The first famous cafe Kuah and I visited in Budapest was the Central Grand Cafe & bar. The Central Cafe was opened in 1887. At the time of it’s opening it was considered advanced, having state of the art electrical lighting. It served as a cultural nexus and a meeting place for cultural elite, as well as for political rallies. It was able to remain open during WWII even though it was Jewish owned because of the appointment of a Christian manager.
Kuah and I went Saturday morning and they had live piano and violin music. I enjoyed the decor and ambiance of the location. Kuah and I shared goat cheese stuffed shells. Then he had an eggs Benedict and I had a tasting of traditional Hungarian desserts. My favorite was the goat cheese stuffed shells.
The second cafe we we went to, New York Cafe, is the most famous one. It is known for being the most beautiful cafe in the world. I have to agree that the inside is absolutely gorgeous! It is famous for having been a popular place for writers and editors. Many influential newspapers were edited there.
It fell into disrepair after world war II and was even a sporting goods store at one time. Then in 1954 it reopened as a cafe called Hungaria. In 2006 it was reopened as the New York Cafe and restored to its original splendor.
The New York Cafe often has longs lines, sometimes up to 2 hours. So Kuah and I decided to go on a Tuesday for breakfast when there was no line. We got lucky and were sat at a table by the window. Like many restaurants this one fits in as many tables as possible. Being near the window gave us extra breathing room and made it more enjoyable.
The ambiance of the New York Cafe is amazing. Everywhere you look you see something beautiful. It made me really happy we had chosen to go there. They realize that people go there for the history and the beauty rather than the food. Kuah ordered eggs Benedict and I had and Italian breakfast. It was delivered so soon after we ordered it that we knew it had not been cooked fresh for us.
Kuah still enjoyed his eggs Benedict. I was happy to have some fresh fruit. I was delighted that they gave me prune jam on my Italian breakfast tower. Having it on a small pastry reminded me of being at my Grandma’s house for the holidays. We took a picture of the little jam jar and hope to find the same brand in a store.
To drink Kuah had a giant cappuccino. I got the 24 karat strawberry hot chocolate. I enjoyed my drink but not enough to finish it. Overall, I’m really happy we had this experience. But we plan to go back to the Central Cafe again and not the New York Cafe. The waiter there was friendlier and overall it was a more welcoming experience.
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