Instant-Fogas or Szimpla Kert on New Year's Eve: Two Very Different Nights

For a New Year’s Eve that runs until morning, Instant-Fogas is the ruin bar built for it: a party every year, a few pre-sale tickets and most entry sold at the door, six dance floors and 18 bars. Szimpla Kert is the original ruin bar, free to enter and at its best for a relaxed evening of drinks among the salvaged furniture. The 2026 New Year’s Eve details for both venues are not published yet, so below is what each house says about its rules today and how to plan around them.

For the rest of the Hungarian year, from carnival to Christmas, see our calendar of Hungarian holidays and traditions.

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Two Venues, Two Kinds of Night

They get compared as rivals, but they answer different questions. Szimpla is the bar you go to see: the place that started the ruin-bar idea, a rambling building of courtyards and rooms you wander through with a drink. Instant-Fogas is a club complex of six dance floors with a different sound on each, and it stays open until 6 AM. On New Year’s Eve that difference decides the night.

The covered courtyard corridor at Szimpla Kert. Photo: Nan Palmero, CC BY 2.0, resized.

Szimpla Kert

What is it? The ruin bar that started the format, at Kazinczy utca 14 in District VII: a rambling building filled with mismatched furniture, salvaged objects and the famous sticker-covered Trabant in the courtyard.

Why it’s worth it: It is the most characterful room in the party district and costs nothing to walk into, which makes it the easy first stop of a long evening. Much of it is courtyard, so in December the warm corners fill first.

Insider tip: Come in the early evening, before the late crowd, when there is room to wander through all the rooms with a drink in hand.

The facts:

Detail	Szimpla Kert
Address	Kazinczy utca 14, District VII
Entry	Free
Draft beer (0.5 L)	2,200 to 2,500 HUF (about $6.5 to $7.5)
Cocktails	4,000 to 5,500 HUF (about $12 to $17)
Pálinka (4 cl)	3,000 HUF (about $9)
New Year’s Eve	Not published on szimpla.hu yet

Prices are in HUF, which is what you pay at the counter. Converted at 1 USD = 327 HUF, the ECB rate on 8 October 2026. Rates move, so treat the converted figures as indicative.

Source: drink prices from Szimpla’s own drinks and food boards at szimpla.hu, read on 9 October 2026.

Our Szimpla Kert guide covers the house rules, the Sunday market and the rest of the year.

Instant-Fogas

What is it? The complex formed when two ruin pubs, Instant and Fogasház, joined forces in one building at Akácfa utca 49-51 in District VII: six dance floors and 18 bars, with rock, EDM, metal, hit remixes, Latin and techno on different floors.

Why it’s worth it: It is open every day until 6 AM and is the venue that throws a New Year’s Eve party every year, so if the plan is midnight and then dancing until the metro restarts, this is the address. The building is big and the rooms connect in many directions, so agree on a meeting point with your group.

Insider tip: Leave your valuables out of your coat. The cloakroom costs 500 HUF a guest, and every extra trip to fetch something from your coat costs another 500 HUF.

The facts:

Detail	Instant-Fogas
Address	Akácfa utca 49-51, District VII
Regular hours	Every day, 6 PM to 6 AM
Entry	Free on most nights; special events can be ticketed
New Year’s Eve	A few pre-sale tickets, holders arrive by 11 PM; most entry sold on the night. 2026 details not published yet
Re-entry	Tickets are single entry
Cloakroom	500 HUF a guest
Reusable cup and token	400 HUF, refunded when you return both
ID	A photo ID card in person; over 18 only after 10 PM

Source: the Instant-Fogas FAQ, house rules and events page, read on 9 October 2026.

For the rest of the year, the rooms, door rules and drinks are in our Instant-Fogas guide.

New Year’s Eve Tickets and the Door Rules

The venue’s own FAQ describes the New Year’s Eve party as a fixture every year: a small number of pre-sale tickets, with holders asked to arrive by 11 PM, and most entry sold on site. When the 2026 party is announced it will appear on the Instant-Fogas events page and the venue’s Facebook page. Buy only through the link the venue posts there; the house rules say it is not responsible for tickets bought from other sources.

Three house rules shape the night:

• One entry per ticket. Once you leave the premises, the same ticket does not get you back in. Step out for air in the courtyard and garden areas inside the complex, not on the street.
• Capacity stop. When the building reaches its permitted capacity, security holds the door, and anyone who leaves during a capacity stop queues again to get back in.
• Door checks. Security can check clothing and bags at the entrance and can refuse entry for prohibited items or for aggressive behavior, so arrive calm and with your ID card ready.

Which One Suits Your Group?

If your group wants…	Go to
A relaxed evening of drinks among salvaged furniture, no ticket	Szimpla Kert
Midnight and then dancing until 6 AM	Instant-Fogas
One building with six different kinds of music	Instant-Fogas
An easy first stop before a long night	Szimpla Kert

Many groups do both: an early drink at Szimpla, then Instant-Fogas before the pre-sale arrival time. If you would rather spend midnight away from the ruin bars, our New Year’s Eve in Budapest guide covers the other ways to spend the night.

Hungarian New Year Traditions Worth Knowing

What to eat, and what to skip

• Lentils (lencse): each lentil stands for a coin, so a bowl of lentil stew is meant to bring money in the new year.
• Pork: the pig roots forward, which makes it the food of progress. Roast pork, kocsonya (pork aspic) or a pair of virsli (frankfurters) after midnight all count.
• Chicken: skipped on the last night of the year, because a chicken scratches backwards and scratches your luck away with it.
• Fish: also skipped, so the luck does not swim off.

At midnight

Hungarians sing the national anthem, the Himnusz, at midnight, and in many places the music stops for it. Then come the noise, the hugs and the sparkling wine.

On 1 January

Tradition says not to do laundry or take out the rubbish on New Year’s Day, so you do not wash or throw away your luck. The traditional hangover cure is korhelyleves, a sour cabbage soup with sausage and sour cream.

If you are planning the day after, our guide to what is open in Budapest on New Year’s Day helps you plan the first day of the year.

Getting There and Getting Home

Both venues are in District VII’s party quarter, a short walk apart. The Grand Boulevard trams 4 and 6 and the numbered night buses are the backbone of the city at night. BKK publishes its New Year’s Eve timetable shortly before the night, so check it on bkk.hu or in the BudapestGO app on the day.

For a taxi, order through an app or use a rank; our Budapest taxi guide explains the city fare and how to book.

Before you go

• Dress for the cold. Late December nights are cold, and both venues have courtyard areas.
• Pay in forints or by card. Instant-Fogas accepts euros but gives change in forints.
• Keep your drink with you and your phone in a front pocket in the crowds.
• Bring a photo ID card if you are heading to Instant-Fogas.

Boldog új évet! (Happy New Year!)