10 of my Favorite Pastry Shops in Budapest

By Tas TóbiásLast updated: Aug. 24, 2025

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Before long, one will stumble into a pastry shop (cukrászda) in Budapest. The city's vibrant pastry culture harks back to the period of Austria-Hungary (1867-1918) when people socialized over luscious cakes and rich tortes. Many of the places below serve both traditional cakes such as Dobos and Esterházy and contemporary concoctions. Note that Cafe Gerbeaud is usually mobbed by tourists; the neighborhood favorites (Auguszt, Nándori, Sommer) will better convey a sense of place and won't be so crowded.

#1 Auguszt Buda (Fény utca)

A true Budapest landmark, Auguszt is a family-run pastry shop dating back to 1870 and currently helmed by the fourth generation embodied by the 76-year-old József Auguszt, who mans the cashier on most days in his signature chef's hat. Already at the turn of the 20th century Auguszt was a pride of the Buda side, which was regularly dismissed as a conservative backwater compared with the dynamic Pest across the river. (Painted black and emblazoned with a golden logo, an elegant horse-drawn carriage made Auguszt deliveries until 1929, when it was replaced by a custom-built automobile.)

Auguszt has been through thick and thin – during the most repressive years of the Communist regime, in the early 1950s, the business was nationalized and the family deported to the Hungarian countryside. In 1957, they were granted a small space from which grew out the current premises.

Despite its long history, Auguszt doesn’t traffic in nostalgia. Few Budapest pastry shops can rival its quality and assortment, which includes all the classic cakes such as Dobos, Esterházy, krémes, flódni, as well as savory biscuits such as pogácsa, and modern concoctions. The marzipan layered sponge cake known as “E80” stands for Elemér Auguszt, for whose 80th birthday it was made in 1992. It became such a hit that now pastry shops across Budapest serve it.

The upstairs is reserved for sit-down customers; in the summer months they open up the outdoor garden. Prices are higher than elsewhere but so is the quality. (The Auguszt locations on the Pest side are run separately by another branch of the family in a similar manner.)

#2 Geraldine (Museum Garden)

Whenever I visit the Hungarian National Museum, one of my favorites, I love to stop by the museum's charming garden filled with inviting greens, numerous benches, and fascinating sculptures. This peaceful island in Budapest's Palace Quarter also hides Geraldine pastry shop, inside a small Neoclassical building that used to be the gardener’s house. In the cold months, I like to tuck myself into a corner of the light-filled “winter garden,” otherwise you would find me on the outdoor terrace. Geraldine serves traditional and modern pastries, both delicious and sourced from the famous Auguszt pastry dynasty to which this location also belongs.

#3 Centrál Cafe

Centrál is one of the few remaining coffeehouses dating back to Budapest’s golden era before WWI. At the time, the city was swarming with elegant cafés such as Centrál where people spent endless caffeine-fueled hours working and socializing under the sky-high ceilings (today, one of Central's walls is blanketed in framed photos of writers, poets, and editors who were once regulars).

Centrál didn't escape Budapest’s tragic post-war history – nationalization, decay, closure; although the new venue played an important role in the dissemination of rock and roll music in 1960s Communist Hungary. In 2000, Centrál was restored to its former glory. The place wears many hats these days, but it is best known for its grand interior, breakfast all-day offerings, and delicious homemade pastries (Esterházy! Dobos! Pistachio cake!).

#4 Auguszt Downtown (Kossuth Lajos Str.)

Auguszt is a famous family-owned confectionery in Budapest dating back to 1870. Although their Buda location, which is run by a different part of the family, is considered to be the crown jewel, this one, on Kossuth Lajos utca, is more conveniently located for most people. The inside is fitted with plush banquettes, floor-to-ceiling windows, and cozy nooks and crannies (upstairs).

Auguszt serves both the usual suspects (Dobos and Esterházy torte, krémes, flódni, isler, marzipan figurines) and their in-house creations, such as E-80, which was made for Elemér Auguszt's eightieth birthday. Also here: sugar and lactose-free cakes. Another upside of the place is that uUnlike other downtown pastry shops, Auguszt isn't overrun by tourists and attracts a mainly local crowd, even ladies who seem to have been parachuted here from 1930s Budapest. Closed on Sunday and Monday.

#5 Nándori Cukrászda

Nándori Cukrászda is a popular neighborhood pastry shop in Budapest's District 9. The place has been going strong since 1957 likely thanks to the reliably tasty and not too expensive lineup of classic Hungarian cakes, savory biscuits, marzipan figurines, and ice cream. Most recently, I had an excellent mákos guba torte, a playful take on the poppy-seeds bread pudding. Those in search of a Dobos or an Esterházy will also not be disappointed. In addition, Nándori prides itself on its sugar and gluten-free offerings. On Saturdays, it’s not unusual that a line stretches outside the premises. Across the street hides Jedermann, a wonderful cafe and jazz bar also worth visiting.

#6 Café Gerbeaud

Gerbeaud is a historic pastry shop and café in Budapest's downtown. It was the Swiss-Hungarian patissier Emil Gerbeaud, who, after taking over the business in 1884, revolutionized the Hungarian confectionery industry with inventive sweets and pastries.

Today, Gerbeaud is mainly a pricey tourist attraction, but it still puts out delicious traditional Austro-Hungarian pastries, such as Dobos, Esterházy, and Sacher tortes, krémes, and the namesake Gerbeaud cake. In addition, they have two signature treats: konyakmeggy, a brandied sour cherry bonbon enclosed by chocolate, and macskanyelv, a milk chocolate shaped like a cat’s tongue.

The inside is lavish with crystal chandeliers, marble-topped tables, and cherrywood paneling. Even during the Communist era (1947-1989), Gerbeaud remained a see-and-be-seen hangout for Budapest's upper crust (under national ownership and a less Western-sounding name: Vörösmarty Cukrászda). Part of the experience is basking in the historic glow of the space, but note that all to-go orders are half-priced.

#7 Házi rétesbolt (Pozsonyi)

Házi Rétes is a family-owned strudel (rétes) shop in the heart of Budapest’s Újlipótváros, a lively neighborhood known for its young families and Jewish intellectuals. Házi Rétes, which opened in 2005, doubles as a community hangout as the owner couple appears to know every passerby, many of whom stop for a quick or not so quick bite. Fresh curd cheese (túró), cherry, and poppy seeds are most popular, but I am partial to the cabbage strudel. Not because it is the most traditional – I am a liberal (strudel consumer) – but because it is generously layered with creamy and crunchy and just-cooked cabbage with a nice peppery kick. Yes, please!

#8 Sommer Cukrászda (Szív utca)

Sommer is far from the fancy-pants pastry shops of Budapest instead being a beloved neighborhood favorite in District 6. They serve an unusually wide range of dependable classic Hungarian and Jewish-Hungarian pastries, including a Dobos and Esterházy torte, flódni, and Rákóczi túrós (apricot jam and meringue-topped sweet cottage cheese slice). The specialty of the house is the sávjci kifli, a sweet pastry filled with chestnut paste and cherry pieces. Yes, please.

Also here: strudels, pogácsa, and sajtos roló, the latter a tube-shaped baked pastry layered with cream cheese. If you go in the winter, try the bejgli, a Christmas roll laced with ground poppy seeds and ground walnuts. Wallet-friendly prices, a true-to-Budapest establishment!

#9 Édes Mackó

Édes Mackó is a chimney cake (kürtőskalács) vendor outside the Budapest Zoo, across from Széchenyi Baths. Originating in 17th-century Transylvania, chimney cake is a specialty bread traditionally made for the aristocracy to celebrate birthdays, weddings, and baby showers; I am grateful that this delicious treat has trickled down to us plebs and proles – kürtőskalács is all the rage these days across Budapest.

The preparation: a sugar-coated yeast dough is wrapped around a baking spit and roasted over fire. The result is a tender interior behind a crunchy, caramelized crust. Most Budapest kürtőskalács vendors use an electric oven, but Édes Mackó still makes them over fire. In addition to the classic version, there are new-wave varieties – I kind of love the one layered with plum jam and cinnamon sugar.

#10 Daubner Cukrászda

Opened in the 1980s, Daubner is an iconic pastry shop on the Buda side by the foothills of Rózsadomb. Daubner’s assortment of cakes, pastries (sweet and savory) and ice creams is completely astonishing. The tortes are reliably solid without being exceptional, apart from the Sacher torte, which might just be the very best on this side of the Leitha River. I can also recommend the coconut slice and the pogácsa variations. Note that Daubner is primarily a takeout establishment with only a few high-top tables and that it is hard to avoid some waiting in line.

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