Lesser-known charms of Budapest – desserts and storytelling

Budapest has lots of things to offer to tourists and citizens alike. An important aspect is gastronomy and the culinary experiences you can enjoy in the Hungarian capital. Even though goulash and other savoury dishes usually enjoy the limelight, desserts and the Hungarian café experience should not be downplayed, either.

Thrillist wrote about the charming cafés and confectionaries you seem to bump into on every corner in Budapest. Even though the reputation of the city as a party capital still holds, and numerous ruin bars and overnight spa parties enjoy maximum popularity, learning about the history of the city while munching on a piece of cake and sipping a nice cup of coffee also has its charms.

According to Gábor Bánfalvi, the co-owner of Taste Hungary,

“Back in the turn of the century, which we consider the height of Hungarian coffeehouse culture, Budapest was home to around 600 coffeehouses.”

He also added that the coffeehouses served not only as meeting points but rather as the scenes of where people lived their lives.

In the last century, coffeehouses served as a safe haven for writers, poets, artists and intellectuals. Many of them spent their days there, writing and having educational conversations. These were supportive environments that even provided ink and paper if needed. According to Bánfalvi,

“In many cases they would also provide [creatives] a line of credit, and patiently wait with the bill until the sometimes poor writers would get their money for their pieces. Waiters would take messages for them and also collect mail for their writer clientele, providing extra services for writers who otherwise were on their own as freelancers.”

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