Dániel Varga, co-owner of Retro Lángos Budapest, once thought he’d never follow the family tradition of making lángos. As a child, he dreamed of a different path and pursued a career in finance — yet later he decided to take this iconic Hungarian food to the next level, even creating a gluten-free version.
“My childhood was full of lángos — even my grandparents sold them at the market, and my parents took over the grilled meat stall. At first, I loved lángos, but eventually I got tired of it. Then as a teenager, I rediscovered it — especially with our home made snitzel, which became my favorite combo,” – Dani recalls.
Although lángos was always part of his life, he never thought it would become his profession. He earned a degree in economics and worked as a project manager, but an old dream and a big love took him to France and later to South America. He spent his summers working in a seaside restaurant in France, saving money for his travels, and when wanderlust struck, he hit the road. Upon returning to Hungary, he began realizing another dream and opened his own hostel in Budapest.
On a bus ride, he bumped into an old school friend, Ádám Sóti — and a new chapter of childhood friendship began.
“Ádám spoke with so much passion about how much he loved making lángos and wanted to start his own business, his enthusiasm was contagious. I was thrilled to see he had already created a successful lángos shop in the city center that was gaining popularity — everyone in the urban scene knew about it. I used to take my hostel guests there, and they loved this Hungarian street food and the vibe. It was a great place to meet people. First, we did a summer project in a beer garden together, and then came the idea: let’s open a restaurant, this time teaming up with Krisztián too.”
They turned the plan into reality — but starting out was tough.
“Right after we opened, COVID hit in. We had to paint and tile the place ourselves, and we launched with way less money than planned. But we didn’t give up. The three of us stood in the empty restaurant and began the renovations ourselves, doing everything with our own hands. That became the foundation of what Retro Lángos is today.”
Now, the business is run by the trio — Dani, Ádám, and Krisztián — who grew from a friendly, family-like team into a serious brand. What started with the three of them behind the counter has now become a nationally known lángos spot with a 50-person team.
As someone with gluten sensitivity, Dani personally pushed to add gluten-free lángos to the menu — and they developed their own unique gluten-free dough recipe, which many guests still seek today.
“We gradually settled into the first place, and then one day, we realized we had outgrown it. Sometimes we couldn’t even walk into our own shop because it was so crowded. If we want to maintain quality and a personal touch, we have to grow. That’s why we opened our new restaurant on Vécsey Street. Our goal isn’t just to serve great lángos — we want to offer an experience. One that really sticks with the guest. Now we’re offering something more exclusive, with table reservations, service, new dishes, and a larger gluten-free kitchen.”
For Dani, lángos is much more than just food:
“It’s not fine dining — but it doesn’t have to be. It’s a true Hungarian dish, and something to be proud of. And since it has brought us so much joy and success, we want to give back — to our guests, and to the community.”
