Reviews | Martin O Regan

Sugar-coated

Posted on May 26, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

The imposing, almost threatening, chandelier looming above the counter all aglass in the Auguszt cukrászda on Kossuth Lajos utca could seem out of place, almost vulgar, but not here. Alongside the finely upholstered easy chairs, as well as basic seats, and the classical wall mural, everything is where it should be…and without the lean towards forced extravagance. Even the edges, polished to the modern, still function clinically as reinforcements, their wrought iron effect not running against the overall turn of the last century feel. The two picture windows screen street life and so whether for a chat or to just watch the world there are the contrasting intimate corners versus the window display seating. Upstairs there is even more seating offering one the opportunity to look down on all the comings and goings.

As for the prices: at 450huf for an average cake and 490huf a long coffee this isn’t cheap. If you are pocket motivated then Jégbüfé at Ferenciek tere farther up towards the river is the better option but for a taste of decadence, at least by surroundings, this is the place to be.

©TheHairyTeacher2013

An Artist’s Retreat?

Posted on May 21, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

The Művész Kávéhaz and Étterem in Orbán tér is old school posh (chandeliers etc) like downtown, but with low ceilings, and a feeling to pocketlandia 12th district style. I don’t know; I haven’t tried the bacon and eggs: there is a breakfast menu, and plenty of food besides, but apart from the generous croissant and coffee at 650huf, I suspect there’s little else to appeal, or perhaps in its clique it offers lunch time menus only to make a killing on the drinks. Krizia, Mozsár utca, comes to mind. I’m not against this place for its style, and even its location offers life, what with bus stops and a supermarket nearby. High up it also has a view towards a distance and on a beautiful Spring evening that’s colourful. What then gives, though I’ve hinted already! Dréher Bak: 850huf! Good luck and good riddance.

©TheHairyTeacher2013

Retrospective

Posted on May 17, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

Ibolya at Ferencziek tere is retro in feel and seems quite tacky. Gaudy wallpaper mixed with pale yellow paints comprise the walls while lamp shades hang low just as Diana’s ‘V’ spaceships loomed large above the urban landscape, or perhaps even as a nod to Ed Wood in his more frenetic days.

Deeper into the darkness which resides away from the street there are the sofas, while upstairs too there is the gloom. The gloom in itself is the essence of an Irish bar but with funky American diner furniture it seems like an awkward union. In truth it’s borberline psychotic. However, don’t be deterred. Those of you naive enough might find it psychedelic, while those already in the vapours of madness might find yourselves right at home. For everybody else it’s an adventure but just in case I’ve built it up, really… it’s not all that much.

Being retro and maintaining the feel, air con seems to be window-wise but I could be wrong. A monstrosity above the bar sporting vents could actually be for real. Now where are the people operating that contraption? Holed up in a backroom being fed a staple diet of kifli, parizsi meat slices, and Kobanyai beer served luke warm?

The drinks menu itself is well endowed while the snacks remain old school: meleg szendvics and ropi plus some.

An overall assessment of the place would need to include purpose. This is certainly a place to water up before moving onto the tiles John and Olivia style, and, as it is in the centre of rejuvenation, it’s all about location, location, location.

©TheHairyTeacher2013

Baking Westside

Posted on May 15, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

Being on the sunny side of the street isn’t everything, especially when you have a view to it, and here at the Bakery Cafe near Nyugati at 9.30am in the morning, that’s how it is. Seating is set at a big picture window overlooking the tram stop and the steps down to the supermarket at the base of the Skála building.

There is plenty of floor space around the counter and considering the movement of customers in and out since being here I would say this was good foresight.

The question for me is this however. Is it really a cafe in the sit down and while away the time way or is it more fastfood, user friendly in that sense.I would venture to the latter because no matter, since I’ve sat down everybody else has come and gone. It’s a ten minute max, not an hour chat kinda place. The high stools indicate as such.

Anyway, on offer are sticky bun like creatures, tekercsek, pretzel savouries, teas, coffees, and other drinks, and going snacky it’s not bad. One quib: plastic forks etc…it doesn’t break the heart to wash a bit of cutlery and it is more environmentally friendly.

The best I can say is that with a few minutes to spare and in the vicinity it offers a cheaper alternative to Costa Coffee but less seating than McDonalds. The street can be a welcome distraction and no doubt due to its location it has every chance of flourishing. Good luck to it.

©TheHairyTeacher2013

Basic-ally

Posted on May 14, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

On Révay Köz, just off the busy Bajcsy-Zsilinszky, and directly across from the basilica if you find yourself on the high stools that line the pavement outside, Basil Ica is one of those little places that are impressing more and more in Budapest, and more often Pest. With a bustling tourist trade just off their edge, in fact beginning around the corner and straddling the 6th and 5th districts from this perspective, it is one of those cheap eat options that still retains its integrity. A simple pancake served up on a large plate sprinkled with a whisp of icing sugar suggests chef pretentions, or at least late nights with Paprika TV or one of the now numerous home education channels foodwise. And to rate it…a decent pancake with that right consistency, me being the self-proclaimed Prince of Palacsinta all of a sudden!
A neat little gaff with a selection of pancakes, sweet and savoury, sandwiches, salads, omelettes etc…it could make a mint from the thrifty tourists so why not read and spread this review. As to ulterior motives, me!?
Open from 8.30 a.m. and with breakfast options this place could be smart, although on that point… don’t expect WIFI. God, how we’ve forgotten ourselves!
For everything else it ticks boxes and while seating is high-stool and legroom-less on facing the window, don’t let this deter you: it’s not a fancy diner, rather a snack-and-go or to-go at best.
Will I return? If in the area and peckish. Would I recommend it? If you’re in the area and peckish!
But seriously, try it out…

©TheHairyTeacher2013

Bohemian burgers and beer

Posted on April 6, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

On Lövőház in the up and coming area – once an awkward car street, now pedestrianised – there is another addition to the flourish, Bohem 16. As to whether it’s connected to what was there before I cannot say but the prices suggest otherwise. I remember sitting out for a coffee and just finding the bill criminal. These days there’s this place, with a pint of Soproni coming in at 390huf. Finding a place under 400 these days is tricky if you don’t want the overly-lived-in feel, and on Buda side it comes as a surprise. Not that Cheerio up the road isn’t cheap, it’s just that this place has aspirations to more than that kocsma flavour.

First off, there is wifi and a food menu which includes burgers and salads, the latter being the pricier at 900 – 1700, while, surprisingly burgers are 700 a pop. Of course, this would suggest basic but even still there is a variety on the theme, chili, cheese, etc. so if feeling peckish and thirsty and in the mood for something cosier than the kocsma meleg szendvics and minimalism, this is a good alternative.

On entering from the street down a flight of steps one is confronted by a cellar bar with the cavernous ceilings to boot. Tables line the wall under the street level windows, while the bar dominates the other wall, bar stools all aligned. Over in the far corner is a wonderful armchair for the purposes of being.

Another room adjoins just off the entrance and has even more of the comfy chairs to offer. In all a tidy affair with the potential to a good booze-up and, what with the street outside for those of the feet persuasion, tables in the sunshine means Springtime.

The music was unintrusive, if desired, but the selection including The Boss meant that in between moments lazing back and allowing the atmosphere to envelope me, I wasn’t left all alone.

The staff were up to the task, and engaging, so for me its relative newness merely spells great potential. Let’s see.

Bohem 16

©TheHairyTeacher2013

Breakfast or not

Posted on April 6, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

TIFFANY’S in the Batthyány tér market hall offers airiness and comfort without the hustle and bustle of the Plaza cafes. It’s set off from the rest of the shops on the first floor and, if standing, there is a view which carries one across to the parliament buildings on the Pest bank opposite. In fact, for many tourists, a photo of said building at river level is best obtained from here, by here I mean the bank wall on Bem rákpart.

Through the window another photo is possible, made perhaps more atmospheric through the dusty glass, but with the foreground that includes the comings and goings of this Buda-side public transport hub. Buses run to and fro around the square while a tram at the bank takes one south on what can be at ponits a very picturesque tram ride.

NOW as for the cafe itself there are seats leading in from the pedestrian way around the floor, islands in their way extending out from the area, itself a stylised island, three quarters open with the part nearest the windows closed off to counter service,instead alllowing for a gallery area providing more seating.

Staff are friendly with one particular chap, though a tad stern-faced, quite welcoming of my mashed Hungarian. A smile on such a frown is almost unsettling as it is relieving.

Prices are to the level of the square it located in with coffees starting at 350huf while teas of flighty pretensions starting at 590huf. A bottled beer, Soproni, is 390huf and this is for the 500ml which is the price list’s most positive surprise.

In a nutshell, a place for an intimate chat away from the congestion of other cafes nearby, and a step off escape routes up and down , as well as, across river if required.

Tiffany’s

©TheHairyTeacher2013

Good Marketing

Posted on March 28, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

Set away within the framework interior of the Lehel market building this Fancy* little Cafe has its general appeal. Below on the market floor, the raw meat, and fresh fruit and veg vies for purchase on the punters’ purse strings while on this floor in the environs, cheap clothes and shoes make promises in price that I know from experience they will not keep.

Never mind because if you’ve found yourself with time, maybe with shopping bags weighing you down, this little cafe offers hope in terms of well made coffee.

A polished affair of wood and brass inside, there are also the obligatory metal seats outside and whereas they may not offer the same luxuriant feel they are perched at the railing, overlooking the activities below.

Coffee is freshly ground here and can be bought by the bag as well as enjoyed in brew. Other beverages are also on offer, teas etc., and there are the compulsory marlenkas (layered cakes) on the counter. Sometimes there’s more, sometimes less, but it is a place to pass a while, the atmosphere within the shell of Lehel market building, abounding.

*http://www.fancycafe.hu/

Pass the Word

Posted on March 28, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

First impressions of Code 7: trendy but determined. This place wants to appeal and in an area around the 3^rd district where old town and high-rise clash, and where Spar and büfés often times win the day, it is a chance, methinks, to capitalise on the migratory office staff who work in the district.

It seems to take itself seriously: the breakfast menu is cheap between 7 and 9 am to draw the early birds. About time! Oft times, Pest-side, it has been impossible to find a cooked breakfast before ten.

Well, on entering I firstly noted the friendliness; a smile can so often cushion the blow even in a bad establishment, something the Hungarian service industry is slowly coming to grips with – and I don’t mean 5 star hotels and the like. I mean down on the ground basic joints.

I ordered ham and eggs, and a coffee, and sat to think. The music was on but unintrusive, and, while, not my taste: it was funky not irritating.

Waiting no more than five minutes when a white plate arrived, two yellow eyes peeping up at me, a promise of the ham hidden beneath. Apart from this, two lumps of something similar to potato sat perched on the presentation – fresh bread-rolls as it turned out.

To put it simply – delicious. Well cooked, nothing burnt! – smooth. As they say, the way to a man’s heart… I’m happy. I’ll be back.

Worth Noting: Ham & Eggs at 490huf, with a long coffee and a sparkling water came in at 990huf.

A steal!

Downside: Not exactly townside but if you are in the area give it a shot.

A blast from the present

Posted on March 27, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

Well, where there is a doc there is medicine, unless you’re computer burdened and can only associate d-o-c with Word. God help us but I think I’m becoming such. Not my fault except, of course, it is. I’ve chosen the medium to continue.

And so I shall.

On Paulay Ede utca leading from Nagmező to Liszt Ferenc tér there is a place by the name of Cafe Zsivágó, and it has all the pretensions to the old world, the old style, the cafes of central Europe as I would have imagined them 100 years ago. It certainly has all the grandeur with the front section reaching to a high ceiling, the paintings along the wall marking the level which is continued by the gallery which runs from behind the counter area to the back of the establishment. A neat little poke of a room hides inside an archway to the left, and upstairs there are available perchings to allow the full experience of watching – intently if you so wish.

Above and over my right shoulder laughter comes, descending. In that little corner, separated from the greater part of upstairs, a couple, almost hidden, have taken up residence. Indeed a cosy affair. Not the place for the boys and the beer I imagine. A bit too sedate. Hot chocolates and laptops are the order of the day, the latter clashing with my fin de siècle illusions. Bloody Mac!

Ah, but a taste of my hot chocolate and all doubt dissipates. Express divinity personified! And even as I write this I salivate for more. Jesus, and I was going to buy a beer. Sometimes the universe chooses for you and here it surely has.

Now I’m still not about to sing the praises of the place in terms of service. I was sitting upstairs and never approached. However, it could be the policy. And sitting down here with a bit of fresh air, courtesy of an open window, coupled with smoke from the shop assistants of the surrounding outlets who somehow need to congregate right there, I am rather content. The music has run from Louis Armstrong to something a lot more classical. This is what I’d expect – not the bleeding WIFI brigade, though I am not a stranger to this myself and so will not here set myself up the hypocrite – but it’s akin to a Chinese takeaway inside the Acropolis – but I guess this is not meant to be old, just old-fashioned, or old-school, or something, and I’m occasionally glancing at my mobile on the table. The illusion is there – the boundaries are yours.

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