Budapest's 5 Kosher Restaurants and Pastry Shop

By Tas TobiasLast updated: Nov. 25, 2020

While Budapest still has a sizable Jewish community, there exist only four kosher restaurants and just a single kosher pastry shop in the city. They're all within the old Jewish Quarter, near the Kazinczy Street Orthodox Synagogue. Carmel and Hanna are meat, Kosher Deli and Tel Aviv Café dairy restaurants. If you don't keep strictly kosher, you could also try these Jewish-style, but non-kosher restaurants.

#1 Hanna Orthodox Restaurant

Hanna is a glatt kosher meat restaurant in Budapest's old Jewish Quarter operated by the Hungarian Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community. Since the restaurant is buried within the fortress-like edifice of the congregation, most locals have never encountered Hanna, even though the surrounding area is currently the center of Budapest's nightlife, teeming with cafés, bars, and restaurants.

#2 Carmel Restaurant

Managed by the Hungarian Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic community, Carmel is one of Budapest’s few glatt kosher restaurants. During the meals a mashgiach — an official supervising rabbi — is present at all times to ensure that Carmel adheres to kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws. As is the case with Hanna, the other meat restaurant around the corner from here, Carmel gets liveliest during Shabbat meals, that is, Friday's dinner and Saturday's lunch. Here too, guests must prepay the meals, each of which costs €25 per person.

#3 Frőhlich Kosher Pastry Shop

Budapest’s one and only kosher pastry shop is, you guessed it, inside the city's old Jewish Quarter. Frőhlich set up shop in 1953, when more Jewish people lived in the neighborhood and long before it became the city's party center. They serve low-priced traditional Hungarian tortes, pastries, and strudels, including Esterházy, Dobos, and krémes. Sure, Frőhlich is far from the top pastry shops in Budapest, but I enjoy coming here for a throwback as little has changed inside this family-run operation over the decades. Although now mainly a tourist destination, a shrinking group of local regulars also appear from time to time.

#4 Kosher Deli Budapest

Unfortunately, Budapest’s kosher restaurants aren’t known for serving delicious or nuanced dishes but most people who frequent them, of course, have no choice. Kosher Deli Restaurant, which opened in 2019, has quickly established itself as the better of Budapest’s only two dairy restaurants (the other is Tel Aviv Café around the corner). Unlike the other kosher restaurants in Budapest that are operated by either of the two local orthodox communities, Kosher Deli belongs to MAZSIHISZ, the main faction of Budapest's Jews and the proprietor of the nearby Dohány Street Synagogue.

#5 Tel Aviv Café

Located in the old Jewish Quarter near the main orthodox synagogue, Tel Aviv Café is one of the only two kosher dairy restaurants in Budapest (so don't go searching for meat dishes here). Instead of typical Ashkenazi dairy classics like matzo brei, blintz, and latkes, the menu comprises Middle Eastern classics like couscous, shakshuka, and hummus, as well as vegetarian pizzas and pastas.

Rankings are based on a combination of food/drink, atmosphere, service, and price. To remain unbiased, I visit all places incognito and pay for my own meals and drinks. But this also means I must rely on readers to support my work. If you've enjoyed this article, please consider making a donation.