History

Lángos is older than the country, a fried-dough tradition shared across central Europe with Hungarian-specific toppings. The sour cream and cheese (tejfölös sajtos) version became the Budapest standard from the 1970s. Cooked at every market hall in the city, from Központi Vásárcsarnok on the Pest side to the smaller neighbourhood markets. Originally a household bread made from leftover dough, the version sold at counters today is deep-fried, garlic-rubbed and loaded with sour cream and grated Trappista cheese.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g plain bread flour
  • 1 sachet (7g) instant dried yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 250ml warm milk
  • 100ml warm water
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
  • 1 litre sunflower oil for frying
  • 200ml sour cream
  • 200g grated trappista or mature cheddar
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled

Method

  1. Mix the flour, yeast and salt. Whisk the warm milk and water, pour in, and knead 8 minutes to a smooth dough.
  2. Cover and prove in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled in size.
  3. Knock back, divide into four. Stretch each piece to a 20cm disc with your fingertips, leaving a slight rim.
  4. Heat the frying oil to 180 degrees Celsius. Slide a disc in and fry 60 to 90 seconds per side until puffed and golden brown.
  5. Drain on kitchen paper. While still warm, rub a peeled garlic clove across the surface, spread with sour cream and shower with grated cheese.

Tip from the editors. The dough must be soft and slightly slack; if it tears when stretched, rest another 10 minutes before frying.

Where to eat lángos

Lángos in Budapest

Karaván Street Food ★ 4.3

Street food$$erzsebetvarosMon-Sun 11:30-23:59Until Thu-Sat 01:00

Karavan on Kazinczy stays open until 01:00 Thursday to Saturday, the late-night Budapest stop after the Szimpla ruin bar for langos, burgers.

Try: Lángos, burgers, kürtőskalács

Order: A garlic-and-cheese lángos with a Soproni beer at the picnic table.

Tip: Late-night until 01:00 Thursday to Saturday; the langos and kurtoskalacs counters move fast.

Kazinczy utca 18, 1075 Budapest

Központi Vásárcsarnok Lángos Counter ★ 4.0

Modern Hungarian$ferencvarosMon 06:00-17:00; Tue-Fri 06:00-18:00; Sat 06:00-15:00

The upper-gallery langos counters inside the Central Market Hall on Vamhaz korut are the iconic Budapest spot for a 2,000 Ft lunch over Hungarian fried dough.

Try: Lángos at the gallery counters

Order: The classic lángos with sour cream, garlic and grated cheese.

Tip: Cash only at most stalls; closed Sundays; the gallery is upstairs from the produce floor.

Vámház körút 1-3, 1093 Budapest

Retró Lángos Budapest ★ 4.0

Street food$terezvarosDaily 11:00-22:00Cash only

Retro Langos on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky across from the Arany Janos utca metro fries 30-plus varieties of langos to order, the canonical sour-cream-and-cheese.

Try: Lángos with sour cream and cheese

Order: A langos with sour cream, grated cheese and a clove of raw garlic rubbed on top.

Tip: Cash and card; queue runs 15 minutes deep at lunch, the standing-room counter turns over fast.

Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 25, 1065 Budapest

More cities are in research. Want lángos covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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