The short version: Budapest runs on paprika. Start with a bowl of gulyás (goulash) and a plate of pörkölt stew, graze the Great Market Hall for lángos and salami, try chicken paprikash with nokedli dumplings, and finish with a chimney cake or a strudel. Toast it all with a shot of pálinka or a glass of Hungarian wine.
At a glance
| Dish | What it is |
|---|---|
| Gulyás | Goulash – a paprika beef-and-potato soup, not a stew |
| Pörkölt | The thick paprika meat stew often called “goulash” abroad |
| Lángos | Deep-fried dough topped with sour cream and cheese |
| Chicken paprikash | Chicken in paprika-sour-cream sauce with nokedli dumplings |
| Kürtőskalács | Chimney cake – sweet dough rolled and turned over coals |
The paprika classics
Get the terms straight: gulyás is a soup, the thing foreigners call “goulash” is usually pörkölt, the thick paprika stew. Both are essential, as is chicken paprikash (paprikás csirke) with pinched nokedli dumplings, and halászlé, the fiery river-fish soup. All lean on Hungarian paprika, sweet or hot. Eat them in an old-school étkezde or on a Budapest food tour.
Market food and sweets
The Great Market Hall is the place to graze: lángos (fried dough with sour cream and cheese) upstairs, Mangalica salami and sausage, pickles, and paprika to take home. For something sweet, a kürtőskalács (chimney cake) hot off the coals, or a rétes strudel in a grand café. Learn to make it all in a cooking class, and see the wines in our Budapest wine page.
What to drink
Hungarian wine is excellent – sweet Tokaji, dry Furmint, bold Egri Bikavér – and the national spirit is pálinka, a fruit brandy drunk as a toast. The most fun place to drink is a ruin bar. Plan the trip from the Hungary hub.
Frequently asked questions
What food is Budapest known for?
Paprika dishes above all – goulash (gulyás) and pörkölt stew, chicken paprikash with nokedli – plus lángos, Mangalica salami, chimney cake and strudel, grazed best at the Great Market Hall.
What is the difference between goulash and pörkölt?
Gulyás (goulash) is a paprika soup with beef and potatoes; pörkölt is the thicker paprika meat stew that many people abroad picture when they say “goulash”.
What do you drink in Budapest?
Hungarian wine – sweet Tokaji, dry Furmint, red Egri Bikavér – and pálinka, the fruit brandy drunk as a toast, best enjoyed in a ruin bar.
Taste Budapest
Book a Budapest food tour, a cooking class or a ruin-bar & pálinka tour, and plan from the Hungary hub.
