Kelta — Restaurant in Budapest

Okay, first off – if you find yourself wandering the cobbled streets of Budapest and stumble upon a place called Kelta near Ferenciek Tere… go in. Don’t hesitate. We were just looking for a quick bite and maybe one drink. Spoiler: we stayed for three hours.

The Aperol Spritz here? Dangerous. In the best way. Bright orange, ice cold, and so deceptively smooth it was practically gone in five sips. Naturally, I had a second. Maybe a third. Who’s counting?

We sat outside, where the real magic is. Kelta’s terrace gives you this prime view of Budapest’s beautiful street life—trams clanking by, stylish locals, confused tourists, and a buzz in the air that just says, “yeah, this is the place to be.” You feel plugged into the city.

And then… the goulash. Oh man. Thick, rich, paprika heaven in a bowl. I’m not sure if it was the drinks talking, but that goulash might have been the best damn thing I’ve eaten all trip. Chunks of tender beef, soft veggies, that little spicy kick—chef’s kiss. Honestly, I was tempted to order a second bowl, but I had to save room for more cocktails.

The staff were saints. I’m sure I got a bit chatty (blame the spritz), but they were kind, fast, and had that “we’ve seen it all, you're fine” kind of energy. Respect.

Would I go back? Already planning it. Kelta’s that unpretentious gem you randomly find, fall in love with, and then tell all your friends about like you discovered buried treasure.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need...

We found this pub shortly after arriving in Budapest. My husband wanted to watch the Champions League at night and this pub was showing the match. It has two floors. We sat on the first floor, where smoking wasn’t allowed so it was comfortable and the room didn’t smell like smoke 🚭

My husband ordered beer 🍺and I ordered tea ☕️ and hot chocolate 🍫 I also had goulash and a chicken soup whose name I forgot 🍲 The food was delicious and served warm.

The interior was cute. The service was good. I liked that most of the customers were locals rather than tourists. However, when it was time to pay, we weren’t familiar with the payment system in Budapest as there were additional percentage charges on top of the food prices we ordered. The prices...

This is the only place in Budapest we received excellent service, I had a new drink everytime my current one was empty. The waiters were really friendly which is why we came back to this place every night of our stay. We had pizza and goulash here and both were really really tasty.. the cocktails are great and also the vodka. Didn't have to wait for a table on any of our visits. You can also sit upstairs where the toilets are also. They put reserved signs on the large tables so just 2 people don't take it which makes sense to me. Our favourite...