You can get burgers almost anywhere around Lake Balaton, but some stand out far beyond the rest – some cooks stuff the patties in a bagel, while others wrap them in a classic lángos fried-dough snack, but this roundup of our favorite meaty hand-held feasts will also please vegetarians, especially if they like goat cheese. Here we present the best burger eateries of the north shore, but we will make our way down south soon.
1/9
CODE ZERO, Csopak – Code Burger
Code Zero, found near the Csopak boat stop, already brought barbecue to perfection last year, and their rules are also pretty simple this year, too; pick a meat, a sauce, garnish, and salad, and then lie down on the sandy terrace and enjoy! In their serious smoker machines they make patties from hickory beef sirloin, chicken, and other kinds of meat, while vegetarians can also choose goat cheese. The names of the sauces sound mouthwatering; they have homemade BBQ, apple curry, and paprika cream. Guests can choose from various garnishes and salads from polenta to balsamic mixed salad. The prices fall into the upper-middle category; the bill will most likely be around 3,000 HUF.
The meat? Hickory beef, pork chop, or chicken – all from local producers
For how much? 3,270-3,770 HUF
The ingredients? Local
The bun? From Búzalelke bakery in Kisapáti
Vegetarian option? Yup
2/9
Fricska, Veszprém – Fricska burger
Years ago we already discovered one of the best places of the renewed Veszprém Valley, Fricska, but many burger fans still don’t know that besides pocaks and pljeskavicas, we can also eat burgers here. We tried the place’s specialty, the Fricska burger, made of beef, BBQ sauce, cheese, and Lyonnaise onion. It comes with American coleslaw, potato chips, and a salad bouquet. They also have a lighter chicken burger on offer with wasabi. The true specialty not only comes from the tasty flavors, but also from the atmosphere; who wouldn’t want to devour a burger on the shore of River Séd, with the Castle Disrtict just above their head?
The meat? Beef, but they also have chicken (always from the same producer)
For how much? 1,950 HUF
The ingredients? Local, and from producers from Balaton Uplands
The bun? From Búzalelke bakery in Kisapáti
Vegetarian option? Nope
3/9
Káli Kövek-Frankie's Food Truck, Köveskál – Frankie's Burger
A producer from Zala, a butcher from Tapolca, and 100% quality beef – we just revealed the secrets of this freshly opened burger place in the wine terrace and garden of Káli Kövek. Upon our visit, they didn’t put much emphasis on the elegance of burgers, but the good ingredients made us feel nice. The bun is made at Búzalelke bakery in Kisapát, the cheese comes from Óbudavár, and the onion sauce, called Frankie sauce, is made with their own recipe. Their aim is is to produce preservative-free meals with careful attention to the ingredients, and to keep the prices low.
The meat? Beef from Zala
For how much? 1,100 HUF
The ingredients? Local prouce from the area
The bun? From Búzalelke bakery in Kisapáti
Vegetarian option? Yup
4/9
Kalóz, Fövenyes és Badacsonytomaj – Chiliburger
After the first bite into the chili burger of Kalóz, our colleague made a face that would be a perfect scene for a surreal early Bunuel film. As we found out, a really strong chili by a producer from Sárrét goes in the burger, so be very careful with your first bite. Obviously there are some other nice things in the burger apart from the strong chili; besides the 15 dkg beef patty there is also mayonnaise, tomato, iceberg salad, and onion in the bun, which is made according to their own recipe at a bakery in Nagyvázsony. The meat comes from Pörc in Kenese. The chili burger is not their only burger; they also have a classic version, a BBQ option, and even catfish burger, and they all come with chips and coleslaw.
The meat? Beef from Balatonkenese
For how much? 1.990 HUF
The ingredients? Local
The bun? From their original recipe
Vegetarian option? Yup
5/9
Maurus, Balatonfüred – Maurus burger
The new trend of putting burgers on the menu in an upscale restaurant is still in style at Lake Balaton. Maurus's burger served with coleslaw and spicy steak potatoes is still very popular around the area. Last year was their trial period, when they were only open occasionally, but already experimented with burgers back then, which earned them lots of fans for this year. They put a patty made of Uruguayan beef in a homemade bun, and fill it up with two kinds of sauce: a BBQ, and a smokey mayonnaise sauce. Obviously, they also enhance it with vegetables, iceberg salad, baby salad mix, tomato, and homemade marinated red onion. All of this is amid a modern interior, found in the newest quarter of Balatonfüred.
The meat? Uruguayan beef
For how much? 3,190 HUF
The ingredients? Local and foreign
The bun? Homemade
Vegetarian option? Nope
6/9
Parton büfé, Keszthely – Parton burger
This buffet in Keszthely is only spreading its wings in its first season, serving the guests of Helikon beach. They obviously cannot compete with the Uruguayan beef, but they definitely stand out beyond average beach buffets, especially considering their prices. At the moment, Parton is playing it safe, only serving meals that are found in almost all buffets around Balaton, but they already started experimenting. One of these dishes is the Parton burger, which they even entered in “the year’s best beach food” contest. Its basis is a delicious homemade paprika sauce, so don’t go looking for a ketchup-mustard combo. The nicely browned bun is made at the local bakery. This burger also comes with double beef, cheddar cheese, iceberg salad, and red onions. We very much appreciate that they try to shake up the world of retro Balaton burgers.
The meat? Hungarian beef
For how much? 700 HUF
The ingredients? Local
The bun? From the local bakery
Vegetarian option? Yup
7/9
The Spot, Vonyarcvashegy – The Spot Burger
We already wrote about a new dish that was entered in this year’s beach-food contest and was selected among the best. The Spot, found at the beach in Vonyarcvashegy, offers all kinds of goods from the griddle. They try to move towards BBQ, but their biggest attraction is the lángos burger, officially called The Spot Burger. The pre-cooked meat gets wrapped in a lángos fried-dough snack, deep-fried in oil and then cut in half. They top it with onion jam, and other sauces, and serve it with mixed salad, potato chips, or cabbage salad with sauce as garnish. This is one of the summer’s greatest novelties, but we have to highlight that to try this, you have to pay a bit to get in the beach area. Another important info: they also offer "regular" burgers and ready-made meals here.
The meat? Beef from a supermarket
For how much? 1,450 HUF
The ingredients? From retailers
The bun? Made of lángos fried-dough, made on the spot
Vegetarian option? Nope
