Medieval Dinner in Budapest: Sir Lancelot or Apostolok?
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Two Budapest restaurants build the whole night around a medieval feast. Sir Lancelot, on Podmaniczky utca behind Nyugati station, is the long-running knights’ restaurant where the menu itself tells you there are no forks. Apostolok, a 1903 beer hall on Kígyó utca, was relaunched in October 2026 as a King Matthias dinner show with fire-breathers and jesters every night.
They sound alike and they aren’t. One is about the platter, the other about the show. Here is what each costs, how to book, and which one fits your night, plus a Saturday knights’ feast in Visegrád if you want the real castle around it.
📋 At a Glance
| Sir Lancelot | Apostolok | |
|---|---|---|
| 📍 Where | Podmaniczky utca 14, District VI | Kígyó utca 4-6, District V |
| 🕰️ Open | Daily 12:00-24:00 | Daily 17:00-24:00 |
| 🎭 Show | Not listed on its site; ask when booking | Nightly 18:00-23:00, free with dinner |
| 🍖 Platter for two | 20,900 HUF | 33,900 HUF |
| 🥗 Vegetarian | Platter, 8,900 HUF | Main for one, 14,990 HUF |
| 🍴 Cutlery | No forks, by house rule | On the table; hands encouraged |
| 💳 Service charge | 15% (food menu), 14% (drinks list) | 15% |
| 📞 Booking | By phone | Online; phone for 8+ |
Sir Lancelot: The Feast, No Forks
Sir Lancelot Knights’ Restaurant sits at Podmaniczky utca 14 in District VI, a few minutes on foot from Nyugati station. Since 1 October 2026 it opens at noon, so you can do the feast as a long lunch, and it stays open until midnight every day.
The menu is written in mock-medieval English, and one line says it all: your squire will not bring you a fork. Plan on eating with your hands.
The heart of the menu is the shared platter. A platter for two is 20,900 HUF (about $64), for three 31,900 HUF, for four 41,900 HUF (about $128) and for six 59,900 HUF. The “főúri” set menus add a starter, pogácsa, tarragon soup served in a bread bowl and dessert around the big platter, from 29,900 HUF for two to 85,900 HUF for six. Eating alone or want your own plate? The single-person feast menus, named after knights and King Arthur, cost 10,990 to 20,990 HUF. Vegetarians get their own platter of grilled cheese and vegetable skewers with sides for 8,900 HUF.
À la carte, a 1.3 kg pork knuckle is 6,990 HUF, soups 2,590 to 2,790 HUF, and a tomahawk steak tops the list at 23,990 HUF. A 0.5 l Dreher on tap is 1,790 HUF.
Two rules to know before the bill comes. A service fee goes on top, given as 15% on the food menu and 14% on the drinks list, and the restaurant will not split the bill or take separate payments, so settle up among yourselves. They take cash in forints and the major cards.
What about the show? Sir Lancelot’s website lists no show schedule, so ask which nights have entertainment when you call to book.
Booking: by phone on +36 30 731 7459 or +36 30 731 7432, or the landline +36 1 302 4456. The restaurant says it does not accept bookings by text message, WhatsApp or Viber. Tables are held for 2 hours for two people and 3 hours for three or more. Celebrating? A party of four or more, each ordering a main, gets a 5,000 HUF voucher on or within five days of a birthday.
Source: hours, menu, prices, service fee, booking and payment rules from sirlancelot.hu, its Hungarian menu, drinks list and reservation page, read on 22 October 2026.
Apostolok: The Show Every Night
Apostolok opened as a beer hall on Kígyó utca in 1903, and since October 2026 a new operator runs it as a medieval dinner show at King Matthias’s court. It is two minutes from Ferenciek tere (M3) and Váci utca.
The show is the reason to go. Every evening from 18:00 to 23:00 there are fire-breathers and fire dancers, belly dancers, jesters, jugglers and sword swallowers, with medieval music around them, and there is no ticket: it comes with dinner. To catch all of it, the operator suggests arriving between 18:00 and 19:00.
Platters arrive on big wooden boards: 33,900 HUF (about $104) for two, 59,900 HUF (about $183) for four and 87,900 HUF (about $269) for six. Single mains run 9,890 to 18,900 HUF, the vegetarian “Royal Gardener’s Feast for One” is 14,990 HUF, and a 0.5 l draft beer is 2,990 HUF. Eating with your hands is encouraged, but cutlery is always on the table. A 15% service charge goes on the bill, and families are welcome.
Prices are in HUF, which is what you pay on the bill. Converted at 1 USD = 327 HUF, the ECB rate on 22 October 2026. Rates move, so treat the dollar figures as indicative.
Booking: online on the operator’s website; for 8 or more people, call +36 30 473 7163 or write to restaurant@apostolokbudapest.com.
Source: show, menu, prices, service charge and booking from apostolokbudapest.com, read on 22 October 2026.
Sir Lancelot or Apostolok: Which One Should You Book?
- You want a guaranteed show: Apostolok. It runs every night for five hours, and the price is already in your dinner.
- You’re watching the budget: Sir Lancelot. The platter for two costs 13,000 HUF less, and the beer is cheaper too.
- You want lunch, not dinner: Sir Lancelot, open from noon. Apostolok opens at 17:00.
- There’s a vegetarian at the table: both work; Sir Lancelot’s vegetarian platter is the cheaper of the two.
- You hate eating with your fingers: Apostolok, where the cutlery stays on the table.
- You’re a big group: either. Both have platters for six, and Apostolok has a separate line for groups of 8 or more.
Wherever you go, check your bill for the service charge before you add a tip. Our guide to tipping in Hungary explains how it works.
A Real Castle Feast: Visegrád on Saturdays
If you’d rather feast under a real medieval castle, go to Visegrád, about 40 km up the Danube, where King Matthias had his summer palace. The Renaissance restaurant there runs a knights’ games and feast every Saturday. You meet at noon at the entrance to the Salamon Tower for a short history talk, watch a knights’ tournament at 12:30 with a glass of white wine or apple juice, and sit down to the royal feast at 13:30: venison ragout soup, then roast turkey leg, honey pork ribs and chicken breast, then an ice cream sundae.
It costs 14,500 HUF from age 14 and 7,250 HUF for children aged 3 to 14, and under-3s go free; drinks are extra. The bookable dates this season are every Saturday from 24 October to 19 December 2026. Pair it with the rest of the town using our Danube Bend day trip guide.
In summer, the Visegrád Palace Games fill the town with knights’ tournaments and a costumed royal procession on the second weekend of July.
Source: feast program, prices and dates from renvisegrad.hu; Palace Games from palotajatekok.hu, both read on 22 October 2026.
Further Afield: Eger and Sümeg
Two more medieval tables are worth knowing if your trip takes you out of Budapest.
Excalibur in Eger (Érsekkert 1), about two hours from Budapest by car or train, is a medieval-themed restaurant with a menu written in mock-archaic Hungarian and soup served in a bread loaf. Its feast for four on a carrying board is 24,990 HUF, plus 4,950 HUF for each extra person, and a platter for two is 14,500 HUF. It opens Monday to Thursday 16:00-22:00 and Friday to Sunday 12:00-22:00. Its website doesn’t mention a show. Pair it with our Eger day trip guide.
Sümeg Castle, about two and a half hours west near Lake Balaton, runs a full evening program: a historical horse show and knights’ tournament in the arena below the castle, followed by a medieval feast where you eat with your hands. It runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 16:00 until 23 December 2026, with extra days in high summer. The show alone is 5,000 HUF for adults, and show plus feast is 16,000 HUF (10,000 HUF for children aged 4 to 12). Book by email at program@hotelkapitany.hu or on +36 87 550 166.
Source: menu, prices and hours from excaliburetterem.hu; program, dates and prices from sumegvar.hu and sumegvar.hu/tortenelmi-lovasjatekok, all read on 22 October 2026.
The Verdict
For one big medieval night in Budapest, book Apostolok: the show is every night, the beer hall still has its 1913 interior, and you don’t pay extra for the fire-breathers. If you mostly want to tear into a platter with your hands and keep the bill down, Sir Lancelot does the feast for less. If you have a Saturday free, Visegrád gives you the tournament and the castle too, and if you are heading toward Lake Balaton, Sümeg makes a full evening of it.
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Good to know
Is there a medieval restaurant in Budapest?
Yes. Two are built around it: Sir Lancelot Knights' Restaurant at Podmaniczky utca 14, near Nyugati station, has served medieval-style feasts for years, and Apostolok at Kígyó utca 4-6, near Ferenciek tere, was relaunched by a new operator in October 2026 as a medieval dinner show themed on King Matthias.
Which is better, Sir Lancelot or Apostolok?
Apostolok if the show matters most: it runs every night from 18:00 to 23:00 and is free with dinner. Sir Lancelot if you want the feast for less: its platter for two is 20,900 HUF against 33,900 HUF at Apostolok. Sir Lancelot's own site does not publish show times, so ask when you book.
How much does a medieval dinner in Budapest cost?
At Sir Lancelot, shared platters run from 20,900 HUF for two to 59,900 HUF for six, and single-person feast menus from 10,990 HUF. At Apostolok, platters are 33,900 HUF for two, 59,900 HUF for four and 87,900 HUF for six. Both add a service charge on top.
Do you eat with your hands at Sir Lancelot?
Yes. The menu says the squire will not bring you a fork, so plan on eating with your hands. At Apostolok eating with your hands is encouraged, but cutlery is always on the table.
Is there a medieval feast near Budapest?
Yes. The Renaissance restaurant in Visegrád, about 40 km up the Danube, runs a knights' tournament and feast every Saturday, with bookable dates until 19 December 2026. It costs 14,500 HUF from age 14 and 7,250 HUF for children aged 3 to 14; drinks are extra.
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Prices checked 2026-10-19. Booking through these links supports the site at no extra cost to you. How this works.