Best of Budapest – doughnut places to check out

Budapest, the beautiful Hungarian capital city, has a lot to offer. From beautiful buildings, fascinating exhibitions and amazing cultural programmes, all the way to relaxing and healing thermal baths, everybody can find their perfect fit. This is the case when it comes to culinary pleasures as well. No matter what you are in the mood for, Budapest probably has an answer to your need – you just have to know where to look. No need to panic, though – we are here to help. As a first step, let us discuss doughnuts.

In Hungary, doughnuts have always been associated with winter and the time of the carnival (check out the recipe here). However, the doughnuts popular nowadays are more like the New York-style, ring-shaped ones that have Dutch origins from around 200 years ago. In recent years, the doughnut-craze reached Hungary at last as well, and several shops have popped up since then. In this article, we give a review of the best ones.

1. The Donut Library

The Donut Library opened their first shop back in 2012. Since then, they have become so popular that two additional shops were opened in the capital. The shops offer a calm and relaxing atmosphere perfect for friendly catch-ups or studying. They have various hot drink options, including coffees and hot chocolate, as well as iced drinks and fruit juices. They sell doughnuts filled with creams and jams and glazed with chocolate or sprinkled with different toppings. You can also choose a ring-shaped doughnut that has no filling but is richly decorated. Prices range from HUF 290 (EUR 0.89) to HUF 690 (EUR 2.13).

The shops also have a small library that you can use on the spot or, if you want to, you can take home a book you really like, as long as you bring another one from your own library. This is their way of encouraging reading physical books and immersing ourselves in fictional worlds instead of being online and glued to our smartphones all the time.

In case you need more convincing, here are some reviews of the place:

“These fantastic doughnuts are to die for!!! 😉 I can recommend it to everyone!” (Ádám R., Facebook)

“The doughnuts are delicious, there is always a new taste to try, and the staff is lovely.” (TripAdvisor)

2. The Box Donut

The Box Donut opened in 2015, and they can also be found in several locations by now, not just in the capital. They decided to throw caution to the wind and go against tradition, creating doughnuts that are not in the shape of a ring – bold move. This innovation may throw some people off at first, after all, it is an unspoken rule that doughnuts are made into circles. However, we are pleased to report that, in this case, the quality and taste of the doughnuts are remarkable and not affected by the unique shape at all. If anything, it makes them more attractive and interesting.