Budapest's Michelin Bib Gourmand Restaurants in 2026

By Tas TóbiásLast updated: Mar. 9, 2026

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Bib Gourmand is an award by Michelin to "small, charming" restaurants that offer excellent food at good value – technically, two courses and a glass of wine or a dessert for about €40 excluding tax and tip, although there's no set criteria. Currently two Budapest restaurants can boast a Bib. Here, you'll find Budapest's Michelin-starred restaurants.

#1 N28 Wine and Kitchen

Over the years, Chef Szabolcs Nagy has won many fans for his brand of cooking, which isn't confined to goulash and all things paprika yet Hungarian in spirit. Szabolcs, who currently oversees the kitchen of N28, a casually elegant restaurant off Andrássy Avenue, finds inspiration in the food of Transdanubia in western Hungary. There, dishes reflect the influence of sizable German communities that settled down in the 18th century.

The daily changing menu might feature delicious stewed gizzards, foie gras, or lamb fries. Not into offals? How about roast sausages stuffed with yeast bread (instead of rice, as in eaastern Hungary)? Or perhaps marbled mangalica from a small farm in the Zala region? Pure-tasting catfish? Lots of seasonal vegetables and winter preserves play more than supporting roles as do the poppy-seeds in the desserts.

The owners of the restaurant deal also in wines, so pairing options abound, sourced from Hungary's major wine regions (for example Tokaj, Eger, Balaton). There's a two and three-course lunch prix fixe and a focused dinner menu with €15-20 mains.

#2 Cabrio

As in other big cities, natural wine bars have enveloped Budapest in recent years. The great question with such fashionable establishments is whether or not the hype morphs into self importance and pretension. Cabrio, a cozy, low-lit venue, has so far managed to remain on the right side of cool. Part of its charm is the location on Kamermayer Károly tér, a quiet square in the city center named after the first mayor of Budapest whose statue presides over the premises.

The wine list is pan-European, featuring also Hungary’s well-known natural wine producers such as Hummel, Dorka Homoky, and Péter Nagyváradi. It should go without saying that the food concept is – sigh! – small plates. But the dishes are notably delicious. Especially the grilled and sliced celery root drenched in a creamy walnut-infused sauce, and the tender trout filet topped with a drizzle of San Marzano tomatoes. Open Wednesday through Saturday.

#3 Goli

Helmed by the Israeli chef Harel Zakaim, Goli is a buzzing Middle Eastern restaurant in Budapest’s downtown. The restaurant’s moniker pays respect to the Goldberger textile business that occupied the building before the Goldberger family was killed in the Holocaust in 1945 (the facade still bears their name).

As in New York or Tel Aviv, energetic Middle Eastern electronic music accompanies the dishes, most of which are quickly treated to the charcoal fire. The smoked watermelon “sashimi” in olive oil and the charred cauliflower are rightfully popular and there's a deceptively good labneh made from almond milk (Goli is dairy-free). My table’s favorites were the Moroccan “cigar” – tender hanger steak stuffed into in a burek – and the thin slices of ribs sitting in piquant tahini sauce. Also here: cocktails, Hungarian and Israeli wines, and an ethereal milk pudding called malabi. The place is small, advance booking recommended. €70 or so will buy a full meal for two with a drink.

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