New York Café in Budapest: Is It Worth It? (My Honest Review)
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The New York Café in Budapest is often called as the most beautiful café in the world. In fact, it was voted as such twice before. It is one of those places in Budapest that is usually visited more by tourists and less by locals.
Hungarian locals usually don’t come here for a coffee as it is considered way overpriced, however, visiting the New York Café is more than just having food and drinks.
The New York Café is more about the ambience, architecture, and décor. It’s not just a café, it holds a significant place in Hungarian culture and walking through its archways and marble columns feels like going back in time.
So, is the New York Café worth visiting? I took my family for coffee and breakfast to try and test out the service, food, and ambiance. Here is my experience.
BUDAPEST ESSENTIALS
✈️ Travel Insurance: SafetyWing (affordable insurance)
🚃 Transport: Budapest Card (transport pass & entry to 30+ attractions)
🏠 Accommodation: Anantara Hotel (same building as the New York Cafe)
🛳️ Must-do: Budapest River Cruise
New York Café Budapest History
The New York Café (in Hungarian: New York Kávéház) in Budapest was built in 1894 by Alajos Hauszmann. It was originally built to house the Budapest branch of the New York Life Insurance Company. The café was on the ground floor of the building and that’s where its name originates from.
The New York Café was a popular place for Hungarian writers, poets and artists in the 20th century. It is also the place where many famous Hungarian writers completed their work. So, it remains a significant place within Hungarian culture.
The café had its best days before World War II. During WWII, the café was damaged and then used as a sports shop. It later reopened as a café (Hungária café) in 1954.
In 1989, it was renamed back to New York Café, and then in 2006, the café’s interior was restored and renovated, and the café got back its original glory.
Why is New York Café in Budapest Famous?
The New York Café in Budapest is famous for being the most beautiful café in the world. It is often voted by city guides as the most beautiful café in the world, so it is worth a visit if you are traveling in Budapest.
The prices on the menu may be overpriced but I loved the interior inside the café. Due to the high prices at the café, we could also call it the most expensive café in Budapest. Still, I loved it and for me, the architecture, décor and ambience justified the costs for the food and drink.
Information for Visiting
Location & How to Get There
- New York Café Address: Erzsébet krt. 9-11, 1073, Budapest
The New York Café is located near the city center of Budapest, close to Blaha Lujza tér. Blaha Lujza tér is a major intersection in the city, close to metro stations, tram and bus stops.
How to Get to the New York Café
- By Metro: Take Metro Line 2 (red line) to Blaha Lujza tér
- By Tram: Take Tram 4 or 6 to Blaha Lujza tér
Depending on where you are staying in Budapest, the café might also be in walking distance. There is also Uber in Budapest which makes it pretty easy to order taxis in the city.
Opening Hours
- Monday – Wednesday: 7:00 am – 12:00 am (midnight)
- Thursday – Sunday: 7:00 am – 1:00 am
I was surprised by the long opening hours of New York Café as I didn’t expect it to be open until midnight and 1 am. But the café is so popular that they have long opening hours so that anyone can come by at a time that is best for their schedule.
Do You Need a Reservation for New York Café Budapest?
The way the booking works at New York Café is that you cannot make a reservation during the day but only for dinner after 6 pm.
So, for any other time (morning, daytime), the seating is on first-come, first-served basis. Due to the café’s popularity, there is always a massive queue outside the café.
Even though they take reservations for dinner, you can still go to the café at dinner time without a reservation. Then it is just that the waiting time will be longer as you have to queue with everyone in line who didn’t make a reservation beforehand.
What is the Best Time to Visit New York Café Budapest?
Due to the long queues and waiting time, I recommend visiting the New York Café either early morning (7-8 am) or late evening (after 10 pm).
I have seen the long lines whenever I passed by the café and heard stories of people waiting in line for 1-2 hours before being let in. When I decided to come to the café with my family, we decided to come early morning to avoid the long waiting time.
We got to the café at 8 am, and the café was already busy inside and a short queue already started to form outside. The queue moved fast at 8 am, and we got inside the café after 10 minutes of waiting.
Patiently queuing in line is part of getting into New York Café. There is even a sign at the door saying not to go inside the café unless a member of staff comes to the door to let you in. So, you just wait in the queue until it’s your turn to go.
If you are spending a few days in Budapest, I recommend coming to the café early morning to start the day off with coffee and breakfast, and then go explore the city.
My Review of the New York Cafe Budapest
Menu (Food and Drinks)
The menu has a wide selection of Hungarian and international dishes, including breakfast sets, soup, pasta, burger, salad, and dessert. The Hungarian dishes include traditional goulash soup, chicken paprikash, and cabbage stew. The café also serves Hungarian wine and beer.
I loved that the menu also includes a few vegan and vegetarian options. It’s not massive but they have a few pastas, soups and curries for vegetarians and vegans. I am allergic to dairy, and I was pretty happy that I could get almond milk to go with my coffee.
As we visited early morning, we had coffee and pancakes for breakfast. I would say the food and drinks were average. If you want to try authentic Hungarian food, then it is better to go to a proper traditional Hungarian restaurant in the city, they are also less expensive.
Prices
I can’t say that the costs are justified for the food and drinks at the café as what we had during our visit was average. However, you don’t just come to the New York Café for the food, it is more about the ambience and décor.
Considering that the interior of the café is so beautiful, I could justify the higher costs for the food and drinks. The New York Café is not like a typical coffee shop, so if you like architecture then you’ll also like the New York Café (even if it feels like that the food and drinks are overpriced).
Our order included Americano HUF 3,900 (EUR 10), cappuccino for HUF 4,300 (EUR 11), 24 carat gold hot chocolate (it was probably the tastiest among our order), and pancakes HUF 4,800 (EUR 13).
In total, our bill came up to around HUF 22,000 (USD 67) with tips included. It was a bit pricey, considering we didn’t have much food, mostly just coffee as I am not a breakfast person. Nevertheless, I was happy to go to the café as I love art and culture and really wanted to see the interior inside the café.
If your goal is to keep the costs low, you don’t have to order a three-course meal, just get a coffee, and walk around the café and see the architecture.
Interior & Décor
The main reason to visit the New York Café is for its interior and décor. It was built in Italian Renaissance style with marble columns, arches and paintings on the ceiling.
Honestly, there is a reason why it is called as the most beautiful café in the world. I felt like I went back in time and walked through a palace building.
Even if you find that the menu is overpriced at the café, it is still worth to come as the interior justifies the costs.
I read some brutal reviews about the café beforehand, how it is not worth the price. But for me it was totally worth it as I love art and architecture, and was curious to check it out due to its long history connected to Hungarian culture and literature.
Service
Again, I heard some bad reviews about the service at the café, but for me it was the opposite, and I found the service good.
Some negative reviews I heard beforehand was about where you are seated. The café is pretty big and it has one big main sitting room which is considered as the best. Most people prefer to sit here, and if you have a reservation, you could try to get the server to give you a table here in case they take you to another area first.
We were seated in the area on the right side as you enter. To be honest, I liked that we didn’t sit in the main hall as it looked totally crammed with tables. Plus, everyone passes there taking photos – it looked like something that would disturb me if I was having food there.
Overall, I liked sitting in the less busy area of the café. I could still go and spend a lot of time around the main hall and take as many photos as I wanted. But I didn’t have so many people around me to disturb me having a peaceful breakfast.
After we arrived and were seated, we ordered our food and drinks. The good thing was that after we ordered, we had time to walk around the café and take photos and videos.
In my opinion, the servers will not bring any food or drinks until you get back to your table. So, you can spend as much time taking photos as you want. Once you are back at your table, they will start serving you the food.
There is also a pianist that plays music during breakfast hours (7-11 am). I loved the piano player and he played well-known classical and pop songs. Then, from 11 am to 5 pm, there is a gypsy band that plays music.
Does New York Café Budapest Have a Dress Code?
No, there isn’t an official dress code but the ambience is so nice at the café that it is worth dressing up a bit. You don’t have to go all out but wearing smart casual is the way to go.
The New York Café is also one of the best spots for Instagram photos in Budapest, so it’s nice to wear something more fancy for some good photos.
Is New York Café Budapest Worth It? My Verdict
Yes, in my opinion, it is totally worth visiting the New York Café in Budapest. The menu may be overpriced but you are not really going there for the food and drinks. You are going there for the beautiful interior and décor, and for that, the café delivers in every aspect!
Is it more like a tourist spot? Yes, it is, it is mainly visited by travelers coming to Budapest. It’s not a place where locals often go, and certainly, it’s not a place for digital nomads working on their laptops all day.
Nevertheless, if you want to visit a beautiful café in Budapest that’s referred to as the most beautiful café in the world, then you can stop by for a coffee and check out its interior.
It’s also a nice place to celebrate a special occasion, in which case, I would go for having a dinner there. Don’t forget, you can make a reservation for dinner ahead.
Alternatives to New York Café in Budapest
If you are looking for cafes similar to New York Café, then I recommend checking out Párisi Udvar and Café Gerbeaud. They both have an elegant interior but are a bit cheaper than the New York Café. So, if you are looking for something nice but on a lower budget, then they are good alternatives.
New York Café Budapest Photos
Some of my favourite photos of the New York Café:
New York Café Budapest Menu
Like the check the menu before going for a meal? Here is the current menu at the New York Cafe:
Final Thoughts
Due to the café’s popularity, when you are planning your trip, I recommend either visiting early morning or in the evening. The queues can be long, with wait times up to 1-2 hours.
If you are a morning person, then visit the New York Café around the opening times (7-8 am), and if you are a night person, then visit the café after 10 pm.
You can make a reservation for dinner with time slots between 6-10 pm. In this case, your wait time is shorter. You can still visit the café for dinner, but if you don’t have a reservation, you’ll have to queue.
