Kadarka Wine Bar - Wine & Spirits Magazine

Kadarka Wine Bar


photo by John Szabo, MS

Located in what the locals call the buli negyed, or party quarter, near the famous “ruin” bars, Kadarka attracts not only hipster merrymakers but also serious wine drinkers, thanks to a list of more than 150 Hungarian wines by the glass—including eight types of kadarka, naturally. Go early to avoid crowds (reservations are recommended) and before lights are dimmed and voices—and disco—reverberate off the concrete floors. Most wines are sourced directly from producers, and not all are hits, but there are plenty of gems scattered throughout (Maurer, Szászi and Kolonics, among others), many of which are available nowhere else in the city. The kitchen offers a full menu, ranging from traditional Hungarian goulash to burgers.

Király utca 42, Budapest, Hungary

Wine Bar

+36.1.266.5094

John Szabo, MS, has been traveling to Hungary since the late 1970s—first to visit relatives, and later to start J & J Eger Wine Co., where he makes kékfrankos with partner János Stumpf. But his day job is writing about wine and researching the world’s best wine bars.


This story appears in the print issue of February 2019.
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