It all began with a summer job by Lake Balaton, a teenage experience, and a bold idea: what if lángos—the classic Hungarian beach food—could earn a place on the culinary map of the capital? Many doubted it could work, but Ádám Sóti believed in it wholeheartedly. That’s how Retro Lángos Budapest was born—today, it has grown into an iconic lángos restaurant with over 50 team members.
For most of us in Hungary, lángos is a childhood memory. The smell of freshly fried dough at the beach, the crispy bite, the sight of sour cream and cheese melting on top—and the feeling that everyone around is happy and carefree. That’s where it all started for Ádám Sóti too—but he didn’t stop at nostalgia. He dreamed that lángos deserved a place in the heart of Budapest. And he made it happen.
“In the early ’90s, every trip to the beach with my family ended with a lángos,” recalls Ádám. “There was no street food culture back then, just small food stalls at markets and lakesides. But something about it stayed with me.”
At the age of 14, he started working at a beach in a food stand on Lake Balaton—cleaning tables, collecting glasses. Then one day, the lángos maker didn’t show up—and Ádám stepped in. “That’s when I realized: if you’re the one making lángos at the beach, you’re a star. Everyone loves you and smiles at you.”
“I tried many things in hospitality, but lángos is what stuck with me. There’s something deeply joyful and honest about it,” he says. That’s when he decided to skip further education and start a business instead.
In 2011, he found a tiny spot for rent on Arany János Street, tracked down the owners, and secured the lease. “People thought I was crazy. They said, ‘Who eats lángos in the city?’ But I believed that if we offered real quality, it would work.”
And it did. Within a few years, the small booth grew into a local favorite with Adam’s hard work and his uncle’s help. Hundreds of customers came each day, and it became clear: it was time to take things to the next level.
“We wanted a new chapter—not just a bigger space, but a whole new experience of what lángos could be.” Then COVID hit. But instead of backing down, the team rolled up their sleeves, renovated the new space by hand, and when guests finally returned, Retro Lángos Budapest opened—as a full-fledged restaurant.
The restaurant is run by three partners: Ádám, Krisztián, and Dani. They had worked together before, so joining forces for Retro Lángos Budapest felt natural. What began as a friendly, family-style partnership has since grown into a team of more than 50 people—with even bigger plans ahead.
The menu evolved through constant experimentation. From the classic sour cream and cheese to bold new creations like rucola and ham, they tried lots of thing. “At first it was mostly tourists who went for the more adventurous flavors, but now Hungarians are getting bolder too.”
So what’s next?
“We’ve put in countless hours of work, and along the way, two of us started families. Still, we gave in to the ‘pressure’—and took things to the next level. We’ve opened our new place at 3 Vécsey Street. The restaurant is located near the Parliament, with table service, and we’ve brought back some old favorites like the stuffed lángos. Lángos is a traditional Hungarian dish, and we treat it with the respect it deserves. We always offer quality and work with passion. I owe so much to this place, to our guests, to the lángos. And now, I want to give something back to the people.”
