Szimpla Kert is the original Budapest ruin bar and the institution that started the entire ruin bar movement. Opened in 2002 in an abandoned communist-era apartment building in District VII, the bar fills a sprawling courtyard and multiple rooms with mismatched furniture, vintage decoration, and graffiti.
The format is unique to Budapest. The bar has multiple rooms with different themes — a cocktail bar, a beer bar, a wine bar, a hookah room — and an open courtyard at the centre. Sunday morning farmers market in the courtyard.
The crowd is overwhelmingly tourists drawn by the iconic format, plus a Budapest creative crowd that defends it. Pair with Boutiq Bar for a Budapest ruin-and-cocktail evening.