Csendes Létterem on Ferenczy István utca near Astoria is a vintage-junk-shop bar pouring house cocktails and Hungarian beer in a flea-market room with mismatched chairs in downtown Budapest.
Must order: The signature whisky sour with a side of fries.
Food program: Burgers, bistro plates
Tip: Daily 10:00 to 24:00; the back room is the loudest, front room the quietest.
Address: Ferenczy István utca 5, 1053 Budapest
Ellato Kert at the top end of Kazinczy is a Jewish Quarter ruin garden with a Mexican kitchen serving tacos and a cheap-and-cheerful Hungarian beer list in Budapest.
Signature drink: Beer and pálinka
Food: Mexican tacos and bar food
Order: Two tacos and a Soproni beer in the back garden.
Tip: Daily 17:00 to 02:00; the back garden is shaded and fills first on summer nights.
Tuk Tuk on Paulay Ede in the Casati boutique hotel is a tiny dark Terezvaros cocktail bar with purple walls, red silk curtains and Asian-spiced cocktails near the Opera in Budapest.
Signature drink: Cocktails with Asian spices and herbs
Food: Bar snacks
Order: The signature spice-and-ginger highball from the bartender's list.
Tip: Reservations advised, the room is intimate; phone the bar to hold seats on weekend nights.
Szatyor on Bartok Bela ut in Ujbuda is an art-bar with rotating local exhibitions, Hungarian wine and a small Mediterranean food menu shared with Hadik next door, Budapest.
Signature drink: Hungarian wine and cocktails
Food: Hungarian and Mediterranean small plates
Order: A glass of Hungarian dry Furmint with the mixed small-plate selection.
Tip: Daily 11:00 to 24:00; the gallery rotates new local artists monthly.
Szimpla Kert on Kazinczy in the Jewish Quarter is Budapest's original ruin bar, opened in 2002 and at this address since 2004 in an old stove factory, the city's iconic.
Signature drink: Pálinka and Hungarian beer
Food: Bar food, street food in inner courtyard
Order: A glass of pálinka with a Dreher beer on the side.
Tip: No reservations, first-come; entry is free, the Sunday farmers' market runs 09:00 to 14:00.
Instant-Fogas on Akacfa utca is a seven-room ruin-bar megaplex with 18 bars and 1200 square metres of dance floor across courtyards in the Jewish Quarter, Budapest.
Signature drink: Cocktails, beer, pálinka
Food: Limited street food
Order: A pálinka shot at the front bar, then move into the back courtyards.
Tip: Daily 18:00 to 06:00, free entry; the back rooms each have a different soundtrack.
Mazel Tov on Akacfa in the Jewish Quarter is a Mediterranean ruin garden in an early 1900s courtyard, with mezze, shawarma and live klezmer most nights in Budapest.
Signature drink: Israeli wine and Hungarian craft beer
Food: Full Mediterranean and Israeli kitchen
Order: An Israeli sauvignon blanc with the mezze plate.
Tip: Open noon to midnight daily; book a week ahead for weekends, glass-roof courtyard fills first.