Characteristic Budapest coffee house has been reborn – PHOTOS!
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After a long and all-encompassing renovation, one of the most iconic coffee houses in Budapest from the 20th century will soon be welcoming guests with a selection of quality drinks, as well as with an imposing 300-seat room for cabaret shows at Ferenciek tere.
According to Turizmus, the iconic coffee house, formerly known as “Belvárosi Kávéház” (Downtown Café), will reopen on May 19th to serve guests under the name Matild Café & Cabaret.
The coffee house is located on Ferenciek tere, housed in one of the mesmerising Klotild Palaces, which serve as a sort of gateway for the Erzsébet híd (Elizabeth bridge).
The renewed Matild Café & Cabaret says the following about themselves:
“The two-storey coffee house came to life by 1901 and immediately established itself as the most popular centre of the vibrant social life of the Belle Epoque era, where prominent public figures, journalists, artists used to meet. The coffee house turned into a significant part of daily life and became a social epicentre where, following WWII, it opened as the first business in the city restoring life.”
Turizmus adds that Gyula Krúdy, a Hungarian writer and journalist who was active in the late 19th to early 20th century, wrote the stories of Sinbad in this coffee house. To honour one of Hungary’s greatest authors, a statue was erected near the building in 2021.
I’ll be there in June.