Zakopane Ételbár Budapest: Pierogi, Żurek and Polish Home Cooking by Margaret Bridge
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Zakopane Ételbár is the place to go in Buda if you want Polish home cooking at a weekday lunch price: a bowl of żurek, the sour rye soup with sausage and egg, for 2,190 HUF (about $7), followed by pierogi with sour cream, fried onion and bacon at 2,350 HUF (about $7.50) for five. Those two are on every day, and a new weekly menu adds daily Polish and Hungarian dishes, most of them between 1,600 and 2,150 HUF (about $5 to $6.50). It is open Monday to Friday, 11:30 to 16:00, at Margit körút 48, right by the Mechwart liget tram stop and a short walk from Gül Baba’s tomb.
📋 Zakopane Ételbár at a Glance
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Where | Margit körút 48, 1027 Budapest (District II) |
| What it is | Polish-Hungarian kifőzde, a small home-style lunch bar |
| Hours | Monday to Friday 11:30 to 16:00; closed on weekends |
| Every day | Żurek, beetroot soup, pierogi, fruit pierogi |
| Prices | Soups from 1,290 HUF (about $4), pierogi 2,350 HUF (about $7.50) for five, mains mostly 1,600 to 2,150 HUF (about $5 to $6.50) |
| Menu | Weekly menu, posted on Facebook in Hungarian and Polish |
| Delivery | Not yet; expected soon, the bar says |
| Phone | +36 30 874 7338 |
A Polish kitchen on the Grand Boulevard
Zakopane is worth a detour for anyone curious about the food of Poland, Hungary’s old friend, and for Polish travelers who miss żurek. The bar describes itself as a “Polish-Hungarian kifőzde, home-style flavors, with love”. A kifőzde is the Hungarian word for a small, simple lunch place with a short daily menu, and that is the format here: you come for lunch, not for a long dinner.
The name points to Zakopane, the Polish mountain town under the Tatras, and the weekly menu card carries the names of Podhale, the highland region around it, and Giewont, the peak that looks down on the town.
Margit körút is the Buda end of the Grand Boulevard, the ring road that crosses the Danube on Margaret Bridge. Number 48 is next to Mechwart liget, a small park between Széll Kálmán tér and the river.
What to order
On every day of the week:
| Dish | What it is | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Żurek | Sour rye soup | 1,290 HUF (about $4) |
| Żurek with sausage and egg | The full version | 2,190 HUF (about $7) |
| Beetroot soup | Polish barszcz | 1,290 HUF (about $4) |
| Beetroot soup with uszka | With small meat or mushroom dumplings | 1,850 HUF (about $5.50) |
| Pierogi, 5 or 8 | With sour cream, fried onion and fried bacon | 2,350 / 2,950 HUF (about $7.50 / $9) |
| Fruit pierogi, 5 or 8 | With sweet sour cream and fruit ragout | 2,950 / 3,200 HUF (about $9 / $10) |
The menu card does not name the pierogi filling, so ask what is in that day’s batch.
From the week of 26 to 30 October, the daily dishes show how the menu works:
- Polish: krupnik, a barley soup, at 1,650 HUF (about $5); Polish croquettes filled with meat, with sour cream, at 850 HUF (about $2.50) each; Silesian sausage at 850 HUF each; Silesian potato dumplings at 850 HUF.
- Hungarian: goulash soup with pork at 2,390 HUF (about $7.50); pork pörkölt stew at 1,800 HUF (about $5.50); tócsni, a grated potato pancake, with sour cream at 850 HUF each; mákos guba, poppy-seed bread pudding with vanilla custard, at 1,390 HUF (about $4.50).
Sides such as buttered dill potatoes or jasmine rice cost 850 HUF (about $2.50), so a main with a side comes to about 2,500 to 3,000 HUF (about $7.50 to $9), and a soup on top adds 1,290 to 2,390 HUF.
The prices above are from the menu for 26 to 30 October 2026. The menu changes every week, so check the current one on Facebook before you go.
Prices are in HUF. Converted at 1 USD = 324 HUF, the ECB rate on 15 October 2026. Rates move, so treat the dollar figures as indicative.
How it works
Zakopane posts the coming week’s menu on its Facebook page, as an image in both Hungarian and Polish, with a few lines in Hungarian about where and when. That post is the best way to see what is cooking on the day you plan to go.
Delivery is not available yet. In a reply to a comment on Facebook, the bar said it expects to add it soon.
It is a weekday lunch operation. The kitchen is open Monday to Friday until 16:00. It was also closed on Friday 23 October 2026, a national holiday. Public holidays are worth a check on the Facebook page first.
Who will like it
Go if you are curious about Polish food and want it cooked the home-style way, if you are Polish and miss a bowl of żurek, or if you want a cheap, filling lunch on the Buda side. It fits neatly into a morning at Gül Baba’s tomb on the hill behind it, or before a walk across Margaret Bridge to Margaret Island.
Skip it if you want dinner or a weekend meal: it closes at 16:00 and does not open on Saturday or Sunday. For more weekday lunch menus across the city, see our cheap lunch guide. If you are weighing the two cities for a trip, our Kraków vs Budapest comparison sets them side by side, and the Hungarian food guide explains the Hungarian half of the menu.
📍 Zakopane Ételbár: Essential Info
- Address: Margit körút 48, 1027 Budapest (District II)
- Hours: Monday to Friday 11:30 to 16:00; closed Saturday and Sunday
- Price: Soups 1,290 to 2,390 HUF; pierogi 2,350 HUF for five; most mains 1,600 to 2,150 HUF
- Getting there: Tram 4, 6 or 17 to Mechwart liget, about 40 meters away
- Phone: +36 30 874 7338
- Email: zakopane.bar@gmail.com
- Facebook: Zakopane ételbár, where the weekly menu is posted
Related Articles
- Cheap Lunch in Budapest: 9 Spots Where You Can Eat Well for Under 3,000 HUF
- Kraków vs Budapest
- Margaret Island, Budapest
- Hungarian Food Guide
Source: Zakopane ételbár’s Facebook page: the weekly menu post of 24 October 2026 (menu for 26 to 30 October, hours and address), the page’s About section (description, phone, email) and the bar’s reply on delivery, read on 27 October 2026. Tram stops from BKK’s timetable data (feed version of 16 October 2026).
Good to know
What should I order at Zakopane Ételbár?
Start with the żurek, the sour rye soup Poland eats at Easter, with sausage and egg (2,190 HUF), then the pierogi with sour cream, fried onion and fried bacon (2,350 HUF for five, 2,950 HUF for eight). For dessert, the fruit pierogi come with sweet sour cream and a fruit ragout (2,950 HUF for five).
What are Zakopane Ételbár's opening hours?
Monday to Friday, 11:30 to 16:00, according to its weekly menu post on Facebook. It is closed on Saturday and Sunday. It was also closed on Friday 23 October 2026, a national holiday. Check the Facebook page before going on a public holiday.
Is the menu the same every day?
Partly. The żurek, the beetroot soup, the pierogi and the fruit pierogi are on every day. The rest changes daily, and the whole week's menu is posted on Facebook, in Hungarian and Polish, before the week starts.
Does Zakopane Ételbár deliver?
Not yet. Answering a comment on its Facebook page, the bar said delivery is not available yet but is expected soon.
Is it only Polish food?
No. It calls itself a Polish-Hungarian kifőzde, and the weekly menu puts both side by side: krupnik and Silesian sausage next to goulash soup, pörkölt stew and mákos guba, the Hungarian poppy-seed bread pudding.
How do I get to Zakopane Ételbár?
Take tram 4 or 6 along the Grand Boulevard, or tram 17, to Mechwart liget. The bar is at Margit körút 48, about 40 meters from the stop.
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Prices checked 2026-10-26. Booking through these links supports the site at no extra cost to you. How this works.