New York Café, the World’s Greatest Coffee House, opens at night from March in Budapest – PHOTOS
Another milestone has been reached for the 130-year-old New York Café, the world’s most beautiful coffee house. The iconic establishment on Erzsébet körút will be open nightly from 1 March, after a test run, and will offer a nightly menu: from Thursday to Sunday, from midnight, they want to give more people the chance to enjoy Budapest’s iconic café.
The night-time opening will allow guests to avoid long waits and enjoy the magic of the café in a relaxed and exclusive atmosphere. The test run during the festive period was announced at the 130th anniversary event of the World’s Greatest Café, adding that if the public responds positively to their ideas, night opening will become a regular feature from March onwards, in line with demand. The trial period has provided the answers to the questions raised, with guests happy to take up tables in the café after midnight.
Csaba Szabó, general manager of New York Café and Eventrend Group partner, said: “Experience has shown that the night-time visit to New York was linked to the active evening programme, with the café being full mainly on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Guests preferred drinks rather than coffee, with so-called “snack” accompaniments, but were also keen on pastries. So the night menu will be more of a drinks and cold food menu.
Music is also an indispensable part of the atmosphere, this time the lounge, chill out atmosphere was tried, but also a bit more rhythmic music was played, the audience opted for the latter. Accordingly, a bar pianist will be entertaining the audience during the night opening hours, playing faster-paced, enjoyable hits.
The café will have decorative lighting to match the night-time atmosphere and the life-size figure of El Asmoday, the torch-bearing demon on the façade, will be moved in to be a favourite subject for photographs. Special selfie spots will also be designated, providing the perfect setting for memorable photos.
The legendary anecdote goes that when Ferenc Molnár opened the café, he wished the place would never close, so he threw the keys into the Danube. Now, 130 years later, this dream is once again being fulfilled with the opening of the café at night. Last November, the café celebrated its 130th anniversary with a special new mini-cake: guests can also ask for a creation made from a combination of apricot and chocolate flavours.
New York serves between 2,500 and 3,000 guests a day, which translates to over 1 million guests a year. This unprecedented challenge requires a huge amount of organisation. The team at CER Ltd, part of the Eventrend Group, which operates the New York Café, is committed to carrying out this proud task with the utmost professionalism.
The Eventrend Group has over three decades of experience in the operation of cafés, restaurants, hotels and event management. The group currently has 31 projects, employing around 1100 people. The Eventrend Group is involved in the catering services of around 20 gastronomic businesses, including Gundel Restaurant, New York Café, Central Café, Spoon the boat, Hauptőrség Café, Városliget Café, Séf Asztala, Symbol, Groupama Arena and Müpa Budapest, as well as the sale of 79 individual event rooms in 24 Budapest venues. The group’s net turnover reached HUF 25 billion in 2024.
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