New York Café, Budapest

The fanciest place for a coffee in Budapest.

The New York Kávéház (Coffeehouse) was the most beautiful and the most beloved coffee house in Budapest since its opening in 1894. 

It was a popular place among writers and artists, even newspaper editors which used to edit their newspapers here, in the upstairs gallery.

After World War II, the Café was damaged and forgotten and it even served as a sporting goods shop. Although it reopened as a coffee house in 1954, it wasn't until 2006 that it was restored to its original luxury and splendor.

We had cheese cake with homemade apricot jam, framboise tart, iced white chocolate and ice coffee with cream all for a bit less than 9.000 HUF (about 28 euro), definitely not cheap for a coffee place.

The sweets were not unforgettable and the coffee was OK, but the place is what makes it worth it, and there's a pianist playing so it's a great atomsphere.

There's even a legend that says that when the Café opened, the famous writer Ferenc Molnár threw the keys into the Danube so that it would never close.

The Café is hosted by the New York Palace, now property of the Boscolo Hotels chain, which are to be thanked for restoring this beautiful place to its original state.

New York Café
Erzsébet krt. 9-11, 1073 Budapest
Open: everyday 9 am - 12 pm
Phone: +36 1-8866-167
E-mail: newyorkcafe@budapest.boscolo.com
http://www.newyorkcafe.hu/bemutatkozas?lang=en