bars & cafes | thehub.hu | guide to budapest

Bajcsy Zsilinszky út 72 [map]
Pest Centre, V, between Nyugati (M3, T4/6) and Arany Janos (M3), 5 min

Rating: 5.9/10

Going to an Irish bar in Budapest is perhaps a little Irish, particularly when you have to pay through the nose for the experience. However, there are two valid reasons to visit: the football and the rugby.

With plenty of televisions and a range of channels, if you can’t see it here, you’re unlikely to find it elsewhere. Now that the English Premier League has shifted to Eurosport 2, the choice of venues is somewhat limited. To its credit, Beckett’s is reasonably spacious and does, at least, feel like a proper pub, drawing a good crowd for the big games. It also has Guinness on tap, if you've got a spare grand floating about in your wallet!

Sadly, Beckett's falls short in a few other areas. As with many Irish bars outside Ireland, the craic is a little muted. Service is really not the greatest: today, the poor barmaid is rushed off her feet, while her colleague faffs around with the TV remote, unconcerned by the burgeoning mass at the bar. If there's more than one game on, you may also find yourself shifted from one television to the next at the whim of the management. Elevated prices make this harder to swallow, while the food is on the measly side. The menu does have one saving grace: English sausages.

Unfortunately, with the lack of competition for sports bars, there’s little incentive to make any changes. As it stands, Beckett's provides just enough to keep the fans going back for more.

Service: 5.5/10
Atmosphere: 6.5/10
Value for money: 5/10
What people we know think: 6.5/10

From Nyugati, walk down Bajcsy-Zsilinsky utca, which runs perpendicular to the 4/6 tram-route. Beckett's is on the right, after a three minute walk.
Becketts, Beckets, Becket's, Irish Pub
Andy Sz.