Dining Guide’s top Budapest restaurant to close; pubs vanishing from Hungary

One of Budapest’s most innovative eateries, Fiktív, will shut its doors on 1 March amid tough economic pressures. Traditional pubs are vanishing from Hungary due to lack of guests.

Prestigious Hungarian restaurant bows out in Budapest

Pénzcentrum reports the heartbreaking announcement, shared on the restaurant’s official Facebook page. There, Chef Márton Tatai, manager and sommelier Orsolya Kovács, and fermenter Zoé Péli revealed their dream of a space where they not only cook but experiment, invent, and truly live alongside their creations. Fiktív carved out a stellar spot on Hungary’s gastronomic map in a very short time.

Gault&Millau bestowed three toques upon them, while Dining Guide ranked it 14th best. Yet creativity alone can’t defy the odds—economic realities in Hungary, plus shifting tourist profiles, have forced the team to end operations in their current form.

We collected the best restaurants in Hungary according to the Dining Guide.

Hungarian pubs vanishing at alarming rate

Meanwhile, Blikk highlights pubs in freefall across Hungary. In the first half of 2025, nearly 100 venues shuttered monthly, driven by plunging demand despite the government’s subsidised “pub programme”.

The Hungarian Central Statistical Office notes that by June 2025, active pubs dipped below 10,500—over 500 fewer than in December 2024. The closure trend is accelerating.

Over the past 25 years, Hungary’s pub count has plummeted. In the early 2010s, more than 21,000 buzzed; a decade ago, it topped 17,000.