Budapest is truly a culinary wonder. You can find various types of food joints, restaurants and street food caravans in the city. We are sure you’ll find the best options to your taste.
Currently, food prices are quite high in Budapest. So it’s hard to find places where the food is delicious, the portion is big enough, and the price is not horrendous. In our experiences, students either find a cheap place with questionable meals and/or portions, or more expensive places with better tastes and a whole lot bigger portions.
As a student, however, your budget is limited. This is why we collected 8 places that are budget-friendly and provide excellent services. We highly recommend visiting these places!
1. Nem Adom Fel Kávézó és Étterem
- Address: Baross utca 86., 1082 Budapest
- What can I get here?: Breakfast, caffé, and dinner
- Price: meals from 2480 HUF (6 EUR)
- Vegan options available?: Yes, vegan options are available.
- Daily menu available?: Yes, a daily menu is available.
The ‘Never Give Up’ Café and Restaurant in Budapest stands out as the city’s first, pioneering café founded by people with disabilities. This unique venue not only offers food and beverages made and served by individuals with disabilities and reduced work capabilities, but also engages them in planning and running various events.
The establishment is a collaborative effort between the ‘Never Give Up’ Social Cooperative, which oversees the catering operations, and the ‘Never Give Up’ Foundation. The latter provides the premises for the café, contributing to a vibrant community space and organising programs, all while supporting employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
This innovative café exemplifies how collaboration and inclusivity can create a meaningful impact in the community.
2. Mini Falatozó
- Address: Kisfaludy utca 21., 1082 Budapest
- What can I get here?: traditional Hungarian meals
- Price: meals for appr. 2000 HUF (5 EUR)
- Vegan options available?: No, vegan options are not available.
- Daily menu available?: Yes, a daily menu is available.
Mini Falatozó is just your average Hungarian restaurant with traditional Hungarian meals for fairly cheap prices. Although the interior of this joint is not the most modern, the food is perfect for hungry students looking for wallet-friendly options!
It offers daily menus, which include a soup and a main course. If you are interested in eating just soups, you can get them from 700 HUF (2 EUR). If you only come for main courses, then you can get them from 1100 HUF (3 EUR).
3. Régi-Jó kifőzde
- Address: Vásár utca 4., 1084 Budapest (entrance is from Víg utca)
- What can I get here?: traditional Hungarian meals
- Price: meals from appr. 2000 HUF (5 EUR)
- Vegan options available?: No, vegan options are not available.
- Daily menu available?: Yes, a daily menu is available.
Régi-Jó Kifőzde is another typical Hungarian restaurant, which offers traditional Hungarian meals for a decent price. All the food, including the pickled vegetables, desserts, and salads are home-cooked and home-made.
You can always find the current weekly menu (albeit in Hungarian) on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
4. Little Geisha Can Cook
- Address: Baross utca 6., 1085 Budapest
- What can I get here?: Asian meals
- Price: meals for appr. 1600-6000 HUF (4-15 EUR)
- Vegan options available?: Yes, vegan options are available.
- Daily menu available?: Yes, a daily menu is available.
Little Geisha can cook is a bit odd one out, as it’s a tad more expensive, but still offers student-friendly prices. Located in a tiny place at Kálvin tér (a popular meeting point for students nearby), Little Geisha Can Cook offers a truly Asian experience.
The place always offers fresh ingredients and meals, as it’s the top #1 most crucial mission of its founder, Little Geisha. The restaurant is located in the heart of Budapest, just a few minutes walk from Kálvin Square. This place is very close to numerous universities nearby (including our student accommodation). Which makes it ideal to have a quick meal in your free time slots between 2 lectures.
Even though the place is tiny, in good weather a terrace area is also available, where sushi, pho soup or pad thai eating is a great community experience.
The place offers daily menus between 11 am-2 pm ranging from 1890 HUF (5 EUR).
5. Fecske Presszó
- Address: Baross utca 10., 1088 Budapest
- What can I get here?: mostly Hungarian meals, but also some international meals, too
- Price: meals for 2000-4000 HUF (5-10 EUR)
- Vegan options available?: Yes, vegan options are available.
- Daily menu available?: Yes, a daily menu is available.
Fecske Presszó lies in the heart of Budapest next to the student district. It can be found in the vicinity of Kálvin tér, which is like a hub for many universities & students nearby.
Fecske Presszó is a cool, budget-friendly, yet, top-quality restaurant that every student will love. The restaurant gives old-school vibes, but don’t let it deceive you! This place is awesome, and the meals are delicious. In addition, for a very fair price.
Did we also mention that you can get amazing beers & other alcoholic beverages there, as well?
Fecske Presszó also offers daily menus, which can include a soup, a main course, and a dessert. Soups are available from 720 HUF (2 EUR), main courses from 1650 HUF (4 EUR), and dessert from 480 HUF (1.5 EUR).
6. Bors GasztroBár
- Address: Kazinczy utca 10. 1075 Budapest
- What can I get here?: Hungarian street food (soups, sandwiches, noodles, dessert)
- Price: meals for 2000-4000 HUF (5-10 EUR)
- Vegan options available?: Yes, vegan options are available.
- Daily menu available?: No, a daily menu is not available.
Good food, good ingredients, good food for good customers, and good value for money – that’s the ars poetica of Bors GasztroBár. They create quality street food combined with elements of a traditional bistro kitchen – in other (maths) words: Street food + Bistro = Bors GasztroBár.
They offer traditional and unique soup creations, gourmet grill baguettes in creative flavour combinations, as well as pasta dishes. In addition, extreme, off-the-beaten-track creative syrups, homemade pies and desserts are also available. The food palette at Bors is always in motion.
Not to mention that they are located near Szimpla Kert, one of the best ruin pubs in Budapest, right in the centre. If you need to prepare yourself for a party, then it’s a perfect place to go!
7. Főzelékfaló ételbár
- Address: Petőfi Sándor utca 1., 1052 Budapest (but you can find this food chain in many other locations)
- What can I get here?: traditional Hungarian meals
- Price: meals from 2900 HUF (7.5 EUR)
- Vegan options available?: No, vegan options are not available.
- Daily menu available?: Yes, a daily menu is available.
Főzelékfaló is THE typical joint you go, if you are looking for a place where you can find practically all the typical Hungarian meals. The menu more or less stays consistent, with some minor changes from time to time.
The best thing about this food chain is that food is cooked based on the recipes of the CEO’s grandmother. This ensures that these meals are truly authentic and contains decades of experience.
8. Pizza me
- Address: Károly körút 4., 1052 Budapest (but you can find this food chain in many other locations)
- What can I get here?: Italian pizza
- Price: appr. 500 HUF (1.2 EUR) for a slice, whole pizzas range from 4890 HUF (12.5 EUR)
- Vegan options available?: No, vegan options are not available.
- Daily menu available?: No, a daily menu is not available.
Our favourite pizza place. Located all around Budapest, Pizza Me is one of the most top-quality pizza chains in Budapest. They offer 10 types of pizza on their menu, the pizza dough is perfectly crunchy, yet slim, and it tastes amazing.
What is more, this is one of those rare joints, where you can top your pizza with extra virgin olive oil or chilli oil. This brings out the flavours in the pizza making it a truly amazing experience. Especially when you are either preparing yourself for a long party night. Or when you’re trying to get home drunk and need something to absorb the alcohol in your body.
