More Budapest Craft Beer: Mixát Udvar, Rizmajer Beerhouse, and the Time Out Market
The first post covered three places. There were others. These are three more from the same trip — one I’d go back to without hesitation, one that’s decent if the timing works, and one that happened on a Monday evening and was better than it had any right to be.
Mixát Udvar — First Night, First Impressions
We landed in Budapest, dropped the bags, and went looking for the nearest beer. We found Mixát Udvar — a bar complex lined with indoor spaces and outdoor terraces, live traditional Hungarian music drifting over from somewhere we never quite located, and exactly the kind of evening that makes you forgive a long flight.
The bar staff were properly generous: a free taster before you commit, every single time, no fuss. We went back to the counter three or four times over the evening and tried something different each round. I can’t honestly tell you now which of those were local and which weren’t — by round three the notebook in my head had stopped taking notes. What I can tell you is I stuck to IPAs, and I stuck to anything under 6%, which in Budapest turned out to be more of a challenge than it should be.
The food was good. The setting was better. Everyone was outside, because the weather was good and there was a band playing somewhere on the street, so the actual indoor bar — fairly modern, by the look of it — sat completely empty the whole time we were there. I’d guess it comes alive on a wet November evening. We didn’t have one of those to test it.
Prices? No idea. By that point in the evening I’d stopped looking.
Verdict: Can’t give you hard numbers on this one, but free tasters, good food, and a street full of music is a strong way to start a trip. Go on a warm evening if you can.
Rizmajer Beerhouse — Good Beer, Generous Timekeeping Issues
Rizmajer has a few branches around Budapest. We ended up in the Blaha Lujza tér one, on the walk back from the Jewish Quarter along the inner ring road by the yellow tram line. Google had it listed as open until 1am every night except Sunday, when it’s midnight. It was a Monday. We got there around half past ten.
First impressions were good: a proper local selection, red ales, a few Meggy (cherry beers — a genuine Hungarian specialty), mostly sitting at a sensible 4.2%, with one or two stronger options up at 5.9%. The beer itself was decent rather than spectacular, and reasonably priced — somewhere around 1,400 to 1,600 forints for 400ml, from memory. The interior was cosy, the kind of place you sit down in properly.
Which we did. For about five minutes. Then a member of staff came over and announced last orders — ten minutes to finish, or take it outside in a plastic cup. We’d bought the beers moments earlier. When I pointed out that Google says 1am, the answer was that it wasn’t busy, so they’d decided to close early. There were, by my count, three or four other tables in exactly the same position, also being told to drink up.
Verdict: The beer was good, the venue was pleasant, and none of that matters much when you’re being moved on minutes after you sit down. Worth it if you want cheap, decent local beer and don’t mind being rushed — I probably wouldn’t go back, but only because of the welcome we got on the way out.
The Piano Bar — Time Out Market Budapest
Time Out Market Budapest gets the full write-up elsewhere on the blog. The detail worth flagging here: you can order beer by the litre, properly, in an actual litre — not a novelty, just a sensible size if you’re settling in.
I went local and went cherry — a litre of Meggy, the Hungarian cherry beer, and a genuinely good way to spend an evening. There’s live music every night — Mondays it’s a pianist, one night is jazz, other nights a DJ. It gives the whole hall an odd, relaxed, almost lounge feel that you don’t expect from a food court. When the music stopped, around 10pm, that was the cue — we finished up and walked back to the hotel.
Verdict: Not a destination for serious beer hunting, but a good, easy stop if you want a proper-sized pour and don’t mind market-hall prices. The Monday piano is the bit that actually stays with you.
Addresses
Mixát Udvar
Krúdy u 7, 1088 Budapest (District VIII)
Open Mon–Sat 5pm–midnight, closed Sunday
mixatudvar.hu
Rizmajer Beerhouse (Blaha)
József krt. 14, 1085 Budapest
Open Mon–Sat 12pm–1am, Sun 12pm–midnight
rizmajersor.hu
Time Out Market Budapest
Blaha Lujza tér 1, 1085 Budapest (Corvin Palace)
Open daily 11:30am–11:30pm (kitchens close 10pm)
timeout.com/time-out-market-budapest
Next from The Taps: More Budapest Craft Beer — HOPS Beer Bar, Beer Brothers and First Craft Beer & BBQ →
