20 best places for ice cream in Budapest

Fans of ice cream can find first-class delights at Anjuna. At their three Budapest outlets, an average of 12 different flavours feature several toppings and chocolate sauce which can make your ice-cream choice special. It is handy to know that you can find Anjuna products on the shelves of larger grocery stores besides their own venues, so you can enjoy their great tastes on the street, at home or in the garden. Price: 950 forints/ice cream. Tip: avocado-tarragon-and-lime

These venerable purveyors of quality ice cream in Hungary opened in 1990 as a family business on Csaba utca. Since then, they have been making their ice creams, 36 of them, with unbroken enthusiasm. Among the varied combinations, there are plenty of sugar- and milk-free versions, even vegan ice cream made with rice milk. Prices: 400 forints (traditional flavours), 450 forints (sugar- and milk-free). Tip: stevia raspberry

With a Catalan joie de vivre, street style and specialty coffees, this little soft-serve ice-cream outlet run by the folks from My Little Melbourne next door offers all kinds of varieties in more than the usual chocolate-or-vanilla combinations. Raspberry-and-lychee, spirulina or black ice creams number among the selection, embellished with sweets or chocolate chips according to choice. Price: 100 forints/10gr (servings are in 4gr, 9gr, 12gr or 19gr portions). Tip: coconut

This major player on the ice-cream scene in Budapest now has two outlets, with a store just opened at BudaPart, where you can see how the milk is pasteurised. Exciting flavours, natural ingredients and a huge selection constantly being updated typify the range here – although the chocolate ones should merit extra attention. Price: 420-450 forints/tub. Tips: orange chocolate, chocolate sorbet

You can sample special ice-cream desserts at Cloud 9. Try these tiny, sweet delicacies and their great texture in several versions, even vegan ones. In addition to the shop on Arany János utca, they are also distribute at SHO Beach and at Hello Buda market, where you can put together your own particular version. Price: 980-1100 forints/dessert. Tips: salted caramel-hazelnut, sugar-free raspberry-and-chocolate

Special flavours, smiling staff and a real sense of community await just off Andrássy út. Besides the ice cream, be sure to try the cannoli ice dessert, but get here quick, as it’s usually gone in no time. In fact, following the shop's Facebook page allows you to assess the situation as often daily updates are provided. Prices: 210 forints/30gr scoop, 350 forints/50gr scoop. Tip: Layered English punch

At weekends, long queues meander outside this shop by Kelenföld station, and not by chance. This family business, fuelled by a passion for all things Italian, has been producing ice cream of unbroken quality for decades. You can also sample specialities such as Provençal cream or cooked plums with cardamom, as well as a good number of lactose-free selections. Price: 320 forints/tub. Tip: caramel, apple and chocolate with Linzer biscuit

It’s worth travelling up here in distant District XVI for Ádám Fazekas’ family confectionery. Usually, there are 20 flavours of traditional ice cream, including plenty of milk-, sugar- and gluten-free options. The 2019 European prize-winning salted pistachio is a good choice, but the Tonkin bean raspberry is a real summer favourite. They also pour out soft ice cream into a cone, made according to a unique recipe. Prices: 370 forints/scoop (salted pistachio, HUF 470), 500-1,000 forints/soft ice cream. Tips: salted pistachio, Tonkin bean raspberry

Fragola awaits with a variety of ice creams at several locations around the city. A unity of textures and flavours is mirrored by the large selection of vegan-friendly ice creams. For instance, pistachio can also be found in traditional, gluten-free, vegan and crème forms. On the website, you’ll find a detailed description of the flavours and allergens, and if you get hungry, they bake a decent pizza at Fragola’s district XI outlet. Price: 400 forints/scoop. Tips: crème pistachio, crème-chocolate

Budapest’s first Instagram-friendly ice cream is fashioned with a special spoon to form the shape of a rose. Playing around with the colours and flavours allows you to sample delicacies such as white-chocolate-and-lavender and passion-fruit-and-banana. Prices: 800 forints/1 flavour, 950 forints/2 flavours, 1,100 forints/several. Tip: raspberry 

Pichler sits in the heart of Budapest, diagonally opposite Ferenciek tere, as central as it gets, and showcases the celebrated ice creams of Balázs Damniczki. Instead of a cone, you can choose to have your scoops delicately placed in a freshly baked chimney cake. Among the 50 flavours are plenty of sugar-free and vegan options. Price: 350 forints. Tip: salted caramel

Some 35-40 flavours change every two days at this ice-cream parlour, where you can also taste exciting, seemingly extreme pairings such as cranberry-and-camembert. Premium ingredients are used here, for example, the caramel cream in the dulce de leche ice cream comes directly from Spain. Price: 350-450 forints/scoop. Tip: dill-and-blackcurrant

This relaxing spot halfway between Batthyány tér and Széll Kálmán tér allows you to slow down in a quiet part of Buda, with a range of super ice creams available. Kids will love choosing between the funny names and figures among the varying seasonal selection, the quality flawless across the board. The lightness of the sorbets and the exciting texture of the cream-based flavours stand out, each a different experience, though after a hot summer’s day, strawberry with rosemary might be the refreshing treat to go for. Price: 360 forints/scoop. Tip: plum with cinnamon

You’ll find fine-quality ice cream at Kell Fagylalt?, which started out in partnership with legendary Mindszentkálla producers Kő fagyi? (see below) before striking out with their own recipes in July 2021. One absolute favourite is poppy-seed and salted caramel. Make sure to mind when you enter as the roof here is a bit low. Price: 350 forints/scoop. Tips: ginger biscuit, cherry

The owners the best-known ice-cream venue around Lake Balaton opened their store in Buda in 2019, where they make fine-quality delights based on proven recipes, sneaking in that holiday vibe into everyday urban life with elderflower or poppyseed-flavoured treats. The service is always hospitable despite the many customers and long queues. Price: 380 forints/scoop. Tips: plum, chili chocolate

This pink-walled store on Kolosy tér focuses primarily on cakes, but you can also buy ice cream in cosy, retro metal cans. The flavours follow the classics, or you can ask for a dollop of whipped cream on top of your favourite salted caramel or mango-and-passion-fruit scoops. Price: 350 forints/tub. Tips: pistachio, mango-and-passion-fruit

At this outlet on Ráday utca, you can choose your favourite from 20-30 options, with plenty of sugar- and lactose-free ones, too. Pistachio-and-Kinder neapolitans are especially delicious. This summer, MAMO Gelato has also set up at Aszófő by Lake Balaton. Prices: 450 forints/tub, 800 forints/2 tubs, 1,450 forints/4 tubs. Tips: salted caramel, Piedmont peanut

This summer, two places offer the uncompromising ice creams of Ágnes Németh, the teacher who became an ice-cream master. At riverside Római-part in Óbuda and at Remetekertváros in north-west Buda, carefully selected ice-cold treats are made from real ingredients, and you can sample specialities such as yoghurt ice cream and hazelnut Baileys with alcoholic liqueur. The range changes according to Ágnes’ mood but you can sample ten varieties on any given day. Price: 450 forints/scoop. Tips: brown sugar, chestnut

They sell delicious ice cream at this family house on a housing estate in the distant Buda district of Őrmező, where József Juhos and Eszter Gerő employ friendly staff, and where you pay for good quality. Here personal favourites include quince-and-walnut and the cottage cheese-flavoured Rákóczi túrós. Distances shouldn’t come into it – this is worth the extra bus journey from Kelenföld. Price: 350 forints/scoop. Tip: quince-and-walnut

Visegrádi utca begins to resemble a shadowy path in Naples as you approach Vittorio’s ice-cream parlour, overseen by a middle-aged Italian. Apart from good-quality treats, the greatest merit here is atmosphere. You immediately feel that the person running the place does so with love, and wants to spread the word. Another kind of welcome is provided by Italian actor Bud Spencer, who enjoys cult status in Hungary, and whose quote outside proclaims, “The pistachio ran out, and there was no chocolate!” Prices: 350 forints/scoop (premium pistachio, HUF 450). Tip: pistachio