A ruinous good time
She’s a stuffed toy, missing one eye, her colour faded to a dull pink, and an arm hanging awkwardly. She’s not the only oddity around. Nearby are notes tacked to the wall, a mirror covered with stickers, a tangle of wires connected to defunct computer screens, broken children’s toys, and a disco ball throwing weak light over everything. Graffiti covers every visible surface. The furniture is mismatched. At first glance, this seems like a veritable garage sale of unused unkempt stuff. Yet, interiors like these are the norm at Budapest’s ruin pubs like Szimpla Kert.
Hungary’s capital city sits by the Danube River. It’s a city rich in history, architecture, culture, and bathhouses powered by hot springs. The biggest and most entertaining attraction here is its ruin pubs—the hub of the city’s nightlife. Think of them as an anti-club club with thrifted or flea market furniture, no theme or design, offering affordable drinks, plenty of entertainment and a hipster, if pleasantly chaotic vibe.
Interestingly, ruin pubs have a short history—they are only two decades old. In the 20th century, Budapest’s Jewish Quarter was the site of a Jewish ghetto. World War II and the Cold War saw the area fall into ruin, populated with ghostly, derelict and abandoned buildings. In the early 2000s, a couple of entrepreneurs decided to take a chance on one such building, giving birth to Szimpla Kert, and to the concept of ruin pubs. Szimpla Kert or ‘simple garden’ soon became a hub for creative folk, attracting people with its eclecticism and vintage mismatched décor and grunge hipster vibe.
Initially started as get-together spots for locals, these ruin pubs quickly gained popularity and became a top tourist attraction. It is easy to see why—ruin bars offer entertainment, affordable drinks, the chance to meet locals and other travellers, and the chance to party at a unique (sometimes underground) location. While similar in décor and vibe, they have some unique characteristics. Füge Udvar is an open outdoor space under an ancient fig tree with its own escape room. Dzzs is where local creatives hang out and its mishmash décor allows art, some of it provocative, to take centre stage.
Instant & Fogas is easily one of the biggest—actually a combination of two ruin bars—and even has bouncers at the entrance. It is a labyrinth of seven dance halls, each with their own music and DJs and 18 bars. One can spend the night here, dancing away under a circus tent, while admiring the owl portraits and floating bunnies overhead. Beyond music, there’s entertainment in the form of pool tables, foosball, and arcade games. Open till the wee hours of the morning, there’s a huge terrace for those seeking some quiet time too.
Nearby Csendes Létterem offers the ruin bar experience minus the noise. It’s the rare ruin bar that is open during the day, functioning as a café. At night, lit by two vintage chandeliers, the ruin bar is where people go for a drink, and to admire the walls that are an ode to every kind of creative expression: overflowing with notes, letters, creepy dolls, knickknacks, second-hand treasures, toys and even art.
One of the newer ruin bars is Mazel Tov, which also serves hearty Jewish and Middle Eastern food. Consider it a more upscale ruin bar with comparatively minimal décor and much foliage proving the ideal backdrop for dancing. There’s more Jewish food to be found at Köleves, but skip the restaurant for its backyard garden. Köleves Kert thrums with a ruin pub vibe with tin tables, hammocks, and a repurposed circus wagon turned kitchen.
Perhaps the most creative ruin bar lies outside the Jewish Quarter. On a quiet street in the heart of Pest is the communism-themed Red Ruin Bar. Though not a typical ruin pub, it fits the unique, quirky profile. Here, Budapest makes fun of its communist past with pop art, graffiti, puns and drinks named after people like Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong. Inside, dimmed by red lighting, a mural of these leaders gaily having a ‘communist party’ takes centre stage. Here, you can learn Hungarian in under two minutes… just order from their impressive selection of the local fruit brandy, pálinka, which comes with a side of heavy metal or rock music.
Ordering at a ruin bar is simple: go for a beer, or one of the local Hungarian spirits—unicum or pálinka—or the local favourite Hungarian wine spritzer made with either white or rosé called fröccs.
There’s a sense of discovery at Budapest’s ruin pubs. You never know what to expect. Just ask the one-eyed stuffed toy.