New discos and clubs
are sprouting up all over Budapest constantly and
there is no district especially renowned for its nightlife. The
bars offer something for everybody, from sleazy sex bars to calm
cafés, and there is plenty of time to visit all and experiment.
Many bars are open until dawn, although most will close at around
0400 hrs.
Borozos are cheap wine cellars, where it is rare to see
any women, especially unaccompanied. Sorozos are
beer houses which will also serve good and moderately priced food.
Clubs charge Ft500-1000 entry and may not allow entry to people
in shorts or tracksuits. The minimum drinking age is 18
years and alcohol is inexpensive, with a beer costing Ft200-300
more for imported bottled beers and sprits Ft500. Under
no circumstances should one clink beer glasses, this was
adopted by the Austrians, when Hungarian generals were executed
after the failed Revolution of 1848-49.
Probably the best source of nightlife listings in Budapest
is the free weekly publication, Open and is published
on Thursday. Pesti Est is also very complete and
is available free from the cinema foyers. Pesti
Müsor is a paid for publication and is also very comprehensive.
However, these are in Hungarian and English-speaking revellers may
prefer to pick up a copy of Budapest
Week or Budapest
Sun. Where Budapest is a monthly guide in English,
available free at most hotels. The bi-monthly Budapest in
Your Pocket is free on Malév airplanes or can be
purchased in newsagents locally.
Bars:
The Crazy Café, VI Jókai
utca 30, stocks over 20 draught and 100 bottled beers and is very
popular with the young set. Café Mediterran,
VI Liszt Ferenc tér, is open until 0200 hrs and has a friendly
atmosphere and attractive terrace that is packed during summer.
Night and Day, VI Andrássy út 46,
draws an slightly older crowd 24 hours a day, as its name suggests.
For those yearning to hear their native language spoken, the
Irish Cat, V Múzeum körút, provides
relief. It is open daily until 0200 hrs and is often very busy,
there is Latin music on Monday and blues on Tuesday.
Beckett’s, V Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, is one
of the few bars which will accept major credit cards. This huge
Irish pub with excellent food draws the Anglophone business community.
Portside, VII Dohány utca 7, is popular
with a young crowd, at the weekend, with an excellent menu, pool
tables and dancing, while Negro, II Szent Istvar
ter, is the ideal place for cocktails.
Casinos
Budapest has over a dozen casinos, mostly located in the luxury
hotels along the Dunakorzó. Anything but
formal dress precludes entry, except at the Las
Vegas Casino, Hyatt Regency Hotel, V Roosevelt tér 2.
Other casinos include Casino Budapest Hilton, I
Hess András tér 1-3, Casino Budapest Gresham,
Gresham Palace, V Roosevelt tér 5, and the grand
Várkert Casino, 1 Ybl Miklós tér 9, designed
by Miklós Ybl (architect of the State Opera House). In all
casinos, photo ID must be presented for registration on the first
visit and the minimum age is 18 and Credit cards are now generally
accepted.
Clubs
Most clubs in Budapest are open until at least 0300 hrs and many
until 0600 hrs. The admission fee varies from about Ft300 to over
Ft1000 and most do not accept credit cards and English is not spoken
in some clubs. Budapest bouncers often belong to organised crime,
so it is best to smile sweetly and pay the entrance fee requested.
Franklin Trocadero Café, V Szent István
körút 15, plays good Latin music, while retro is provided
in the cellar-club Nincs Pardon, VIII Almássy
tér 2. Fat Mo's, V Nyáry Pál
út. 11, is always busy and the dancefloor is usually filled.
Piaf, VI Nagymezo utca 25 has a piano bar upstairs
and a lively bar with a dancefloor located in the basement.
Despite its inconvenient location in Obuda, the Supersonic
Technicum, III Pacsirtamezô utca 41, a former factory
cellar, is very much the centre of Budapest’s underground
dance scene, with 3 dancefloor's with ducts, pistons and fountains
and 2 bars, the music ranges from Goan trance, drum ‘n’
bass, reggae to techno. Kashmir Underground, IX
Ülloi út 151, near the Ferenc Körút metro,
is a new hip club with excellent food. The Old Man’s
Music Pub, VII Akácfa utca 13, although crowded,
is one of the city’s most fun night-time hotspots, with live
music from 2100hrs to 2300hrs. Angyal Bar, VII
Szövetség ut 33, is the gay club in Budapest, specialising
in good old-fashioned high-NRG dance remixes of all your favourite
hits from the Pet Shop Boys, Cher and Ricky Martin.
Live
Music
Mexican music is played on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings
at Latin Kocsma, V Havas utca 2. Mellow jazz is
featured at Club Seven, VII Afácfa utca
7, a classy café, bar and music club, and at Incognito,
VI Liszt Ferenc tér 3.
Dance houses
(táncház) feature Magyar folk music from isolated
areas such as the Transylvanian region of Romania. Gyökér
Restaurant, VI corner of Eötvös utca and Szobl
utca, is popular and also serves good food. Kalamajka DH
(Belvárosi Ifjusági Muvelodesi Haz), V Molnár
utca 9, was started by Béla Habmos (the founder of the dance
house movement in the 1970s) and is open Saturday 2000-0100 hrs.
The Petofi
Csarnok, in Városliget, and the Almássy
téri Szabadido Központ (Almássy Square
Leisure Centre), VII Almássy tér 6, are the two favourite
venues for small pop concerts and local folk music. International
stars perform at Népstadion, the main sport
stadium, XIV Istvánmezei út 1-3.
Tickets
for rock and jazz can be purchased at TEX
ticket express, I Déli pályaudvar, VI Andrassy
út 18 and other locations, and at Publika,
VII Károly körút. VII. Szövetség
u. 33. |
