The coffee houses of Budapest

About The coffee houses of Budapest

By the ULTIMATE Budapest Editorial Team

Around 1900, Budapest was one of the great coffee-house cities of Europe, with hundreds of cafés where writers, journalists, artists and businessmen spent their days. Many disappeared in the 20th century, but the grandest have been restored, and the coffee-house spirit is alive again.

A golden age

At the turn of the 20th century, Budapest was growing fast, and the coffee house was its living room: a place to read the newspapers, meet friends, do business and write. The grandest, such as the New York Café, opened in 1894, were palaces of marble, gilt and mirrors.

Writers’ cafés

Writers and editors worked in the cafés, and the influential literary magazine Nyugat was closely linked to the city’s café life. The Centrál Kávéház, opened in 1887 near the university, was a favourite of writers and still serves coffee under its high ceilings.

Some writers had their post delivered to their coffee-house table.

Revival

Many cafés closed or became something else in the middle of the 20th century. Since the 1990s, the great names have been restored, from the New York Café to Gerbeaud, the confectioner on Vörösmarty Square, alongside a new wave of specialty coffee bars.

Our advice: have breakfast or coffee at one of the grand cafés early in the day, before the queues, order a slice of Dobos or Esterházy torte, and then try a specialty coffee bar for the modern side of Budapest coffee.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The coffee houses of Budapest before you go.