Welcome to the Underworld

Underworld might have been the resting place for many heroes in mythology and literature alike, but do not worry my readers! For me, this place was not the end, but the opposite: The Beginning. I made it back, and I will try to give you a clear overview about the place in order for you to muster the courage to endeavor on the same path as I did. Let us take a look at the Underworld rock tavern.

Situated in the heart of Budapest, the tavern is an easy place to reach. It is just 2 blocks from Jászai Mari square in 13th district Tátra Street 1. The easiest way to get there is to get on the tram line 4 or 6 and alight at Jászai Mari square. The tavern is open from 6 am. to 12 pm. on paper, they won’t kick you out if you enjoy yourself and want to stay longer however (I have been there with my friends ’til 1 am). Although in this case one has to bear in mind that trams won’t run on their full line (just until Blaha Lujza square), so plan your transportation accordingly, and find out how late night buses run!

Once you get there you cannot miss the imposing double doors that lead down to the Underworld. As soon as we got there I could hear some familiar sounds escaping through the crevice of the doors. I knew this was the right place. While my ears experienced a slight orgasm caused by the fantastic music, I also took a look at the tavern, which can be split into 5 parts. The bar can be found on the right hand side, just as you walk in. On the left hand side there is a larger section with 4-4 booths on each side, where 4-6 people can comfortably take place. As the place also serves food for its customers, there is a restaurant section in the back with accommodation for 32 people. For those who want to spend their time playing, there is a separate section with table football (csocsó), darts and slot machines. Last but not least come the restrooms, but I would like to come back to them later.

After I quickly estimated the situation it was time to order some drink. My friends of course went for the local draft beer first. Seeing their happy faces as they reached for their jug of beer, I decided to order an alcohol free one myself, so that I could look badass among them. The attempt to get alcohol free beer was a futile attempt however, so I had to resort to drinking coke. If the fact that pops are the only alcohol free drinks one can get wouldn’t have been enough, I was also enlightened by my pub-visiting friends that the prices are not that good either. A jug of Holstein was 330 HUF, the draft brown beer (csapolt sör) was 360 HUF, and 3 dl of coke was 210 HUF.

The tavern itself is in relatively good condition and the furniture, painting, posters, pictures, the nice bartender guy as well as the customers give the place the distinctive rock tavern look. However, a rock tavern wouldn’t be a rock tavern without rock music, so let me talk about it a little. Sad thing is that I was visiting at a bad time: there was no live music. There were several speakers screaming the best metal songs one can imagine. All of the songs were new to us, and although the music was loud it was not so loud that we couldn’t hear each other talking. Lastly I would like to mention that there will be a concert on Thursday (24 Febr. 2011), so anyone who likes screamo should go and check out the Hungarian My Small Community’s performance.

In the last part of my first blog entry I would like to pay some attention to cleanliness and safety. This is the funny part where I will elaborate on the restrooms as I promised earlier, as the simple expression: pub-like, is simply not enough to describe them. Basically the toilet entering process could be done in three different ways:
1. You can go and figure out which door leads to the female or male toilet by trial and error, if you are lucky and see a pissoir on the wall you are on the right spot.
2. You get yourself caught red-handed while trying to get into the wrong place and take the advice of the owner of the bar to use the other door.
3. Or you can learn from my experience and go there with the invaluable knowledge that the door on the left side leads to the female toilet and the right one to the male.
Once you enter you can take care of whatever business you have there, just endure the stench and try to move constantly to avoid sticking to the floor. In terms of safety the tavern lacks nothing, the front entry is spacious enough to flee through and there is also an emergency exit, so feel safe to visit!

To sum up my first experience about the Budapest rock life, I must say that the Underworld rock tavern was really a nice place to start with. The tavern is easy to approach. Prices could have been better, but the place is huge and you can have a good time with your friends there. Although, a hazard sign should be put on the toilet doors (or at least they should indicate which door belongs to which sex), the other parts of the pub are nice and it also suits safety regulations. Music, which was the primary reason behind my visit, is great for those people who like hardcore and metal. With being that said, there is no rock loving person to whom I would not recommend the Underworld rock pub.