1/7
Holy Cow
The newest cast member in Panificio il Basilico’s chain in Budapest is Holy Cow, which calls itself a burger place, but due to their surprising creations, some of their burgers can easily pass as sandwiches. This is true for the Holy Cow, their eponymous burger, which is a cocoa roll filled with a fried egg, bacon, vegetables, a juicy beef patty, and Tikkadt Szöcske sauce made of coke nuts. Sweet and salty flavors are tangled up in an ideal ratio.
Tip: Holy Cow sandwich (1,880 HUF)
2/7
BpBARbq
Sandwiches are the strong point at Zsolt Serényi’s BBQ bar on Akácfa Street, and here, instead of traditional hamburgers, they prefer exciting items inspired by American and international cuisine. Although the pulled pork sandwich could be among the top three, we are voting for the Reuben. This Yankee classic combines BBQ brisket with cheese and sauerkraut, packed in exceptional bread. It’s juicy, smoked, filling, and we don’t have to go to Katz’s Deli in New York to have it.
Tip: Reuben sandwich (2,790 HUF)
3/7
Budapest Bägel
Budapest Bägel started its conquest in 2013, but most people know them from Telep, where a snack goes well with a beer or fröccs. These “buns” with a hole in the middle, which are actually pretty tricky to make, have been very popular ever since – and this is not only true for the traditional versions with salmon and cream cheese, but also for the more extraordinary ones. Our favorite is the one with Jewish-style egg, in which there’s also some avocado, to our greatest pleasure.
Tip: Jewish-style egg with bagel (900 HUF)
4/7
Bestia
Bestia, which has a new chef to make it even hotter than ever, has become a reliable spot for us pretty quickly – they aren’t stingy with the flavors, and there’s no unnecessary preciousness; the food arrives in a pub style. The Bestrami is a shredded-meat sandwich on rye bread. Not entirely pastrami, it’s more like a meaty sandwich that was composed by the style of the place, with a casual and filling tone. They also have a vegetarian and a chicken version of it, but we would stick to beef.
Tip: Bestrami sandwich (2,450 HUF)
5/7
Rapaz
The guys of Rapaz started with only chicken, but this rule has been somewhat softened up since then. The Corn Baby is a great choice at this place, which is probably the only street-food shop that we highly recommend. Filled with fried chicken with a cornflake coating, salad, grilled bacon cubes, and a “popcorn” sauce with cayenne pepper, this sandwich is something truly tasty to take on the go.
Tip: Corn Baby (750 HUF)
6/7
Meat & Sauce
The first Meat & Sauce location opened on Nagymező Street in 2014, and since then they have been successfully feeding festivals and food-truck shows. They always have extras, but we are still most likely to stand in line for a dipped sandwich, as the super-saucy sous-vide beef ciabatta is still pretty great. The size is also just perfect; the only thing we have to worry about is our clothing, as the sauces can easily go rogue.
Tip: dipped beef sandwich (1,590 HUF)
