With the party season in full swing, a floating cocktail bar has brought a touch of tiki – or, at least, exotica – to the city centre. At WAKA Budapest, an elephant and tropical plants embellish the otherwise familiar cityscape of the Danube embankment as you sip your Daiquiri Mulata or Frozen Passion Negroni. Warm, summer electronica summons the party vibe. All takes place between the boat station at Vigadó tér and Elizabeth Bridge.
Its name alluding to the Maori canoe of war and a Hawaiian lizard goddess, WAKA also takes its inspiration from Tulum, the ancient Mayan city overlooking the Caribbean. Back-to-nature is the underlying theme here, palm fronds fringing any potential selfie.
In any case, there’s plenty of space, covered or open, to swing and
sling back a few drinks. Sunset beyond the Buda hills tends to turn up the dial,
vibe-wise – that and whoever’s DJing around the end of the week.
Recent
guests have included Budapest-based DAN88 and the party crew of Octopus, due to rock the boat with deep techno and house
from 5pm tomorrow, Saturday, 7 August, right through to 4am Sunday. Tickets (HUF
2,000-3,000) are available here.
Cocktails are on the pricy side, between 2,500-3,000 forints, but that’s
Tanqueray (and Campari) in the Frozen Passion Negroni, Absolut (and Aperol) in
the Fantismo, and Havana 7 (and an unspecified but certainly zingy Mexican coffee
liqueur) in the Daiquiri Mulata.
Three types of Tanqueray line the back bar, in
fact, two types of Ciroc and a Belvedere among the vodkas, and Havanas 3 and 7 of
the tropical rums. A savvy hand was involved when it came to compiling the spirits
list. There’s even a Noilly Prat, rarely seen in these parts, hiding amid the vermouths.
Beer (Staropramen on draught, Corona and Hoegaarden Rosée by the bottle)
and wine (Etyeki kúria and Sauska) are available but the selection is far from
wide. Food-wise, there are chicken and vegan wraps (each HUF 1,950).
Here, guests
are meant to spend that little bit extra for that top edge in quality. Plus, of
course, there’s that view, the day’s last rays disappearing over the slopes of Buda,
various craft gliding beneath Elizabeth Bridge and that lazy Danubian mood of
summer.
WAKA Budapest
District V. Jane Haining rakpart 8A
