Hungarian Desserts in Budapest: Eight Spots and What to Order at Each
On this page
- The eight, at a glance
- Gettó Gulyás: túrógombóc after a proper stew
- Gundel: the house where somlói galuska began
- Arán Bakery: sourdough from a Dublin-born starter
- Café Gerbeaud: the grand room on Vörösmarty tér
- Málna The Pastry Shop: modern takes on the classics
- Central Grand Café: three classics on one plate
- Szamos Marcipán: marzipan, and the museum above the café
- Auguszt Cukrászda: the best-value classics, Tuesday to Saturday
- What the same cake costs across town
- The short version
- More sweet stops in Budapest
Budapest’s traditional desserts live at eight addresses, and most of them open every day. Two schedules need planning: Auguszt’s central shops close Sunday and Monday, and Málna The Pastry Shop closes on Mondays.
Here is what each place does best, what it costs, and when to go.
One Hungarian classic is missing from the list on purpose. Rétes is not a cukrászda cake, so it is sold by the piece at dedicated strudel counters instead.
The eight, at a glance
| Venue | District | Order this | Price | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gettó Gulyás | VII | Túrógombóc with cinnamon sour cream | 2,590 Ft (about USD 8) | Daily 12:00-23:00 |
| Gundel | XIV | Somlói galuska | 3,325 Ft (about USD 10) | Daily 11:30-22:00, kitchen closes 21:00 |
| Arán Bakery | VII | Sourdough bread and pastries | At the counter | Mon-Fri 7:30-19:00, Sat-Sun 8:00-15:00 (Wesselényi utca 23) |
| Café Gerbeaud | V | Dobos torta | 4,490 Ft in the café (about USD 14), 2,190 Ft on the webshop (about USD 6.50) | Mon-Thu and Sun 9:00-20:00, Fri-Sat 9:00-21:00 |
| Málna The Pastry Shop | V | Raspberry mousse, Rákóczi túrós | At the counter | Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon |
| Central Grand Café | V | The three-classic tasting plate | 4,590 Ft (about USD 14) | Mon-Tue and Sun 9:00-22:00, Wed-Sat 9:00-00:00 |
| Szamos Marcipán | V | Marzipan, then the museum | At the counter | Daily 10:00-19:00 (Párizsi utca 3) |
| Auguszt Cukrászda | II and V | Eszterházy torta | 1,890 Ft on the webshop (about USD 6) | Tue-Sat, closed Sun-Mon |
Prices are in HUF, which is what you pay at the counter or on the webshop. Converted at 1 USD = 326 HUF, the ECB rate on 9 October 2026. Rates move, so treat the converted figures as indicative.
Gettó Gulyás: túrógombóc after a proper stew
What is it? A stew house on Wesselényi utca 18 in the Jewish Quarter, in the former Szóda Bár, with Zsolnay plates, solid wooden tables and candlelight. Ten to fifteen kinds of pörkölt are on the stove every day, and the desserts are the grandmother classics.
Why it’s worth it: túrógombóc is the dessert most Hungarians would name if you asked what their grandmother made: soft túró dumplings rolled in buttered breadcrumbs. Here it comes with cinnamon sour cream, at 2,590 Ft. Somlói galuska and madártej with crushed pistachio are the same price, and the flódni half-dome with house walnut ice cream is 2,690 Ft. It suits anyone who wants a full Hungarian dinner and a dessert to finish it. The one thing to plan for is the evening rush: book a table online for dinner.
Insider tip: if you are here mainly for dessert, the pörkölt and paprikás menu makes a natural first act. A 12% service charge is added to the bill.
The facts: Wesselényi utca 18, open daily 12:00 to 23:00, table booking through the restaurant’s website.
Gundel: the house where somlói galuska began
What is it? Budapest’s best-known restaurant, on the ground floor of a 19th-century building on Gundel Károly út 4, between Heroes’ Square and the zoo, with live piano music all day.
Somlói galuska started as an idea of Károly Gollerits, Gundel’s head waiter; pastry chef József Béla Szőcs worked out the recipe and named it after Somlyó Hill in Fót, where he lived. It won its fame at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Sponge, chocolate, walnut and whipped cream, with raisins flavored with Tokaji aszú, and Gundel serves it at 3,325 Ft.
Why it’s worth it: you eat the dessert in the room it was born in, and the kitchen still makes it to the original recipe. It suits a long lunch or a dinner with a sense of occasion. The trade-off is the price of a restaurant course rather than a counter slice, plus a 15% service charge.
Insider tip: the dessert selection lets you pick three of Dobos, Eszterházy, mini Rákóczi túrós, somlói and a mini chocolate cake for 3,500 Ft, which is the easiest way to taste the canon in one sitting. The kitchen closes at 21:00, an hour before the room, so order dessert in good time.
The facts: Gundel Károly út 4, open daily 11:30 to 22:00; day menu 11:30 to 18:00, dinner menu 18:00 to 22:00, Sunday lunch menu 11:30 to 16:00. Book online; in summer the garden opens in good weather.
Arán Bakery: sourdough from a Dublin-born starter
Arán bakes sourdough bread, classic Irish pastries and Hungarian pastries on site, and pours a light-roast coffee roasted just for the bakery.
Kinga and Attila Pécsi opened the first Arán in 2019 on the corner of Wesselényi and Nagy Diófa utca (Wesselényi utca 23, 1077 Budapest; address read on aranbakery.hu on 16 October 2026), after years in Ireland where Kinga trained as a baker. The name is Irish for bread, and the sourdough starter, Paddy, was born in Dublin. A second shop followed in Buda in June 2021, and we have a full write-up of the Móricz Zsigmond körtér branch if you are on that side of the river. Everything is baked on site from Hungarian flour. The Wesselényi shop is open Monday to Friday 7:30 to 19:00, Saturday and Sunday 8:00 to 15:00 (hours read on the bakery’s own Google Business profile on 16 October 2026).
Café Gerbeaud: the grand room on Vörösmarty tér
What is it? One of Europe’s great confectioner’s cafés, on Vörösmarty tér 7-8. Henrik Kugler opened his confectionery in 1858 and moved it to the square in 1870; Émile Gerbeaud arrived from Paris in 1884 and took over the running of the house. It was refreshed in 2025, when new takes on the classics joined the menu, among them an orange Dobos torta and a sour cherry and poppy seed Gerbeaud slice.
The Dobos torta itself was József C. Dobos’s, presented at the 1885 National Exhibition: five thin sponge layers, chocolate buttercream and a hard caramel top. Gerbeaud makes a lovely one. In the café a slice of Dobos, Eszterházy or the house Gerbeaud slice is 4,490 Ft, and the Hungarian classics plate puts a Gerbeaud slice, an Eszterházy slice and Dobos with vanilla ice cream and apricot sauce on one plate for 6,990 Ft. The Gerbeaud coffee (4,950 Ft) is not an espresso: it is an americano with apricot liqueur, whipped cream and caramelized walnut. All café prices carry 15% service on top. To take away, the Dobos is 2,190 Ft a slice on the webshop.
Why it’s worth it: the room is the occasion, and the cakes match it. It suits a first trip to Budapest and anyone who wants the full coffee house ritual. The café takes no reservations and seats guests in order of arrival, so at busy times you may wait for a table, and a 15% service charge applies in the café.
Insider tip: for a slice to take home, the Gerbeaud webshop takes orders until 16:00 for pickup or Budapest delivery the next day. There is also a full itemized Gerbeaud bill and a ranking of the city’s Dobos slices.
The facts: Vörösmarty tér 7-8, open Monday to Thursday and Sunday 9:00 to 20:00, Friday and Saturday 9:00 to 21:00.
Málna The Pastry Shop: modern takes on the classics
Zoltán Kolonics was head pastry chef at Gerbeaud before opening Málna with his wife Ágnes Varga, a former ballet dancer who shapes the look of the desserts, and the Dining Guide named Málna Pastry Shop of the Year in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The shop has moved from Óbuda to Hercegprímás utca 17, behind St Stephen’s Basilica.
The counter mixes French-style desserts with reworked Hungarian classics. The house signature is a light, raspberry-rich mousse with real raspberries inside; the Rákóczi túrós comes as a lightly citrus túró mousse with a barely sweet apricot topping, an almond “linzer” base and meringue, and the somlói is soaked in rum, Cointreau and Tokaji szamorodni. Málna opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, and closes on Mondays. Whole cakes are ordered by phone or email two to three days ahead.
Central Grand Café: three classics on one plate
What is it? The Centrál coffee house at Károlyi utca 9, a literary café with the classic cakes still on the card.
| Dessert | Price | About (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Dobos torta | 2,790 Ft | ~8.50 |
| Eszterházy torta | 2,790 Ft | ~8.50 |
| Rákóczi túrós | 2,890 Ft | ~9 |
| Hungary tasting plate (all three) | 4,590 Ft | ~14 |
Why it’s worth it: if you have one sitting and want to taste the canon side by side, the tasting plate puts Dobos, Eszterházy and Rákóczi túrós together. Rákóczi túrós is the one you will not find at every counter: linzer pastry, túró, meringue and fruit.
Insider tip: Wednesday to Saturday the café stays open until midnight, so it is a realistic plan for dessert after a concert or a late dinner. Compare it with the rest of the city’s coffee house scene before you commit an afternoon.
The facts: Károlyi utca 9; Monday, Tuesday and Sunday 9:00 to 22:00, Wednesday to Saturday 9:00 to midnight.
Szamos Marcipán: marzipan, and the museum above the café
What is it? Hungary’s best-known marzipan house. Its founder, Mátyás Szamos, learned to shape marzipan roses as a young apprentice in Auguszt’s Krisztina körút shop in the early 1930s, and the family business still carries that craft.
Why it’s worth it: the sculpting is the draw. The Szamos Chocolate Museum shows a perfect miniature of Parliament, the Hungarian crown jewels and a 78 kg marzipan version of Liotard’s painting The Chocolate Girl, alongside a 1920s sweet shop and a turn-of-the-century chocolate workshop. It suits families and anyone who likes to see how things are made.
Insider tip: the museum is a separate address from the pastry counters. Guided chocolate tours with tasting are booked through Szamos, and we cover what a chocolate museum visit involves separately.
The facts: Marcipán Cukrászda, Párizsi utca 3, open daily 10:00 to 19:00, a two-minute walk off Váci utca. Árkád Cukrászda, Örs vezér tere 25, Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 20:00, Sunday 10:00 to 19:00. Szamos Chocolate Museum, Kossuth Lajos tér 10, upper floor of the Szamos café beside Parliament, open daily 10:00 to 18:00.
Auguszt Cukrászda: the best-value classics, Tuesday to Saturday
Auguszt is the best-value classic cake on this list. A Dobos or Eszterházy slice is 1,890 Ft on the family’s own webshop, and the Eszterházy is the order.
Elek Auguszt opened the first shop in Tabán in 1870. His son József E. Auguszt took the business over from his widowed mother in 1905, and in 1916 he and his wife opened the Krisztina körút shop that people called “the Gerbeaud of Buda”. The state nationalized the business in 1951 and the family was moved out of Budapest; in 1957 Elemér Auguszt and his wife opened the Fény utca shop, which is still the flagship.
Four shops trade today, and the two central ones both close Sunday and Monday:
| Shop | District | Address | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fény utcai Auguszt | II | Fény utca 8 | Tue-Sat 8:30-18:00, closed Sun-Mon |
| Auguszt Belváros | V | Kossuth Lajos utca 14-16 | Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, closed Sun-Mon |
| Geraldine, Auguszt Múzeumkert | VIII | Múzeum körút 14-16 | Tue-Sun 10:00-19:00, closed Mon |
| Farkasréti Auguszt Pavilon | XI | Sasadi út 190 | Daily 10:00-18:00 |
Shop hours and webshop slice prices checked at auguszt.hu on 11 October 2026. The bakery’s own pages give different closing times for Geraldine and the pavilion, so check before a late visit.
If your only free day is a Sunday, Geraldine in the National Museum garden is the family’s Sunday answer, and the Farkasrét pavilion opens all week if you are out that way.
What the same cake costs across town
One Dobos torta, five ways to buy it:
| Venue | Dobos | About (USD) | What comes with it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auguszt Cukrászda (webshop) | 1,890 Ft | ~6 | A family recipe, taken home |
| Café Gerbeaud (webshop) | 2,190 Ft | ~6.50 | Next-day pickup or Budapest delivery |
| Central Grand Café | 2,790 Ft | ~8.50 | Table service in a classic coffee house, open to midnight Wed-Sat |
| Gundel dessert selection | 3,500 Ft for three pieces | ~10.50 | Dobos plus two more classics, with live piano |
| Café Gerbeaud (café table) | 4,490 Ft plus 15% service | ~14 | Table service in the Vörösmarty tér room |
Gerbeaud’s café adds a 15% service charge and Gundel adds 15% to the bill, so a seated slice costs more than the same cake taken away. What you pay for at the top end is the room and the ritual, and that is a lovely way to spend an afternoon.
Sources: Gettó Gulyás menu, Gundel café menu and contact page, Gerbeaud, Gerbeaud café menu and Gerbeaud webshop, Málna The Pastry Shop, Central Grand Café menu, Szamos shops and Szamos Chocolate Museum, Arán Bakery; prices and hours checked 11 October 2026; Arán Wesselényi utca hours read on the bakery’s Google Business profile on 16 October 2026.
The short version
Go to Auguszt for the best value and plan it for Tuesday to Saturday. Go to Gettó Gulyás for túrógombóc and book the table. Go to Gerbeaud for the room and a classic Dobos, and to Gundel for somlói where it began. Send anyone chasing modern pastry to Málna behind the Basilica, any day but Monday.
More sweet stops in Budapest
- Geraldine for Auguszt cake in the National Museum garden, open Sundays
- The Dobos torta ranking with prices from every counter worth the walk
- Café Gerbeaud, itemized if you want to know what the bill comes to
- Kürtőskalács for the chimney cake stalls worth seeking out
- Budapest’s cafés when the coffee matters as much as the cake
Good to know
Which Budapest dessert spots are open on a Sunday?
Gettó Gulyás (12:00-23:00), Gundel (11:30-22:00), Café Gerbeaud (9:00-20:00), Málna The Pastry Shop (10:00-18:00), Central Grand Café (9:00-22:00) and Szamos Marcipán on Párizsi utca (10:00-19:00) all open on Sundays. Auguszt's Fény utca and Kossuth Lajos utca shops do not; its Geraldine café in the National Museum garden and the Farkasrét pavilion do.
How much does a slice of cake cost in Budapest?
Between 1,890 and 2,890 Ft at most places in this guide, and 4,490 Ft at a table in Café Gerbeaud. Auguszt's Dobos and Eszterházy are 1,890 Ft on its webshop, Café Gerbeaud's Dobos is 2,190 Ft on its webshop and 4,490 Ft in the café plus 15% service, and Central Grand Café charges 2,790 Ft for Dobos and Eszterházy and 2,890 Ft for Rákóczi túrós. Gundel's somlói galuska is 3,325 Ft as a restaurant dessert course.
Where do I find flódni in Budapest?
Gettó Gulyás serves a flódni half-dome with house walnut ice cream for 2,690 Ft, on Wesselényi utca 18 in District VII, open daily from noon.
Did Café Gerbeaud invent the Dobos torta?
No. József C. Dobos created it and presented it at the 1885 National Exhibition in Budapest. Café Gerbeaud has its own story: Henrik Kugler opened his confectionery in 1858, moved to today's Vörösmarty tér in 1870, and Émile Gerbeaud came from Paris in 1884 to take over the running of the house.
Is Málna The Pastry Shop still in Óbuda?
No. Málna moved from Óbuda to Hercegprímás utca 17 in District V, a few steps from St Stephen's Basilica. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 and closes Mondays. Whole cakes are ordered by phone or email two to three days ahead.
Do I need a reservation at these places?
Gettó Gulyás and Gundel both take table bookings online, and both are worth booking for dinner. Café Gerbeaud takes no reservations at all and seats guests in order of arrival.
Where is the Szamos Chocolate Museum?
Kossuth Lajos tér 10, on the upper floor of the Szamos café next to Parliament, open daily 10:00 to 18:00. It is a different address from the Szamos pastry counters: the central one is at Párizsi utca 3, and the mall branch is at Örs vezér tere 25 inside Árkád.
Book it, skip the counter
Prices checked 2026-10-26. Booking through these links supports the site at no extra cost to you. How this works.