Where to Find The Best Cheap Eats In Budapest

If you’re looking for the best places to find cheap food in Budapest, including traditional Hungarian dishes, vegetarian and vegan eats, and sweet treats – you’ve come to the right place! Here’s where to find the best cheap eats in the city…

When you’re visiting somewhere on a budget, it can be quite a daunting task to discover affordable places to eat. Luckily, Budapest in general is a pretty purse-friendly place to visit. Unless you’re hitting up the Michelin starred hotspots, you’ll find it hard pushed to spend even £30 on a meal for two with drinks. And there are plenty of options that come in far cheaper than that, even.

My main tip if you’re looking for cheap food in Budapest is to avoid the overpriced ‘tourist friendly’ restaurants of the Inner City area, and instead head out to the ‘Jewish Quarter’ of Pest, where the majority of these suggestions can be found.

Tasty Hungarian street food is scattered all over the city, and is a great way to try out Hungarian dishes on the cheap. I was gutted I didn’t get to visit Street Food Karavan, which was closed for the winter and reopening in March, but we definitely found some pretty good alternatives.

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The Best Cheap Places to Eat in Budapest

Kolbice, Grand Central Market – for the perfect hangover sausages

With hangovers severely looming from the previous night’s pub tour and Szimpla Kert ruin pub, we took a walk to clear our heads and with the intent to fill our stomachs with stodgy grub. Grand Central Market is definitely a great place to explore and grab some cheap food in Budapest, with all kinds of stalls selling produce, foodie bits and souvenirs.

Upstairs, they have a small street food area with stalls selling some Hungarian specialities. To begin with, we balked at how busy it was, with no idea where queues started and ended and all the tables filled with others tucking in. However, at the end of the row sat Kolbice, with a small queue and intriguing-looking sausages in bread cones, topped with cabbage, onion and cheese sauce.

Once I’d tucked into the sausages, I was left with a delicious cone of bread and a pool of cheese sauce at the bottom, which was probably even more enjoyable than the sausages themselves…hangover, gone! 

Upper floor, Grand Central Market Hall
Vámház krt. 1-3, 1093 Hungary

Belvárosi Disznótoros – for traditional Hungarian dishes

If you’re looking for cheap, no-nonsense Hungarian food, you’ll find it at Belvárosi Disznótoros. A self-service spot where you order at the counter, choose from an array of sausages and traditional meat dishes including. Main dishes range from just 900 HUF (around £2) for marinated chicken, to 4000 HUF (£8) for steak. Oh, and the late Anthony Bourdain was a fan.

Károlyi Mihály utca 17. 1053 Budapest (open until 5/6pm)
Király utca 1/d. 1075 Budapest (open until 10pm)

Lángos – for stodgy Hungarian street food

Lángos is a traditional Hungarian street food dish that you definitely don’t want to touch if you’re a clean eating devotee. But you’re on holiday, so screw that and have it anyway, because it’s amazing. 

Firstly, the dough’s spread into a flatbread, then deep fried. On top of it goes a layer of sour cream, then lots of cheese, and further toppings if you want them. And oh boy, is this delicious. It’s basically combining the best of a pizza and a doughnut (but savoury). Locals eat these before a night out to line their stomachs, and it’s not hard to see why.

We had lángos twice – once at Retro Làngos Büfé, and again at Tomi Lángos. The former was slightly the more enjoyable of the two, although both were a delicious, calorie-laden treat. The street eat for anyone taking in Budapest on a budget! 

Retro Làngos Büfé – Podmaniczky Frigyes tér 4, 1054 Hungary
Tomi Lángos – Blaha Lujza tér 1, 1085 Budapest

Duran Szendvics – for a twist on the classic sandwich

Duran Szendvics specialise in small, open-topped sandwich, in a convenient location near Pest’s main sights. There are usually around 30 types of sandwich to choose from, including ham and salami for the meat eaters, and egg, cheese and vegetable options. Each sandwich costs from just 595 HUF (£1.34) per sandwich – they’re quite small, but at that price, you can definitely grab a couple for a cheap Budapest lunch!

Bajcsy- Zsilinszky út. 7, 1065 Budapest (open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm; Sat 8am-3pm; Sun 8am-12pm)

Vinyl and Wood – for breakfast and brunch

A stylish and modern spot to grab breakfast or brunch, surrounded by sleek design and record memorabilia. Prices start at 2500 HUF (£5.60) for three scrambled eggs, and it’s 4100 HUF (£9) for a Full English Breakfast that’ll keep you going well into the day.

Wesselényi utca 23, 1077 Budapest

Marxim – For Communism-inspired pizza and decor

I’d had Marxim down on my list of places to eat since I began my Budapest research (which mostly went out the window when we actually got there, as it usually does) – because who doesn’t love cheap pizza?

The names of some of the dishes raised a smile, and I chose the ‘Snow White and the Seven Small Proletarians’ – mozarella cheese, sour cream, ewe cheese and garlic. The pizzas were served with the tomato sauce on the side rather than under the cheese. It was also served cold, so I dipped my crusts in it rather than pouring onto my pizza.

It didn’t matter anyway though, because the cheese was generous and tasty. Yeah…all I need in life is cheese and bread, really. The ‘Sausagekoje’ – cheese and salami – was also really delicious too, although definitely a lot greasier than my choice.

If you’re hungry, I’d definitely recommend ordering the larger size pizzas – we went for the small ones, and could really have eaten more!

The small pizzas are priced from 2490-3290 HUF (£5.60-£7.40), and they also serve lepény – stuffed flatbread – from just 1690 HUF (£3.80).

Kisrókus u. 23, 1024 Hungary

Las Vegans – for plant-based dishes in Budapest

Looking for cheap vegan food in Budapest? Try Las Vegans! Starting life as a vegan food truck, they now have multiple stores around the city, offering fresh plant-based dishes including burgers, burritos and bowls.

Dishes are around 3000 HUF each (about £6.75), and include burgers, burritos and bowls.

Kazinczy utca 11. 1075 Budapest (open 11am-11pm)
Kazinczy Street 18. 1075 Budapest (in Karavan Food Market, 11.30am-11pm)
Hadak útja 1. 3rd floor 1119 Budapest (takeaway only, 10am-8/9pm)

Self-Service Canteens – for cheap eats with the Budapest locals

On our first day in Budapest, our lovely tour guide Zoltan introduced us to the wonderful world of self-service canteens, by taking us for lunch at Fortuna Onkisszolgalo Etterem – one of the best places to find cheap food in Budapest.

Over on the Buda side in particular, restaurants can be on the more pricey side. But self-service canteen restaurants, primarily aimed at local service workers, are a cheap alternative. They may not be fancy, and your meal will probably come out on a tray – but it’s a great way to save cash for other things. Like beer.

Some of the canteens are more public than others, so may have English menus. But if you end up in a real, hidden away gem like we did, you’ll probably need some time to translate the menu from Hungarian. It’s worth the effort though, as we got traditional food, plates piled high, for a fraction of the price we’d paid locally. And the food was actually pretty damn tasty.

Sadly, Fortuna Onkisszolgalo Etterem is now permanently closed, but here are some of Budapest’s other self service canteens to check out:
MyCanteen Fő utca (Buda, Fő u. 40)
Bank Center (Inner City District, Pest side)
Metropolitan (1075 Kéthly Anna tér 1, District VII).

Frici Papa Kifőzdéje – for simple Hungarian cuisine

A restaurant pretty popular with tourists, but for good reason. You can get an epic portion of Hungarian goulash or chicken paprikash for 2699 HUF (around £6).

Király u. 55, 1077 Budapest (open 11am-10pm)

Palotai Pékség és Pizzéria – for a quick and easy breakfast

Perhaps the ultimate option for cheap food in Budapest! If you’re looking for food to grab on the go that’ll fill you up, Budapest’s bakeries have lots of options beyond bread. We picked up these sausage rolls (basically hot dogs, but it’s from a bakery so definitely counts as breakfast) with either mustard or ketchup from Palotai Pékség és Pizzéria. And they were just 250 HUF (about 69p) each. Who needs Greggs?!

They also do coffee, cakes and sandwiches, and have a limited amount of seating inside – although this was often full when we dropped in. A great option for grabbing something on the go though!

Király u. 44, 1061 Hungary 

Hummus Bar – for Middle Eastern vegetarian and vegan food in Budapest

In 2005, Hummus Bar began as a small shop in central Budapest, and have grown into a franchise chain in Hungary and beyond. They aim to share the simple pleasure of hummus and other Middle Eastern food with as many customers as possible.

For vegetarians and vegans, there’s plenty of choice on Hummus Bar’s Budapest menu, including hummus bowls with pitta for dipping (starting at just 2190 HUF – around £5), shakshuka and falafel dishes. Their pita sandwiches range from 1960-2390 HUF (around £4.40-£5.30), and there’s a meal deal option including a pita sandwich, fries and soft drink for 3290 HUF (around £7.40). If you’re super hungry, you can go all in and get a mixed vegetarian meze for two, for 9990 HUF (around £11 per person).

Nagymező u. 10, 1065 Budapest (open 11am-10pm)
Király u. 8, 1061 Budapest (open 11am-10pm)
Kecskeméti u., 1053 Budapest (open 11am-10pm)

Chimney Cakes – for a cheap and traditional Hungarian Sweet Treat

Chimney cakes are made by wrapping sweet dough around a cylindrical baking spit, resulting in a cylindrical cake that’s often served with various flavoured coatings, including vanilla and chocolate. They’re very tasty, and huge, and mega fun to eat!

Prices for chimney cakes from street traders can range between 700-1000 HUF (£1.57-£2.25). Some popular and well-regarded chimney cake spots include:

Chimney Cake Shop Budapest – Váci str. 53, 1056 Budapest
Molnár’s Kütrőskalács – Váci str. 31, 1052 Budapest
Vitéz Kürtős – Holnemvolt Castle

Need to work off all that food? Check out the 12 best things to do in Budapest.

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