What To Buy in Budapest: Souvenirs for People Who Love Food and Wine
If you do a quick search, it won’t be hard to find a list of random things that you can buy in Budapest. But do you really just want to buy hand-painted eggs, fancy Ajka crystal glasses, or that random Raven of Matthias that you’ll find on so many lists of Budapest souvenirs?
Like what? What kind of memory does THAT create?
Caleb and I have lived in the city, so we’ve seen all the mass-produced or random items that you really don’t need to buy. Since we’re huge foodies, we personally think that the best things to bring home come in the form of FOOD. If you also connect by eating, then our guide to the best “foodie” things to bring back from Budapest is perfect for you. Let’s get into it!
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Quick Navigation: :🍷 Different Wines To Buy // 🍸 Other Boozy Beverages // 🤤 Food
Making Meaningful Purchases to Bring Home
One of our tips for visiting Budapest is to not just think about finding the perfect thing to bring home as just “shopping for stuff” because what you buy and bring back shouldn’t just be some random tchotchke that sits on the shelf collecting dust.
It should be something that brings back a specific memory of your trip or, better yet, something that lets you recreate a memory from your trip!
That is why we LOVE FOOD SOUVENIRS!
Sure, they don’t last forever like some other souvenirs from Budapest that you could buy, but you could have a fun date night back at home using what you brought back and connect over those special memories. That’s a whole lot more memorable than looking at that stupid keychain you got for $1, and it doesn’t even remind you of anything specific other than you went to Budapest, you know?
The 10 Foodie Souvenirs We Brought Home
1. Tokaj wine
The most famous wine in Hungary is the Tokaji Aszu, which is SUPER sweet but has no added sugar. The wine gets a fungus called noble rot, which gives it its sweetness. Then the grapes are hand-harvested, and gravity is used to press them (that’s why it costs so much!)
You can buy some less expensive versions that are not pressed with gravity (that is what we bought!), and they taste just as good!
It tastes kinda like fig newtons if you know what those are. Or, essentially, just figs!
We buy a version that says 5 Puttonyos on the bottle. Just make sure it says Tokaj ASZU. Just because it says Tokaj doesn’t mean it’s this sweet wine – it could just be wine from the Tokaj region.
FUN FACT: Tokaj and Tokaji wine are the same! One of our local friends told us that when you see an “i” at the end of a Hungarian word, it means “from!” So Budapesti means from Budapest. Tokai means from Tokaj etc.
2. White Wine
Aside from Tokaj Aszu, Hungary produces some INCREDIBLE white wines. Caleb said they ruined him from liking any white wine from anywhere, and they are my favorite white wines in the world.
Most of them are dry but fruity with a little minerality (did I just sound fancy?), and our favorite brand is Preselo. We really like their furmint – we brought back 3 bottles!
PRO TIP: Pick up some of these inflatable wine carriers to pack the wine bottles in your suitcase. We recently discovered them, and now we LOVE THEM and always bring them on our travels.
3. Bulls blood wine
Hungary is more known for its white wine, but its most famous red wine is called Bulls Blood Wine, and it comes from Eger, just a little outside Budapest!
The legend goes like this: when Hungarians and Ottomans were fighting, the Hungarian warriors went up through Eger to fight, and they drank a dark-colored wine. The Hungarians were victorious, and the Ottomans thought it was because they drank bulls’ blood.
Where to buy all these wines: We like to buy our wine from Wine The Gap wine bar (this wine tasting there is a MUST DO. The best one we’ve ever done in Europe)
But, the wine store called Bortársaság has excellent variety and many locations around the city.
4. Unicum
This is a super traditional Hungarian Herbal liquor that is strong and bitter. You’ll find it most commonly used as aperitif, but it does make great cocktails – we have some on our bar right now that we love using for mixology!
Where to buy: any grocery or liquor store. But, if you want to learn about the SUPER interesting history, visit the Zwack Museum and have a taste. It’s the only place in the world where it’s produced!
5. Palinka
If you’re a vodka drinker, you’ll probably want to pick up some Palinka. It’s fruit brandy with a VERY high alcohol content.
You can find it in many flavors, and you should drink it in small amounts, or you might die. (exaggeration, but you get it 😅.)
Where to buy: any liquor store.
6. Stuhmer chocolate
Stuhmer is the creme de la creme of chocolate in Budapest (unless you buy dark chocolate. No creme there. I crack myself up.) You’ll find various stores devoted to selling their chocolate across Budapest, and they have so many different kinds – bars, pralines, truffles, etc.
Bonus: you can buy it all packed up in boxes, so this is a super easy souvenir to pack. If they last long enough to come home with you. 😅
Store locations:
📍Budapest, Teréz krt. 36, 1067 Hungary
📍 Budapest, Pozsonyi út 9, 1137 Hungary
📍 Budapest, Deák Ferenc u. 21, 1052 Hungary
📍 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 18, 1111 Hungary
📍 Budapest, Október huszonharmadika u. 8-10, 1117 Hungary
7. Hungarian Noodles
After one traditional food meal, you’ll realize that Hungarians love egg noodles in their dishes – especially our favorite nokedli, which is kinda like German spaetzle.
Noodles are easy to pack, and it’s a fun thing to come home and cook for dinner to transport you back to eating at a traditional Hungarian extreme (restaurant.)
Where to buy: visit the central market hall to buy from local noodle artisans (is that what you call them?)
8. Paprika
EVERYTHING in Hungary has Paprika, but it’s not as spicy as you would think! If you’re going to recreate any Hungarian dishes when you get back, you should pick up some Paprika. Even if you’re not, try it in some regular dishes.
Where to buy: any grocery or souvenir store.
9. Cured sausage
You’ll find no shortage of sausage in Hungary. They’re perfect to pair with your wine! The catch-all term for sausage is kolbasz, and you’ll find everything from smoked sausage to liver sausage to paprika-heavy sausage.
Where to buy: any grocery store, deli, or the central market hall. We like Falu Delikat, one of our favorite foodie spots in Budapest.
IMPORTANT: make sure you can bring this back to your home country. For Americans like us, it’s pretty hard/almost impossible to do. Other countries have different laws, though!
10. Mixes and Sauces
The cheapest and most packable foodie item on our list! Why not go to the grocery store and buy some pre-mixed seasoning/canned sauces for some of your favorite Hungarian dishes like chicken paprikash or hortobagyi palacsinta crepes?
This is one of the most practical souvenirs because it makes for an easy, memorable dinner when you get home!
BONUS: get a traditional recipe from the cooking class! We did this amazing cooking class in Budapest and LOVED the chicken paprikash we made! Now, we make it at home and remember one of our favorite evenings in the city. Definitely plan this into your trip!
General Things To Buy in Budapest That Are Packable AND Useful
Now, if you do want to pick up some souvenirs that are not JUST eat, here is a list of what to buy in Budapest that we think are actually practical and memorable:
- Hungarian playing cards (called Magyar Kártya) to use for games at home.
- Hand-embroidered linens because some of them are SO pretty. And you can always use a pretty napkin or tablecloth or something.
- Postcards. We collect postcards from everywhere we go. While not super useful, they are memorable and easy to pack!
- Lavender items. There are some lavender fields near Budapest, so you could pick up some nice-smelling bath/spa items to use back at home.
Well, that’s a wrap on our best foodie souvenirs or gifts from Hungary to bring back on your epic vacation! While this isn’t a list of 40,000 things you could buy, we think it’s the most practical, portable (and delicious!) list out there!
Now that you know what foodie things to buy, you need to know what foodie experiences to have in Budapest! We wrote a guide to all our favorite foodie things we did in the city to help!
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