Fregatt

Molnar Utca, 26 , Budapest, District V, Hungary

Overall: 3.0 Food: NR Drink: 3.0 Atmosphere: 3.0

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The RatePubs Experience

Fregatt is a Budapest institution. One of the first “pubs” to open in the city back in the 80s, it immediately drew huge crowds which flocked there every night. We visited it a few nights during our week in Budapest.

Like a lot of Budapest bars, Fregatt is in a cellar, though in this case you only have five steps to go down. Once you enter you see why it is called Fregatt. Fregatt is the Hungarian word for frigate and the bar is designed to represent an old, wooden sailing ship. It’s not exactly a conceit it pulls off very convincingly. The main reason for this is that the bar itself feature a carved statue like you would find on the front of one of those ships, not inside it! The room is L shaped and on one arm it features a number of booths, while the other arm has tables along the wall. The seats are upholstered in red and the rest of the room is dark wood. The toilets are at one end of the room and the other sports an electronic dartboard which is popular with students.

Fregatt advertises live music every night, and keeps its word. The bands situate themselves on a little raised area just inside the door from where they can be best seen and heard by both ends of the room. The music starts between 8 and 9 and continues for about 2 hours. It usually takes the form of one or two people with guitars but can vary. If they’re playing when you arrive it can make the bar seem a lot livelier than it is. Because the truth is that Fregatt has lost a lot of its popularity.

The crowds that used to fill the room have moved on as more bars have opened across the city. This doesn’t mean that Fregatt is not worth visiting, just that the atmosphere is different than it used to be. Essentially Fregatt has become a low key, comfortable, and friendly spot in the centre of the city. It attracts a range of different people, mainly tourists though we have also met local students and others. Even on the Saturday night we visited there were no more than 12 or 15 people at one time. A lot of people seemed to come in expecting the Fregatt of old, found that it had changed and left after a drink. But equally there were locals and others who had come in specifically for somewhere to have a relaxing quiet drink.

Despite the small crowds it can be a bit slow getting served as the bar staff seemed to spend a bit of time chatting with friends. But this is part and parcel of a relaxed local bar and fits into the new atmosphere in Fregatt.

Prices are standard for Budapest as are the range of drinks available. There is a good menu and portions are large, making Fregatt a god place to have something to eat and a drink. The kitchen stays open until 9pm approximately.

Fregatt is just off the main tourist street of Vaci Utca. It’s not signposted so look for Fatal restaurant which is signposted and which is just two doors away.

If you want a lively, party pub Fregatt will not be for you. If however you want somewhere to have a quiet drink in the center of Budapest you could do a lot worse.

October 2005

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Atmosphere: Rating:3/5

A famous pub in the heart of Budapest, but one that was surprisingly quiet on the nights we went there. Not that it was bad just that I expected something different. they have musice every night but it starts and ends early. Staff are pretty slow but friendly and there's a good quiet friendly atmosphere which makes it easy to start chatting to people. In all a nice but quiet pub. A bit like a local. Good for a few (maybe growing to many)slow pints and a chat. Just don't expect a lively night.

Duffman, Oct 25, 2005

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