Régi Idők Udvara (Courtyard of Old Times) is in central Tihany at Batthyány utca 3., a few steps from the main street and close to the bus stop. An oak statue greets guests outside; inside is a complete open-air museum courtyard: a thatched village pub, a working blacksmith’s shop, carved statues and hundreds of old peasant objects. In the middle stands the domed bread oven where the food is baked. It opens seasonally, roughly from April to the end of October.
A courtyard born of a collector’s passion
The place grew out of the collection of Róbert Papp and his family. On the website the owner tells how it began in 2000 with his grandmother’s old sewing machine, then a spinning wheel rescued from a muddy farmyard, and from there there was no stopping: harnesses, yokes, vineyard tools, the tools of a cobbler’s workshop from Sopron. Work on the courtyard began on 15 March 2006. Most of the carvings are by Budapest sculptor Béla Mónus, a few by the owner and his wife. The domed oven was built following old books, and since his grandfather was a blacksmith, a smithy was built too, where children can strike the anvil today.
Only Hungarian, only old
The house rule is strict: only traditional Hungarian food and drink, and no international brands or logos in the courtyard. The restaurant is a member of the Premium Hungaricum association. Dishes are cooked from raw ingredients rather than semi-finished products, and where possible the house produces them itself: jams and syrups are homemade and there is an oven bakery. Food is served on clay and wooden plates at log tables.
Around the oven
The offer centres on the domed oven: homemade sausage, lamb, ragouts and oven-roasted meats. Earlier menus listed goulash soup, fish soup, tarragon ragout soup, garlic polenta, potato flatbread, beef stew, roast duck and goose, pork knuckle, pike-perch and trout, and big group platters with folk-tale names such as Ludas Matyi, Döbrögi or the Seven-Plum-Tree Noble Feast. For dessert, strudel and pancakes. In one corner of the courtyard you can also get lángos, sausage and fried hake.
Beer in clay mugs, pálinka from wild fruit
The house beer is brewed for them by a small brewery: a slightly bitter, unpasteurised pilsner that keeps only eight days, served in clay mugs of 3 or 5 dl, or in two-litre jugs for groups. The pálinkas are 50%, made from hand-picked wild fruit and distilled in copper over wood fire by a family in the Bakony: quince, service berry, hawthorn, cornelian cherry, medlar, sloe and a dozen more. Non-drinkers get homemade elderflower, raspberry and blackcurrant syrup in clay cups, alongside Balaton wines.
Folk music and crafts
During meals, zither players, folk and Romani musicians and folk dancers entertain guests, and there are blacksmith and baking demonstrations during opening hours. In September there are jam-making days, in winter a pig slaughter on request, and you can try archery in the courtyard.
What guests say
Régi Idők Udvara is one of Tihany’s most popular restaurants: 4.7 on Google from over three thousand reviews, 9.6 on Szallas.hu from 131 and 4.4 on Tripadvisor from over three hundred. Guests praise the village-museum atmosphere, the details, friendly and fast service, the food and the live music, and that the courtyard stays cool even in summer heat. The price of popularity is the queue: book at peak times or arrive a little early.
Who it is for
Families, as the courtyard itself is a programme for children, foreign guests who want Hungarian food and folk culture in one place, and anyone wanting an oven-baked lunch after a walk to the abbey. If you want quiet, modern cooking, this is not the place.
Prices
Mid-range; the restaurant’s website does not list current prices.
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The person behind the place
It started with a sewing machine
Róbert Papp's collection began in 2000 with his grandmother's old sewing machine, which he and his wife kept. Then he rescued a spinning wheel found in a muddy farmyard, and there was no stopping. On 15 March 2006 they started building the courtyard: hauling stones, planning, carving some of the figures themselves. The domed oven was built following old books, and the smithy honours his blacksmith grandfather. The family still runs the courtyard, and the owners are often there themselves.
Papp Róbert és családja, founders, ownersWorth a taste
Oven-baked dishes on clay plates
Meats, homemade sausage and ragouts from the domed oven on clay and wooden plates, with house beer in a clay mug.
Local tip
See the blacksmith's shop
The smithy works and children can strike the anvil. In September there are jam-making days; try the homemade jam and syrup. There is a queue at peak times, so come early.
The BalatonEats meal plan
How to put your meal together
- 01House beer in a clay mug
Unpasteurised, slightly bitter pilsner from a small brewery that keeps only eight days.
- 02Wild-fruit pálinka
50%, from hand-picked wild fruit, distilled in copper: cornelian cherry, medlar, service berry.
- 03Lángos from the courtyard
A quick bite if you don't want a full lunch.
What guests say
What stays with guests?
Guests praise the village-museum atmosphere, the details, friendly and fast service, the food and the live music, and that the courtyard stays cool in summer. The main complaint is the queue that comes with popularity.
Google 4.7 (about 3,400 reviews) and Tripadvisor 4.4 (about 315 reviews) per Wanderlog and Tripadvisor, Szallas.hu 9.6 (131 reviews), as of November 2026.+
What brings people back
- Genuine open-air museum courtyard with hundreds of old objects and a smithy
- Hungarian cooking from the domed oven on clay and wooden plates
- House beer in clay mugs, wild-fruit pálinkas
- Folk music, folk dance, craft demonstrations
- A great experience with children
!
Good to know before you go
- Seasonal, closed in winter.
- Long queues at peak times.
- No current menu or prices on the website.
Photo credits
Régi Idők Udvara
