DistantNews
Support us
🇭🇷 Croatia /Culture & Society

Europe’s best bar for 2026 is a Budapest ruin bar in an abandoned factory

From Večernji List · () Croatian

Translated from Croatian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Budapest’s Szimpla Kert, an original ruin bar in a former factory, topped the European Bar Guide’s 2026 list of Europe’s 100 best bars.
  • The guide assessed the overall experience, including atmosphere, social scene and contribution to local culture, rather than drinks alone.
  • Sarajevo’s Zlatna Ribica ranked fifth, while bars in Bruges, Brussels, Cologne, Barcelona, Prague and Liège also reached the top 10.

The best bar in Europe for 2026 is Szimpla Kert, a famously chaotic Budapest venue housed in an abandoned factory in the city’s Jewish quarter.

The European Bar Guide placed the original ruin bar at the top of its annual list of 100 venues. Its ranking considers more than the quality of drinks, taking in atmosphere, social life and each bar’s contribution to local culture.

Szimpla Kert has served drinks since 2002 and helped establish the ruin-bar style now associated with Budapest. The venue is a maze of rooms and courtyards filled with disco balls, bathtubs used as seats, an old car serving as a table, layers of graffiti and art installations. The guide described visiting it as “entering through a portal into another dimension.”

Retsins Lucifernum in Bruges came second, followed by La Fleur en Papier Doré and Goupil Le Fol in Brussels. Sarajevo’s Zlatna Ribica took fifth place, praised for its crowded, eclectic interior and nostalgic warmth.

The rest of the top 10 included Papa Joe’s Jazzlocal in Cologne, t’Brugse Beertje in Bruges, Bar Marsella in Barcelona, Prague’s U Hrocha and Le Pot Au Lait in Liège.

Entering through a portal into another dimension.

· European Bar GuideThe guide used the phrase to describe the experience of visiting Szimpla Kert.
About this summary

Originally published by Večernji List in Croatian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog