Page 238 - WDT MAGAZINE IRELAND ISSUE WINTER 2018

wood-fired oven. public. There were still a few seats available for a con-
My main course was a steaming bowl of goulash – cert that night and I was sorely tempted to attend –
thick with beef, bacon, potatoes, parsnips, tomatoes, but I opted instead to visit the city’s old Jewish Quarter
onions and green peppers in a garlicky paprika-rich and its “ruin bars.”
sauce. Delicious. Abandoned derelict industrial spaces in Budapest
Back in my own neighborhood late that afternoon, I are all the rage. Savvy entrepreneurs have turned them
strolled Andrassy Avenue, a UNESCO World Heritage into ruin bars – affordable, relaxed places to party the
Site that’s sometimes compared to the Champs-Ely- night away. Most ruin bars are in Pest’s Jewish Quar-
sees in Paris. It was once lined with lavish mansions ter – within walking distance of the Hilton. I sought
belonging to noble families and aristocrats. Today guidance from the hotel’s concierge to find a place
many of those neo-Renaissance palaces are home to where a solo woman traveler would feel comfortable.
chic designer boutiques with familiar family names: We settled on Mazel Tov – which pays tribute to the
Gucci, Zegna, Vuitton. neighborhood and where visitors can get dinner as
Nearby, I found St. Stephen’s Basilica, a neoclassical well as drinks. Around 8 p.m., I joined a long line of
treasure consecrated in 1905 in honor of Hungary’s fans happily waiting to get in.
first king: St. Stephen I, whose mummified right hand On the outside, Mazel Tov’s shabby façade has the
is said to be housed inside the church. The cathedral look of most other ruin bars in the neighborhood. In-
took 50 years to construct, can accommodate 8,000 side, it’s a different world – all twinkle lights, industrial
– and has impeccable acoustics. No surprise it’s the chic steel, glass and live green plants. There’s a hand-
setting for frequent classical concerts, open to the some young wait staff – and well-dressed patrons

238 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018