Košice is transforming into a foodie’s paradise: the Taste Košice festival will offer a delicious menu for all food lovers
Head to Košice this October – right now, the city is set to delight you with a new festival and the Taste Košice brand! Get ready for a packed month full of flavours and daring combinations of fantastic food and lively events. The autumn city will be buzzing with exciting gastronomic events as part of this month-long festival. Read on and experience the city of a thousand flavours for yourself!
Gastronomy as part of city life
Come to Košice this autumn for some fantastic food! Restaurants, cafés and the city’s culinary scene as a whole are an integral part of the autumn city experience. High-quality gastronomy is not only a treat for the taste buds, but also creates places to meet, new experiences and further opportunities to spend time in the city.
Košice is the metropolis of eastern Slovakia, not least thanks to its rich diversity. Alongside traditional flavours, the city now boasts modern urban concepts and cuisines from various corners of the world. Taste Košice aims to celebrate this diversity, raise its profile in the long term and, at the same time, support the creation of new gastronomic experiences that naturally complement the character of Košice.
Come along to the spectacular October festival
October will be all about endless tastings for both locals and visitors to the city. In just a few days’ time, the city will be showcasing the quality and diversity of its local scene as part of the month-long Taste Košice 2026 festival.
Fifteen Košice establishments will be taking part in the first edition, and together they invite you to over 30 events – ranging from tastings and themed evenings, through live cooking demonstrations and meetings with leading Slovak and international chefs, to unconventional combinations of food with music or the city’s history.
The marathon weekend will kick off with a fire show
The festival will kick off during the marathon weekend with an all-day event TASTE OF FIRE at Ohnisko Fire Dining & Brew Bar. An open fire and live cooking will be complemented by vinyl DJ sets, a live concert, a bar workshop, coffee cupping and tastings from Tokaj winemakers. The symbolic start of the festival will also be marked by a marathon fire, which will light the barbecue and thus link the two spectacular October events in the city.
Travel back in time and relive a magnificent Hungarian wedding
On 10 October, the festival will present one of the most original combinations of gastronomy and Košice’s history! At Levočský dom, home to the popular Hostinec Brewery, Košice will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the magnificent wedding of Gabriel Bethlen and Catherine of Brandenburg. Experience a historical procession and a re-enactment of the event, complemented by a period atmosphere, a musical programme and cuisine inspired by the story that unfolded right here in the city four centuries ago.
Sample Michelin-starred cuisine in City Park
The Fest Gourmet Journey at VILLA SANDY and SEVEN Restaurant Café will bring three big names from the world of gastronomy and their signature menus to Košice over the course of three evenings. Among them will be two of Slovakia’s top chefs and a Michelin-starred chef from abroad, who will lend the festival an international dimension.
Meet the craftspeople at the market
On 17 October, the historic Slávia arcade will be transformed into the Slávia Gourmet Market, bringing together local growers, artisan producers, winemakers and chefs all in one place. As well as good food, you can look forward to live cooking demonstrations right at the market, tastings of dishes, wines and regional produce, and the chance to meet the people behind them.
Taste the legendary Tokaj wines
Tokaj and its winemaking tradition will also feature in the programme. Tasting sessions and tasting evenings will showcase different perspectives on Tokaj wines and their pairing with contemporary cuisine. One such event will be, for example, The Two Faces of Tokaj, which will pair wines by Jaroslav Macik and Matúš Vdovjak with a tasting menu. At the end of the month, the Šum wine bar will host the popular event Urban Taste Košice , featuring street and urban food, wine, drinks, DJ sets and live music.
Celebrate a traditional Mexican festival
But that’s not all – throughout October, you can also pop along to the traditional Mexican Día de los Muertos, try your hand at decorating desserts over a glass of wine during Velvet & Wine, or head to Košice Beer Fest, a themed brunch, tastings and much more besides. The festival offers plenty of opportunities to revisit familiar spots and discover venues that are still missing from your list of favourites!
October is just the beginning of a gastronomic revolution
The festival is just the first major joint event for the new brand – but its ambition is long-term. Taste Košice will continue to draw inspiration from Košice’s gastronomic scene, showcase its quality and diversity, and create space for new collaborations and joint projects.
It can thus be a new source of tips for you on where to go for dinner, a coffee or a glass of wine, what’s new in town to try, or what occasion to gather around a table for once again. Taste Košice will thus gradually piece together a culinary map of the city, helping you to (re)discover Košice’s establishments whilst also giving visitors another reason to visit Košice, return and stay a little longer.
Are you in the mood for a food festival packed with exciting events, professional chefs from Slovakia and abroad, and fabulous dishes that will tantalise your taste buds? The Taste Košice festival starts in just a few days – click on the website www.tastekosice.sk to find out more about the planned events from the comfort of your own home. See you at the tastings!