Celebrating Thanksgiving as an expat is always interesting. Depending on where you are, it can be a mad dash to find some semblance of the familiar dinner staples you’ve come to love. I’ve had a few years to celebrate Thanksgiving in Budapest, so if you’re wondering where to find Thanksgiving foods in Budapest, you’re not alone! Whether you want to cook and host your own Thanksgiving dinner, or eat out/order in so that you can skip the prep and cleanup, let this be your guide. Enjoy!

Shopping for Thanksgiving in Budapest

Turkey

Let’s start with the most intimidating: where can you find a whole turkey in Budapest? Hungary isn’t as enamored with the bird as we are in the States—as a result, it’s uncommon to find a whole turkey in the supermarkets (although there have been some sightings in LIDL).

For this one, your best bet is to go to a hentes (butcher) in an actual market. And how does one ask for a turkey?

“Kerek szépen egy egész pulykát.”
Kehr-ek say-pen edj eh-gays pui-cat

Make sure to specify you’d like a small (kicsi or baba) turkey if you’d like to avoid an oven-dominating bird. Unless you’re incredibly hungry, that is!

Here are some popular markets:

Lehel Market
Hunyadi Market
Grand Market
Ráckozi Square Market

Pumpkin Pie

I scratched my head over the pièce de résistance of any Thanksgiving feast, a pumpkin pie, for a long time. I realize now that I’d gotten way too dependent on grabbing a can of spiced pumpkin purée from the store (it’s so easy, though!). However, I finally had some luck when I went to Culinaris (an upscale imported foods store with international items). One can of pumpkin purée is around 2000huf/$6.50, and a shaker of pumpkin pie spice is around1000huf/$3.25.

If you want to go the domestic route and make it from scratch (good for you, ya little Martha Stewart!), head to a supermarket or market to grab a pumpkin of the sütotök variety.

You can find spices in the markets as well! Look for:

Cinnamon — Fahéj
Nutmeg — Szerecsendió
Cloves — Szegfüszeg
Ginger —Gyömbér

Cranberry Sauce

Long gone are the days of arguing over smooth vs chunky cranberry sauce, as cranberry sauce isn’t much of a thing over here. If you’re looking for a sweet jelly, look for lekvár, the Hungarian jam. I’ve heard confident promotions of the lingonberry jam at IKEA. My favorite is a blueberry/cranberry mixed jam at GRoby. I can’t even taste the blueberry, so it’s the closest thing I’ve found to cranberry sauce here!

As for making your own cranberry sauce, dried cranberries vörösáfonya, can be found here and there at supermarkets. Fresh ones can be found (with some searching) at various open air markets (see list above). And of course, you can try Culinaris.

Cornbread

Maybe it’s just the southern girl in me, but a Thanksgiving spread is not complete without some cornbread on the table! However, living in Budapest means I can’t just hop over to Safeway and pick up a few boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix. Luckily, the recipe is pretty simple, and you can find the main ingredient–cornmeal–in most Hungarian supermarkets. Look for variations of kukoricaliszt (corn flour), and you’re good to go!

Where to Go forThanksgiving Dinner in Budapest

If you’d rather not cook, there are a few options for buying a Thanksgiving dinner in Budapest. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many expat bars are putting on their own Thanksgiving dinners! The menus are droolworthy, but each one is slightly different. Check to see which expat bars have Thanksgiving offerings this year. Past dinners have been hosted by Gaby’s, Hoff House, Ruin Brew, and Bob’s Kitchen. If you’re craving a full-scale, luxurious family dinner, then consider one of the takeaway festive feasts put on by some of the city’s best hotels.

Festive Takeaway Feast from the Four Seasons
Festive Takeaway Feast from Spago
American Chamber of Commerce Thanksgiving Charity Dinner at the Mariott (so delicious and fun!)

I hope these tips can give you some idea of where to shop for a Budapest Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey and cranberry sauce aside, at the end of the day, all you need are two main ingredients: food and good company. Enjoy your Thanksgiving in Budapest!

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