Taste the Chimney Cake in Budapest

Budapest is a city with a lot to see and discover. But, just as important – it is a city in which there is a lot to taste. And one of the best things to taste is the traditional Chimney Cake.

The Chimney Cake, also named Sekler cake by some, is a sweet pastry, originally coming from Transylvania. It has turned so popular, that not only can you find it on Christmas markets in Budapest (and on other festivals), but you can find special stores selling this. And, if you decide to visit Krakow, Bratislava, Vienna or Prague, you can find the Chimney Cake at larger festivities there as well.

The traditional Chimney Cake in Budapest
The traditional Chimney Cake in Budapest

The picture above is taken from Molnar Kurtoskalacs, a store in the main shopping street of Budapest (Vaci utca) in which you can buy these cakes all days of the week.

The chimney cake is a sweet dough cover with sugar. It is then grilled above charcoal (that is the real version), and in this process, the sugar is caramelized. As this process is finished, it is time to roll the chimney cake in either nut, cocoa, cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa, or some other tasty ingredient.

It is extremely tasty, and a sure hit among kids.

Making the Chimney Cake even sweater

Whatever is popular, will be worked on and improved. In the latter years, the Chimney Cake has gotten some improvements to it, even though we are more fond of the original version.

The improvement is that they have started to add ice cream and/or Nutella to the chimney cake.

chimney cake with ice cream
Chimney cake with vanilla ice cream

On the picture above, you can see what it might be like as the chimney cake is stuffed with vanilla ice cream on the inside. Personally, I would rather just eat the normal version, but one of the great things about life is trying new things. And that is important when you come to Budapest… taste new things!

People are often afraid of buying something that they will not like, but if that should be a problem, just don’t eat it. But, you will only get richer tasting something, because you will have an experience of tasting something that you either liked a lot, or maybe didn’t like – but, you are still an experience richer!

Are you a real Chimney Cake enthusiast? Do not forget about the Chimney Cake festival in Budapest in October.

Would you rather eat some more serious food? You can read more about wine dinners and wine tasting programs in Budapest here.

Thank you for reading this article! We wish you a fantastic stay in Budapest, and should you need help with guided tours, river cruises on the Danube, or some other program, make sure to contact us. More information at https://www.hungarybudapestguide.com/.

Grillmania in Budapest – Worth a visit?

Grillmania is a restaurant located near the Gellert hotel in Budapest. It is a grill restaurant in which you can eat traditional Balkan meals. Is it worth a visit?

If you come to Budapest, you are for sure eager to eat traditional Hungarian Goulash soup, to drink Hungarian wine, and to enjoy everything that Hungary has to offer. But, what if you would rather eat something not so traditional Hungarian food? Maybe you want to taste some of the traditional courses from some of Hungary’s neighboring nations (to the south)? Grillmania is the restaurant for you!

The location of Grillmania is ideal as it is located along the busy Bartok Bela ut. You can sit outside and enjoy your meal from early spring until late autumn (but, it is possible to sit indoors as well). This isn’t a typical restaurant, it is more a mixture of a fast food and a normal restaurant. It doesn’t mean that you get to food quickly, but it has more to do with the style of it all.

Eating Cevapi at Grillmania in Budapest
Eating Cevapi at Grillmania in Budapest

What can you eat at Grillmania in Budapest?

You will find lots of traditional meals from countries such as Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Bulgaria. On the menu, you can find Pljeskavica. This is one of the national meals of Serbia. It is a piece of meat, but the meat is a mixture of pork, lamb, and beef. It looks like a hamburger and has a very enjoyable taste. It is often stuffed with cheese.

Another traditional meal at Grillmania is the Ćevapi (often referred to as Cevapcici). There are small meat sausages made of minced meat, and they are served with fries, and often with ajvar. This is a national meal in both Serbia and Bosnia, but the people of Croatia and Slovenia consider this one of their national meals as well.

Besides these, you will also find Shashlik, Ustipak, hamburgers, burritos, and other tasty food on the menu.

A grill-plate for two at Grillmania Budapest
A grill-plate for two at Grillmania Budapest

Is Grillmania worth a visit?

Maybe you are considering a visit to Grillmania in Budapest. Is it worth the money and the visit? First of all, the price level of the restaurant is fairly good. The grill-plate for two seen on the picture above costs less than 5000 HUF (appx 15 Euro), and it is more than enough for two persons. The normal single course meals cost less than 3000 HUF (less than 10 Euro), making them easy to digest (especially for tourists).

The quality of the food is good. The hamburger we ate was tasty, the grill-plate was ideal, and the cevapi was just fine. We had a hard time understanding how they could serve the Cevapi without ajvar (as it is such an important part of the meal), but if you want that, you will have to order it as an extra.

The atmosphere of the place is good, especially on a warm evening when you can sit outside and enjoy the fresh air, the people walking by, and just eat a large plate of food on the street.

Grillmania Budapest conclusion

If you want an easy grill-meal in Budapest with traditional courses from the Balkans, this is probably one of the best places to go in Budapest. It is very close to the heart of the city, making it easy to approach.

Have you been to Grillmania? Did you enjoy your meal? Please share your thoughts in the comment field beneath.