Budapest's Ruin Bar Crawl

You are my Liebling.

Kicking off the party block of venues, Liebling is the very essence of hipster ruin bar, and will fast become your stag do second home. Widely known as the ‘warm up act’ before Fogas Haz, this neat little rooftop ruin bar has a cosy atmosphere, live music events, Hungarian folk dance acts and a wide vodka, whisky and rum selection. There’s ivy creeping up the railing of the spiral staircase leading to the rooftop terrace, chubby angels peering down from the walls and 400 lightbulbs completing this friendly rendezvous spot.

Welcome to Wonderland.

March 2017 marked the long awaited reopening of the fairy tale-esque superclub and grandiose club complex, Fogashaz and Fogaskert. Here, you’ll get lost in the most idiosyncratic space in Budapest – where the psychedelic underground palace, Instant, as well as Fogas Haz, Fogaskert and Larm ruin bars all harmoniously coexist. Literally translating as ‘House of Teeth’, Fogas Haz, deriving its name from a 100 year old sign found during its initial renovation that advertised dental care, is one seriously offbeat retreat to get your teeth into. Astonishingly popular among tourists with its own outdoor drinking terrace, and open ‘til 4am every night of the week - this late night venue bills itself as ‘easy to arrive in, but hard to leave’. Find out for yourselves…

Fill up my cup… Mazel Tov.

Slap bang in the middle of Budapest’s Jewish Quarter, the aptly named Mazel Tov is warm and cosy, tucked away within a previously abandoned brick building. Its minimalistic decor, gigantic skylight, retro-chic lamps and cool cultural events make Mazel Tov part of the new-age of ruin bars. Looking deserted from the outside, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the huge selection of drinks, super friendly staff, tree-shaded garden seating area and diverse calendar of concerts and performances – including the Jewish Summer Festival in May.

For R'n'B, funk and hip hop - Doboz is your number one spot.

The mash up of pub, club and cultural hub makes Doboz a truly unique base for a stag do celebration. Every eclectic room has a range of different DJs spinning the decks each night, playing house, R’n’B, hip hop and funk. After its grand opening in 2011, Doboz has become one of the most popular ruin bars in Budapest, and is the first all-season premium ruin bar in the whole city. Boasting a capacity of almost 1,500, this superclub has four bars, two huge dancefloors, a grill bar and a massive courtyard with a metal gorilla climbing its central tree – the oldest tree in the district, aged over 300 years old.

Finally, you’ll arrive at Szimpla Kert - talk about ending on a high...

Not just the ‘Mecca’ of all ruin bars, Szimpla Kert is a milestone in Budapest’s alternative nightlife history. The former factory has been transformed into an open-air cinema, extensive bar, a live music and theatre events space and even a bike market, and, on top of all that, has the sustainable environment nestled within its green heart. The interiors of this pioneering pub feature sawn-off Trabant cars doubling up as seats, quirky bric-a-brac adorning every nook and cranny and, of course, trees and plants as far as the eye can see. With craft beers and local wines as cheap as chips… you szimply can’t miss it.

If getting ‘ruined’ the Hungarian way sounds like something you and your fellow stags would be interested in, have a look on our Budapest stag weekends page for more information.