Gourmet Festival Budapest

A Celebration Of New & Innovative Cuisine By Female Chefs

Date: May 24 – 26, 2024

Location: Millenáris Park, Budapest 1024, Kis Rókus Street 16–20., District II.

Good to Know About the Gourmet Festival

Tickets To the Festival In 2024:

• Daily ticket – early bird online purchase: 18 EUR/day,
• 3-day pass early bird online price: 34 EUR:

You will get a plastic wristband in exchange for your ticket/online voucher at the entrance. You can use it to pay for food and drink.

Just top it up with money at the designated top-up points using cash, a bank card, or mobile app.

To pay simply touch the card reading terminal with your wristband.

Included are:

• a Spiegelau wine glass,
• Jameson Whiskey tasting (for the first 500 visitors of the day),
• street food bite,
• Young wine-maker of the Year wine tasting
• Esterházy Green Veltliner or Esterházy kékfrankos tasting (for the first 500 guests of the day)
• Beer tastings: Stella Artois, Leffe, Hoegaarden or Belle-Vue Kriek beer tasting
• Rauch Juice Bar 0,33L fruit juice (for the first 1 000 guests of the day)
• Gastro shows and tastings on the stage
• Children programs and activities

Children tickets: free for kids under the age of 14.

Where To Buy Tickets?

• On the venue – but expect to stand in queue.
• Akvárium Klub Ticket Office on Erzsébet Square, downtown – Open: Mon – Sun: 12.00 – 20.00,
• BP Shop, Wesselényi utca 24., district VII., Open: Mon – Sat: 11.00 – 18.00, Sun: 12.00 – 18.00
• BP Shop WestEnd City Center shopping mall: Open: Mon – Sat: 11.00 – 15.00, 19.00 – 21.00, Sun: 11.00 – 18.00
• Online purchase through the official event website for a 300 HUF handling fee.

Payment at the Festival

You can pay for food, drinks, products with

• the Festipay Electronic card,
• with MasterCard, Maestro contactless bank cards, or
• with the Simple virtual prepaid bank card by OTP (no need to have Hungarian bank account) – you can pay with your mobilephone

Cash is not accepted by any retailer.

You can get your card and add a certain balance (minimum is 2 000 HUF) at any of the Card Top-Up points located in the venue.

You can use cash or credit card (in case of the latter an additional 100 HUF fee is charged).

A 500 HUF deposit will also be charged which you’ll get back upon returning the card at the end of the festival.

You can top-up the card and check the balance on it any time during the festival. You can get the remaining balance  back in cash during the opening hours of the Gourmet Festival.

Why Go?

The Gourmet Festival in Buda has become unanimous with the best of Hungarian gastronomy.

International restaurants and chef stars you can meet include:

• Heinz Reitbauer, Steirereck – The world’s 10th best restaurant with 2 Michelin stars and 19/20 Gault Millau points and its legendary chef
• Kamilla Seidler – The best female chef of Latin America
• Maksut Askar executive chef of Neolokal – Long-forgotten, local ingredients in a modern guise from Istambul, Turkey
• Bib Gourmands from Warsaw: Butchery & Wine, Brasserie Warszawska, Kieliszkina Próżnej, Rozbrat 20

Besides famous Hungarian and international wine producers, artisan cheese makers, gourmet food shops, cafes and restaurants will also offer their delicacies in Millenáris Park for four days in May.

The festival is an excellent opportunity to to taste the finest local food Budapest and other parts of Hungary can offer.

You can meet and chat the best Hungarian chefs and try the food of the best restaurants at one place.

This year game and fish dishes will be in the limelight, prepared in both traditional and modern ways.

Good food is even better washed down with great wines and you’ll have no shortage of fruity roses, fresh whites or heavier reds on the Gourmet Festival.

But if you fancy a mug of chilled beer no problem, look far the pavilion of the Reketye Sörfőzde (owner of the Jónás Craft Beer House in the Whale Shopping & Entertainment Centre), or the Etyeki Sörmanufaktúra, both are new craft breweries in Hungary with some awesome quality brews.

• Award-winning restaurants (Borkonyha, a Michelin star awardee, Costes, Costes Downtown-the newest Michelin-star restaurant of Budapest, Chateau Visz, Rosinante),
• confectioneries, (Pataki, Zazzi, Auguszt, Desszert.Neked, Gerbeaud),
• artisan ice cream makers,
• wineries as well as
• gourmet shops and
• cheese specialists (Stelázsi, Sarki Fűszeres, Szega Camembert, Etyek Sonkamester) offer exquisite culinary experience during the 4-day festival.

Who’ll be Present?

The list is not complete only includes the must-try places.

Restaurants, Gourmet Shops & Cafes – Dumplings, Caviar & Champagne

• Babel – a fine dining place near Március 15. Sqr, in Piarista köz, their aim is a Michelin star and they are certainly not far from getting one.
• Baricska Csárda from Balatonfüred, Lake Balaton: Hungarian cuisine and wines
• Anyukám mondta – mum’s cooking on a higher level, one of the best restaurants in Hungary located in a small village Encs in north Hungary, fresh, quality ingredients, homemade goodies, simple flavours.

• Fülemüle Restaurant from Distr. VIII. – brings the best Jewish and Hungarian dishes.
• Dobrumba, from Dob utca, district VII. – Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Caucasian flavours.
• ÉS Bistro – another great hotel restaurant with laid-back atmosphere and Austro-Hungarian dishes, grilled specialties (Kempinski Hotel Corvinus).

• Deák St. Kitchen – wine & grill restaurant inside the Ritz Carlton Budapest Hotel.
• Buddha Bar Budapest – from the hotel of the same name in Váci Street: superb Asian fusion cuisine with the biggest sushi offer in the city.

• Kollázs Brasserie & Bar – another excellent hotel restaurant, this one from the Four Seasons Budapest Hotel: a blend of traditional and modern, including Hungarian classics, prepared creatively.
• Arany Kaviár, Buda Castle – one of the best fine dining places in Budapest.
• The four Michelin-star places will be present too: BorKonyha, Costes, Onyx – won its 2nd star this spring, Costes Downtown: received the coveted star in spring 2016.

Confectioneries, Chocolatiers You Should Try While On The Festival

Sug’art by Juhos Joci

Known for traditional Hungarian cakes and pastries, their ice cream is also delicious. It’s located in a small town south of the capital so the Gourmet Festival is a good opportunity to sample their offer.

Cake & more by Garannikova

• Address: Podmaniczky u. 81, Bp. 1064, distr. VI.

Naspolya Nassolda

This trendy cake shop and cafe uses all-natural, organic raw ingredients to create healthy and nutritious cakes and savoury delights.

• Address: Káldy Gyula u. 7, Bp. 1061, distr. VI.

Chez Dodo

A charming macaron shop and cafe in the Basilica neighbourhood.

Address: Sas utca 7., Bp. 1051, distr. V., Downtown

Sütizz!

A confectionery located in Buda founded in 2015. The two owners make French-style cakes based on their own recipes using mainly raw ingredients and modern techniques

• Address: Neszmélyi út 82, Bp., 1112, distr. XI.

Mon Petit Dessert Boutique

Address: Petőfi tér 3-5., Bp. 1052, distr. V. Downtown

NOUR – Art of Desserts

A Flódnis

Flódni is a classic Jewish pastry with rich poppy seed, apple, walnut and plum reserve filling between 5 layers of thin pastry.

• Address: The shop is located in MOM Park Shopping Centre in Buda: Alkotás u. 53-1. emelet, Bp., 1123, distr. XII.

ZAX Handmade Chocolate

One of the top Hungarian artisan chocolatiers that have won numeous awards in previous yeras.

They don’t have a brick store in Budapest but you can find them at major festivals, holiday markets like the Christmas Fair at Vörösmarty Square, or the Spring & Easter Fair in Downtown Budapest.

Programs You Might You May Want To Check Out On the Gourmet Festival 2023

Cooking shows, workshops, tastings will entertain visitors from Friday to Sunday (there’s no special program on Thursday).

Stage Programs – Friday, May 24, 2024

• 17.00 – The World of Sweet Pizzas – by Szabi Szabadfi award-winner baker and Dani Sass. The duo will make Nutella pizza topped with pistachios and raspberry caviar.
• 18.00 – Zazzi – Sweet Dream – owners of the recently closed cake shop will make their most popular dessert: Sweet Dream
• 19.00 – Attila Bicsár, Sauska 48 – Village Gourmet

Stage Programs – Saturday, May 25, 2024

• 13.00 – The HER presents: Balla Mama – Balla Mama is from Hajdúszoboszló, a small town in Eastern Hungary, in the Great Plain/Alföld region. She will prepare traditional Alföld-style dumplings.
• 14.00 – Warsaw’s Bib Gourmands – Polish spring time food
• 15.00 – Heinz Reitbauer, Steirereck** – Mushrooms in the Focus
• 17.00 – Maksut Askar, Neolokal – the Turkish cuisine in a new light
• 18.00 – Villa Rosa – Flavours of Csallóköz, a region of southwestern Slovakia that is rich in fish and game. Villa Rosa is an award winner gourmet restaurant from Dunaszerdahely, Slovakia. Chefs Imre Bindics, Péter Czucz, and Róbert Tatai will cook and tell us stories about the old-new region.
• 19.00 – Gold Caviar – How is caviar prepared? Szása Nyíri caviar expert and chef of the Arany Kaviar restaurant talks about the secrets of caviar making. Visitors can have a taste of the delicacy.

Stage Programs – Sunday, May 26, 2024

• 13.00 – Strudel making with Tímea Krusper (Poroszló’s Strudelhouse)
• 14.00 – No Salty presents: Ready, set, cook! – Márk Lakatos and Dávid Kárai
• 15.00 – Kamilla Seidler – Latin America’s best female chef
• 16.00 – Café Gerbeaud is 160 years old. Cacao Barry Or Noir 1858, a unique chocolate that was chosen specially from the French Cacao Barry manufactory for the 160th birthday of Gerbeaud. You can also learn about the history of the iconic confectionery.
• 17.00 – Onyx** – Two Adams, two dumplings, two stars, one team
• 18.00 – Ádám Pohner, Kistücsök (Small Cricket) – Bocuse d’Or reloaded
• 19.00 – Gourmet Awards and Closing Ceremony

Children Programs

Opening Hours of the children programs:

A separate spot with playground will be dedicated to kids’ activities:

• cooking school
• baby kitchen for the littlest ones
• craft workshops for toddlers, kindergarteners cooking school

Cooking School by Chefparade

Recommended for ages: 6 -14 Friday: 14.30 – 19.30, Saturday-Sunday: 11.30 – 19.30 The young chefs can choose from two menus to prepare[tie_list type=”checklist”]

• Gombóc Artúr menu: parmesan coated fried gnocchi in tomato sauce, fruit caviar pearls
• Gubanc menu: crab-cake with freshly made citrus-avocado mayonnaise, walnut/popy seed bread pudding (guba – a Hungarian Christmas dessert) with passion fruit sauce

Gourmet Workshops

The Workhops are a great way to learn or improve your cooking or baking skills. 

• Vegan cooking with Gréta Stőhr (Great Bistro)
• Coffee and Gastronomy – Discover the base flavours with Ákos Sárközy Michelin-star chef (BorKonyha), 20. May
• Baking bread with Szabolcs Szabadfi from the Panificio il Basilico bakery  – 21. May
• Strawberry jam making with Dóra Havas TV chef- 21. May
• The world of leavened bread, Misi the baker from Jacques Liszt Bakery – 21. May

Similar Events:

May Day in Budapest – Eleven Spring Weekend Bartók Béla Boulevard – Belgian Beer Festival – Beer Festival In Budapest City Centre – Street Food Show & Főzdefeszt Craft Beer Festival – Budapest Wine Festival – Budapest Events, Activities in May

Related Articles:

Gerbeaud Cafe & Confectionery– Not my favourite though many associate Gerbeaud with quality cakes, good coffee and top-notch service although today you can find much better cake shops in Budapest. They’ve become very touristy and overpriced over the years.

If not for their cakes you must visit it once or the classically elegant, historic setting. It’s right in the heart of Budapest at Vörösmarty Square.

More tips For Food Lovers: Taste Budapest – Best Hungarian Restaurants – Best Ice Cream Shops Hungarian Restaurants