Budapest’s rich café scene is no secret, but the integration of cafés and bookshops proves to be a popular and unique option in café culture. The Book Café (or Lotz Terem) and Massolit Books and Café are among these hybrid coffee shops in Budapest and both present very different images.
The Book Café is located in the Alexandra Bookstore on Andrássy Street not far from the Opera. As you enter the bookstore, follow the escalators to the top floor and the front entrance of the café will introduce you to what could have easily been mistaken for something found in a palace. The café occupies a large hall with ornately detailed walls and a high ceiling covered in colorful murals you can’t help but look at.
Despite the rather posh impression the café gives, the wait staff is relatively friendly and the cost for a coffee or decadent dessert is moderately priced. The café is a popular tourist spot and a wait to be seated isn’t uncommon. That said, I wouldn’t suggest the café as a spot to spend hours on an assignment. Don’t let this deter you though! It’s a great place to meet with friends or hang out by your self during off peak hours. The café is well worth a visit, if at least to admire the interior design.
Within the spectrum of book/coffee shops Massolit is the opposite of the Book Café. Massolit is located in the Jewish District and provides a cozier atmosphere with a no frills menu. Instead of being located above a bookstore, the café and bookstore are one. An art space is located to the right of the café bar and additional seating is in the back garden. The time worn walls are filled of new and used books that set the mood for long hours of reading.
Massolit is an independent bookstore from Krakow, Poland that specializes in fiction and nonfiction English language books. Unlike its parent store, the Budapest location is definitely more of a café than it is a bookstore, but is just as welcoming.
Both cafés are located within walking distance of CEU. The Book Café is open from 10am to 10pm every day and its address is Andrássy út 39 in district 6. Massolit is open Monday through Saturday from 11am to 8pm and located at Nagy Diófa utca 30 in district 7.
Stephanie Siwiece
Nationalism Studies
USA
The Book Café is located in the Alexandra Bookstore on Andrássy Street not far from the Opera. As you enter the bookstore, follow the escalators to the top floor and the front entrance of the café will introduce you to what could have easily been mistaken for something found in a palace. The café occupies a large hall with ornately detailed walls and a high ceiling covered in colorful murals you can’t help but look at.
Despite the rather posh impression the café gives, the wait staff is relatively friendly and the cost for a coffee or decadent dessert is moderately priced. The café is a popular tourist spot and a wait to be seated isn’t uncommon. That said, I wouldn’t suggest the café as a spot to spend hours on an assignment. Don’t let this deter you though! It’s a great place to meet with friends or hang out by your self during off peak hours. The café is well worth a visit, if at least to admire the interior design.
Within the spectrum of book/coffee shops Massolit is the opposite of the Book Café. Massolit is located in the Jewish District and provides a cozier atmosphere with a no frills menu. Instead of being located above a bookstore, the café and bookstore are one. An art space is located to the right of the café bar and additional seating is in the back garden. The time worn walls are filled of new and used books that set the mood for long hours of reading.
Massolit is an independent bookstore from Krakow, Poland that specializes in fiction and nonfiction English language books. Unlike its parent store, the Budapest location is definitely more of a café than it is a bookstore, but is just as welcoming.
Both cafés are located within walking distance of CEU. The Book Café is open from 10am to 10pm every day and its address is Andrássy út 39 in district 6. Massolit is open Monday through Saturday from 11am to 8pm and located at Nagy Diófa utca 30 in district 7.
Stephanie Siwiece
Nationalism Studies
USA
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