You’ve probably heard it a thousand times; breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well, imagine if you’re getting ready to walk around monuments all day, you’re going to need your batteries recharged. 

And since you’re going to have breakfast in Budapest, what better way to do it than like a real local? We are going to give you the keys to choose the best typical breakfast in Budapest. 

There are two ways to have it, one is to enjoy it, in a café, surrounded by the real atmosphere of the city. The second is to buy something in a bakery or pastry shop and start your day quickly. 

The second is the more local one, although you will see in the cafés that the first option is also used among Budapest’s inhabitants. Both have in common elements such as a wide variety of fresh, quality bread.

Traditional Hungarian breakfasts

When we say traditional, we really mean it. These are the breakfasts that a Hungarian would have on a weekend with his family with the most local elements you can imagine.

Körözött 

Cream made from paprika, cottage cheese, onion and sour cream. It can be eaten like hummus. Paprika is the star condiment of Hungarian cuisine.

Hagymás túrókrém 

Another common Hungarian breakfast spread. This one is very similar to the previous one but without paprika. Although the other elements are the same, the taste is completely different.

Tepertőkrém 

A third option to spread your bread with all the local flavour.  This time the most important elements are the pork crackling and, of course, the onion.

Hideg tál 

This breakfast is usually made by the people of Budapest and Hungary when they have a little bit of everything. Remember those meals at home with leftovers? There was a bit of everything. Well, that’s what this breakfast is like, with the particularity that everything is cold. 

In other words, you’ll find tomatoes, sausages, bread, butter, creams like the ones we’ve seen above and, of course, cheese.

Paraszt reggeli 

It’s not exactly light. It’s basically an omelette with bacon, onion, tomato and mainly kolbász (Hungarian sausage). It’s a good start to the day, as long as you don’t plan to go for a run afterwards.

Bundás kenyér 

They are the Hungarian version of French toast. What does that mean? Well, they have their own twist and are savoury. You can also find them stuffed, usually with ham and cheese.

Typical Hungarian breakfast from day to day

Want to start your day early in the morning and don’t want to waste a second? You can take the local flavour with you if you stop by a bakery, patisserie or café and have some, or all, of these pieces of Budapest.

Lekváros bukta 

You’re on the run, you want something to get your sugar up and continue on your route, you go to a nearby bakery, and you order one of these fantastic and delicious filled buns. This one in particular is filled with peach jam, but you can find them with other types of jam. 

By the way, if you don’t want jam, you can also find a kind of bun filled with ingredients such as ham and cheese or minced meat.

Pogácsa 

This small piece of bread can come in many flavours; from ham and cheese to chicken to the aforementioned pork crackling or more vegetarian options such as seeds.

Kakaós csiga 

It is a shell-shaped sweet, and is filled with chocolate and sugar on top. They are followed by the cinnamon ones, in a ranking of popularity. This is a very common option in any bakery or pastry shop.

These are all very common and typical dishes and items, but they are not the only ones. They are the ones that you can find most often in any point of sale or cafeteria. 

On the other hand, we can find more elaborate dishes such as soups, mainly fish soup, which is very tasty, túrós tészta, which is pasta with cheese and sugar, or kolbász, a Hungarian sausage that is eaten smoked.

What to drink at a Hungarian breakfast

When it comes to drinking, Hungarians are not very different from other European countries. It is true that juices are not exactly typical, but they are common, but they are not part of the Hungarian tradition. 

On the other hand, they do enjoy coffee and tea. They have a wide range of both, mainly the latter, with black tea being the most common, as well as herbal and fruit teas. 

As for coffee, it is most often served black or with milk.