Cafe No York

Some of Hungary's most famous poets and writers used to frequent cafes like the New York in Budapest and pay their tabs with a poem or a piece of prose. Alas, those days are over at the Cafe No York.

New York Café

The last time I had been in the Cafe New York was 1991, when I sipped Cointreau there with an alluring French woman - not a cheap experience when anything deemed 'western' meant the price was at least double what it would be anywhere else.

Budapest's renovated Cafe New York has been open for some time now, but seeing the Louis Vuitton handbags in the front window was quite simply a warning to me to not even think about going back into the joint, even for coffee. I should learn to trust my instincts.

But when I get a spur of the moment call from a BBC producer who wants to interview me the same day about Budacast, and who's staying at a hotel near Blah Lujza tér, I decide that we'll 'optimize' the
Beeb's expense account and give the new New York another try.

The Cafe New York is spotless inside, yet still slightly resembles place I visited in my youth. Frankly, it's rather gaudy, but still worth a look, being an important piece of history here.

We take a seat at a table surrounded by two sofas covered in red velvet. The waiter is pleasant and patient, as we are chatting up a storm and don't know what we'd like to order. As the BBC producer had just woke up from a nap I recommend strong Hungarian 'presszó kávé' - which was decent enough. The coffee kicked in during the interview and I let loose with my caffeine-induced, rapid fire rant about why I do Budacast.

We decide to order some Hungarian cake: the walnut laced Eszterházy torta and a Somlói Galuska spongecake covered in chocolate sauce and cream. Considering this is a joint owned by Italians I'm shocked at how bland the cake is, especially considering both deserts cost about four times what they'd cost anywhere else in town.

But what really made for what was to be a totally rotten experience at the Cafe New York was my request for a glass of tap water. The waitress flatly refused. "What if I just want to take an aspirin?" I queried. "You still can't bring me some?"

She returned and slammed my tap water on the table.

We get the hint and go directly to the cashier to pay our bill for 4 coffees, 2 cakes and 2 mineral waters. The total was 7,500 forints - 30 euros!

While this might not sound like much to visitors to Budapest, let it be known that you can have delicious cake in some of the best patisseries in Budapest - like the Daubner or Szamos Marcipan - and pay about a third of that price.

I say 'just say no' to the 'Cafe No York'.