Whale Restaurant Budapest: All You Can Eat Sushi, Wok and Teppanyaki in District X

At Whale, 13,000 HUF (about $39) on a weekday evening buys two and a half hours of sushi, wok dishes, teppanyaki cooked in front of you, shellfish, plus the draft beer and wine to wash it down. The buffet sits in Kőbánya, Budapest’s District X, and calls itself the newest all-you-can-eat restaurant in the city.

What makes it worth the ride is range. Whale lines up Japanese, Chinese, seafood and Hungarian cooking under one fixed price, in a room decorated with ocean and Japanese themes: start at the sushi, watch the teppanyaki chef, then circle back for a bowl of goulash soup and fruit. Drinks are part of the deal, and weekday dinner costs less than most central buffets. It is a metro and bus ride out of the center, about 35 to 40 minutes from Deák Ferenc tér, so it suits big appetites, groups, families and anyone with a car, who get a large free car park.

📋 Whale Restaurant at a Glance

What	Details
Where	Vaspálya utca 25 / Cserkesz utca 43, 1105 Budapest (District X, Kőbánya)
Getting there	Metro M3 to Kőbánya-Kispest, then bus 151 to Kelemen utca
Hours	Mon to Fri 12:00-15:00 and 17:30-22:00; Sat and Sun 12:00-22:00
Weekday lunch	10,000 HUF, Mon to Fri 12:00-15:00, 2 hours
Weekday dinner	13,000 HUF, Mon to Thu 17:30-22:00, 2.5 hours
Weekends and holidays	15,000 HUF, Friday dinner to Sunday, 3 hours
Drinks	Unlimited soft drinks, draft beer, wine and coffee, included
Children	Under 1.5 m half price, under 3 free
Booking	Online, up to 14 days ahead; required from 8 people
Payment	K&H and OTP SZÉP cards accepted
Parking	Large free car park
Skip if	You are in town for one night and want to stay in the center

What is on the buffet

Whale builds its spread around several kitchens at once, and its own site names each one.

• Japanese. Sushi selections are the first thing the restaurant puts forward.
• Chinese wok. Classic Chinese dishes cooked in the wok.
• Teppanyaki. A show kitchen where the chef cooks on the hot plate in front of guests.
• Seafood. Shellfish, salmon and crustaceans.
• Hungarian. Goulash soup (gulyásleves), breaded dishes and other home-style plates. If you want to know what you are looking at, our guide to traditional Hungarian dishes explains the classics.
• Italian. A smaller part of the spread for now; the restaurant says Italian food will soon play a bigger role.
• Salads, fruit and desserts. Fresh fruit and salads daily, plus sweets.
• Vegetarian options. Dishes made from seasonal produce, so meat-free diners are covered too.

The restaurant says it keeps adding to the range. Treat the list above as the backbone rather than a fixed menu, and take small first portions so you can try more of it within the time limit.

Source: dishes, kitchens and decor from whalerestaurant.com and whalerestaurant.com, Menu, read on 28 October 2026.

Prices, time limits and what is included

One price covers food and drink. Every option includes unlimited soft drinks, draft beer, wine and coffee.

When	Hours	Time limit	Adult	Child under 1.5 m
Weekday lunch, Mon to Fri	12:00-15:00	2 hours	10,000 HUF (about $30)	5,000 HUF (about $15)
Weekday dinner, Mon to Thu	17:30-22:00	2.5 hours	13,000 HUF (about $39)	6,500 HUF (about $20)
Friday dinner to Sunday, and public holidays	12:00-22:00 at weekends	3 hours	15,000 HUF (about $45)	7,500 HUF (about $23)

Children under 3 eat free. A family of two adults and two children aged 3 or over and under 1.5 m pays 45,000 HUF (about $136) on a Saturday, drinks included. The website lists no service charge.

Mind the clock at the end of each service. The meal has to finish at closing, 15:00 at lunch and 22:00 in the evening, even if your time limit has not run out. Arrive at 20:30 on a weekday and you get an hour and a half, not two and a half. Online booking slots run from 12:00 to 14:00 at lunch and from 17:30 to 20:00 in the evening, but only a lunch slot at 13:00 or earlier and a dinner slot at 19:30 or earlier leave room for the full time limit.

Friday is split: lunch is charged at the weekday price, and from dinner on Friday the weekend price applies. Public holidays are charged at the holiday price.

Prices are in HUF, which is what you pay on the bill. Converted at 1 USD = 330 HUF, the ECB rate on 28 October 2026. Rates move, so treat the dollar figures as indicative.

Source: prices, hours, time limits, child rates and drinks from whalerestaurant.com, Menu, and closing rules and booking slots from whalerestaurant.com, Table booking, read on 28 October 2026.

How it compares with the central buffets

Weekday dinner is where Whale stands out. At 13,000 HUF with drinks included and no published service charge, it comes in below the 14,990 HUF that Trófea Grill Király utca and Ape Regina charge for dinner in the center, and Ape Regina adds 15% service on top. Itoshii’s 12,390 to 12,990 HUF dinner plus 10% service comes to 13,629 to 14,289 HUF, a little above Whale’s price. At weekends Whale’s 15,000 HUF is level with Trófea, below Ape Regina’s 17,239 HUF with service and above Itoshii’s 14,289 HUF, so the saving is mostly a Monday to Thursday one.

Weekday lunch at 10,000 HUF matches Trófea’s 9,990 HUF. What you trade for the price is the trip: Trófea is three minutes from Deák tér, Whale is a metro and bus ride away. For the full lineup, with service charges and child rates side by side, see our guide to all-you-can-eat in Budapest.

Source: central buffet prices from our all-you-can-eat guide, last updated 5 September 2026; Whale prices from whalerestaurant.com, Menu, read on 28 October 2026.

Booking and walk-ins

Book through the form on whalerestaurant.com, which takes reservations up to 14 days ahead, or call +36 30 820 8897. A few rules from the restaurant:

• Groups of eight or more must book. The online form takes large groups, so birthdays and team dinners are easy to set up.
• Smaller groups can walk in. Guests with a booking are seated first. If a table is free you can sit straight down; if not, the wait is at least 15 minutes.
• Public holidays need no booking. The restaurant opens on public holidays, whatever day of the week they fall on, and welcomes guests without a booking. Holiday prices apply.

Whale accepts K&H and OTP SZÉP cards. If you plan to pay by bank card or cash, ask when you book.

Source: booking rules and contacts from whalerestaurant.com, Table booking, holiday opening from whalerestaurant.com, Menu, and payment from the whalerestaurant.com footer, read on 28 October 2026.

Who it suits, and who should skip it

Whale suits hungry groups, families with children (half price under 1.5 m, free under 3, and a teppanyaki show to watch), and anyone who wants sushi and Hungarian food at the same table. Drivers do well: the car park is large and free. It also works if you are staying in the southeastern districts, or on your way in or out via Kőbánya-Kispest.

Skip it on a short trip if you would rather spend the evening in the center, where Trófea is three minutes from Deák tér and Ape Regina a couple of minutes from Nyugati. And if you want a quiet dinner for two over a set menu, a buffet is not the format for it.

Whale is a recent arrival: the Budapest listings site Funzine included it among the city’s new openings in October 2025, and in its August 2026 roundup of all-you-can-eat restaurants.

Source: Funzine, new openings in October (1 October 2025) and Funzine, 5 all-you-can-eat restaurants (15 August 2026), read on 28 October 2026.

Getting there

Whale is at Vaspálya utca 25 (also given as Cserkesz utca 43), in Kőbánya, District X. From Deák Ferenc tér, take metro M3 to the end of the line at Kőbánya-Kispest (about 17 minutes). There, change to bus 151 toward Kőbánya alsó vasútállomás and ride seven stops, about 8 minutes, to Kelemen utca. The restaurant is about 200 meters from the stop. Allow 35 to 40 minutes door to door. Buses back from Kelemen utca to Kőbánya-Kispest run until about 23:30, so a 22:00 finish leaves plenty of margin.

Coming by car, use the restaurant’s large free car park.

Source: metro and bus routes, stops and running times from BKK’s published timetable data (valid 26 October to 1 December 2026) and the BKK FUTÁR route page for bus 151, read on 28 October 2026; check the BKK journey planner before you go. Parking from whalerestaurant.com, read on 28 October 2026.

The verdict

Whale’s case is simple: sushi, wok, teppanyaki, seafood and goulash, with the beer included, for 13,000 HUF on a weeknight. Bring a group and an appetite, go Monday to Thursday for the best price, arrive early enough to use the full time limit, and budget 40 minutes each way from the center.

More buffets are in our all-you-can-eat guide. For sushi in the center, see our best sushi in Budapest guide, for Chinese cooking our best Chinese restaurants list, and for more places to eat our food and restaurants page. Traveling with children? Our family-friendly activities in Budapest has ideas for the rest of the day.

Facts checked on 28 October 2026 on whalerestaurant.com. Prices and hours change, so check them before you go.