Be it savoury or sweet, hot or cold, Hungarian-style or international, thick or thin: a large bowl of soup is always as pleasing as it is healthy. Fortunately, more and more excellent soup bars can be found in various parts of Budapest. Let’s see which ones are worth visiting for a cup of steaming, soul-lifting brew. BORS GASZTROBÁR / 10 Kazinczy utca, 7th District If you are open to novelties and exotic flavours, you’ll love Bors. It opened in the early days of the Budapest gastro revolution, and its popularity has been going strong ever since, and for a good reason. Only the queue gets longer every year, but that would be hard to reproach to a groundbreaking gastropub. It’s a good idea to grab a sandwich with your cup of soup; they are all guaranteed to be gastro heaven. Their iconic sandwich, called “French Lady” is highly recommended; luckily, it is a constant feature on the daily changing menu. SOUP CULTURE / 19 Október 6. utca, 5th District If you are out and about near St. Stephen’s Basilica and fancy a cheap and cheerful lunch, Soup Culture is bound to be a good choice. Its menu, different every day, has five different soups, a salad, a dessert and five different sandwiches to choose from. Plus, you won’t have to worry about the usual issue with Budapest soup bars, as there is plenty of seating upstairs where you can enjoy your lunch in comfort. RAMENKA/ 9 Kazinczy utca, 7th District Fans of Asian cooking, and ramen in particular, will enjoy Ramenka, in the vicinity of Bors gastropub on Kazinczy Street. In addition to the ramen, the quality of which cannot be faulted, the special atmosphere comes from the glimmering lights, the industrial interior and a place which undeniably exudes calm and serenity. LEVES. / 14 Vámház körút, 5th District This was the very first streetfood soup bar, paper cups and all, in the entire country, not just in Budapest. With a choice of five soups every day, this original soup bar in the immediate neighbourhood of beautiful Kálvin Square works with daily specials. Its big sister, Pasta., is equally great for pasta dishes with surprisingly tasty flavour combinations. +1 KOMACHI / 33 Kertész utca, 7th District A lesser known, yet authentic Japanese restaurant located in a hidden spot; not a soup place, strictly speaking, but their ramen with homemade noodles is so good we couldn’t leave them out. Everything on the menu is guaranteed to please; you simply can’t go wrong. Photo: Pexels