – they sold four hundredweight of French fries on any regular day, close to 50 litres of pálinka schnapps poured within a couple of hours. After Socialist nationalisation, the restaurant was renamed the Népbüfé (‘People’s Buffet’) and became a gathering place of ne’er-do-wells and criminals, giving the police a good starting point for their investigations. After the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, the building was damaged, and later knocked down.

Look familiar? Found at Nyugati station, this building hosts one of the world’s prettiest McDonald’s, but it has a great past, too. At the end of the 19th century, Nyugati was considered quite elegant, and had plenty of posh facilities, such as the waiting halls for Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph and his Queen Elisabeth. This restaurant also used to have a luxurious atmosphere, although this picture was taken decades after its heyday.

The Moszkva restaurant on former Gorky (today Városligeti) fasor was the haunt of the upper bracket – only the wealthiest could afford the prices here. The surrounding houses are occupied with diplomats and the elite of Budapest to this day, but were also once home to those working at the Soviet Embassy, who weren’t averse to a little luxury themselves.

The Fortuna restaurant and tavern, pictured in 1966. There is still a restaurant operating here, where one of the first cafés in Buda was opened in the second half of the 18th century. What’s more, this building once also accommodated a medieval university, an art school and a royal courthouse.

A milk bar at former Moszkva (today Széll Kálmán) tér, in 1968. Milk bars became popular at the turn of the 19-20th centuries, patronised by the penny-conscious. They served cheap but nutritious products, such as milk, coffee, cordials and baked goods. Numerous cafés and pubs had to close their gates after the war, but these little outlets started popping up as more politically neutral options for the people.

The Dunapark Kávéház at Pozsonyi út 38-42 has been around since 1938, when it was a popular espresso haunt. It was originally supposed to be a cinema and, after a few twists and turns, returned to its former glory as a café and restaurant in 2006. This picture shows its cool interior in 1976.

The terrace of the Pioneer (today Children’s) Railway restaurant at Ságvári liget (today Szépjuhászné) station in the Buda hills. After the war, cheap eateries popped up to serve travellers, offering hot dogs, sausages and stews, among other dishes. Even so, looking at the picture, taken in 1979, the sense of comfortable relaxation is palpable – compared to the state of dining at stations and on trains today.