4 of My Favorite Sausage Shops in Budapest

By Tas TóbiásLast updated: Oct. 6, 2025

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Many Budapest butcher shops (hentes) serve ready-made lunch for the city's meat-craving populace. Paprika-laced roasted sausage, or kolbász, is most popular, but liver and blood sausages (hurka), pork belly, and fried cutlets are also available. All you need is a dollop of mustard, a side of pickles, and a slice of bread on the side.

These old-school sausage shops bring together Budapest locals from all walks of life – construction workers and corporate lawyers alike stand in line during the midday rush hour. There's a codified system to a hentes-meal: pick up a tray; holler your order across the counter; wait until your food is handed to you; eat at one of the high-top tables elbow-to-elbow with fellow customers; and return your tray when you are finished. Here, a true-to-Budapest Budapest lunch experience!

#1 Belvárosi Disznótoros (Károlyi utca)

"A field of dreams, a landscape of braised and fried and cured delights," mused the late Anthony Bourdain when describing Belvárosi Disznótoros after a 2015 visit. This wallet-friendly self-service sausage shop in Budapest's downtown does serve a wide array of ready-made and to-be-prepared traditional meat dishes: paprika and blood sausage, grilled pork chop, wild boar stew, schnitzel, and so on. I usually opt for the delicious roasted sausage with a side of mustard and a slice of bread.

Note that there's no seating, only high-top tables and standing counters and that a line of office workers often forms at midday. While waiting, cast a glance at the vast Neoclassical building across the street, which, including its lovely park, used to be home to the Count Károlyi family before WWI. Today, the Petőfi Literary Museum is inside. Note: Belvárosi Disznótoros has two locations, but this one, in Károlyi utca, is my preferred choice and the original.

#2 Pinczi hús-hentesáru bolt

Part butcher shop, part ready-to-eat meat paradise, Pinczi is a popular sausage shop in Budapest. This type of low-priced lunch-only eatery was popular in days of yore but currently nearing extinction. For good reason, some locals say, but Pinczi is an exception, as the ever-present line before the glass display proves. The customers are a cross-section of local residents with a notable concentration of middle-aged men carrying protruding bellies.

I usually go for a paprika-laced sausage alongside a small piece of the specialty of the house: roasted pork belly. Sauerkraut-filled pickled pepper and a slice of bread on the side, please. All this rarely comes out to be more than €6. You will have to eat standing by the high-top tables or find a seat on the busy street outside overlooking the Nyugati Railway Terminal.

#3 Bosnyák téri hentes

Located outside the city center, this butcher shop (hentes) flanks the entrance of the Bosnyák Market and doubles as one of the best sausage vendors in Budapest. Try going on a Saturday morning when the farmers' market is bursting with customers and fresh produce. Once the shopping bags are full, drop by the butcher shop for freshly made pork knuckles or roasted paprika sausages. All you need is a dollop of mustard and a thick slice of bread for this rustic lunch treat that will set you back by about €5. Make it a communal meal by standing elbow-to-elbow with locals at the high-top tables.

#4 Tamás Kifőzdéje (Balla-Hús)

Opened in 1951, Balla-Hús is a butcher-shop-cum-eatery in downtown Budapest. Balla's business model has evolved over the decades: instead of raw meat, today it specializes in breakfast and lunch dishes to a shrinking number of local residents (Airbnb, I'm looking at you). I used to be a regular when I lived around the corner; in the morning, I would go for the scrambled eggs sprinkled with crisped-up sausages and red paprika.

During lunch, traditional meat-heavy dishes are laid out in the steam tables and usually include some kind of goulash, roasted and blood sausages, fried chicken liver, schnitzel, vegetable stews (főzelék), and pickled veggies. Let the Dionysian feast mural inspire your meal.

Hidden on a side street, Balla Hús is one of the few affordable eateries in the tourist-heavy downtown; accordingly, customers include everyone from bureaucrats from the nearby Mayor's Office to construction workers. Expect an especially generous portion if the owner himself serves you. Open Tuesday to Friday!

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