Cafeography
Budapest · Belváros-Lipótváros (V)

Cafés in Belváros-Lipótváros (V)

Gerbeaud on Vörösmarty tér, the Centrál on Károlyi utca and espresso bars between Váci utca and the Parliament.

Photo: Gotta Be Worth It, Pexels License

District V joins two old quarters: Belváros (Inner City), the original town of Pest, and Lipótváros (Leopold Town), laid out in the early 19th century. They were separate districts until 1950.1 At 2.59 km² it is one of the smallest districts, yet it holds the Parliament, St Stephen's Basilica, the Academy of Sciences, the Vigadó concert hall and the Pest end of the Chain Bridge.1

It is also where Budapest's café history is easiest to see in one walk. Gerbeaud has sold cakes on Vörösmarty tér since 1870, the Centrál on Károlyi utca dates from 1887, and Három Holló by the Erzsébet híd keeps the name of Ady Endre's old haunt.234 Between them are some of the city's best-known espresso bars, on Arany János utca, Veres Pálné utca and Ferenciek tere.

Local tip: For an early start in district V, à table! on Arany János utca, Artizán on Hold utca and Mon Chéri on Károly körút open at 07:00; Gerbeaud does not open until 09:00.

At a glance

157Cafés listed
109With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: À la Maison, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 08:00–15:00 · Sat 07:00–16:00).
  • Closes latest: Café de Paris, until 00:00 (Daily 09:00–00:00).
  • Most common features: indoor seating (22%), outdoor seating (17%), open late (11%).

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Coffee chains in Belváros-Lipótváros (V)

Gerbeaud and the cukrászdák of the Inner City

Henrik Kugler opened his confectionery on József nádor tér in 1858 and moved it to Vörösmarty tér, then called Gizella tér, in 1870. In 1884 he brought Emil Gerbeaud to Budapest as a partner, and Gerbeaud gradually took over the business that now carries his name.2

The state nationalized it in 1948 and called it Vörösmarty until March 1984; a 1995 sale to the German businessman Erwin Franz Müller paid for an extensive renovation.2 It opens at 09:00 every day and closes at 20:00, or 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. A few streets south, Auguszt Cukrászda at Kossuth Lajos utca 14–16 opens Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00–18:00, and Szamos has shops on Párizsi utca and Deák Ferenc utca.

Literary coffeehouses: the Centrál and Három Holló

The Centrál opened in 1887 on the ground floor of a house at Károlyi utca 9. The Nyugat writers held their Tuesday gatherings there for about eight years from 1908, and in the 1930s Frigyes Karinthy drafted A Journey Round My Skull at its tables.3 It closed in 1949, became a staff canteen and from 1965 a university club, reopened as a café in 2000 and shut again in March 2020.3

It came back in April 2022 under a new operator, with the original main entrance restored and a literary menu of poems and song lyrics recited by the head waiters.5

Három Holló, at the foot of the Erzsébet híd in a building of the Piarist order, borrows the name of an inn beside the Opera where Ady Endre liked to work and drink wine. It opened in late 2017 with the round lamps, marble tables and bentwood chairs of the Eckermann, the café that had taken over the old site in 1998.4 It opens daily 12:00–00:00; Café de Paris on Vörösmarty tér also stays open until midnight, as does Három Szerb Kávéház on Szerb utca on Fridays and Saturdays.

Specialty coffee from Arany János utca to Ferenciek tere

Espresso Embassy is in a roughly 200-year-old former city palace on Arany János utca, where Spora Architects uncovered Bohemian brick vaults during the 2012 fit-out.6 It opens at 07:30 on weekdays and 08:30 at weekends, closing at 17:00.

Veres Pálné utca has more cafés than any other street in the district, Váci utca included. In 2015 the news site 444 ran a brewing test at Mantra, opposite the Veres Pálné Gimnázium, with beans from Casino Mocca, then a small young Hungarian roastery.7

Madal has two branches here, at Ferenciek tere 3 and Alkotmány utca 4, both open from 07:30 on weekdays. Kontakt is at Károly körút 22, Fekete at Múzeum körút 5, Dose Espresso at Hercegprímás utca 21 and Vivina's Café & Roastery at Szerb utca 17–19.

The Párisi udvar on Ferenciek tere

The Párisi udvar was built in 1909–1913 as the headquarters of the Belvárosi Takarékpénztár (Inner City Savings Bank), to plans by Henrik Schmahl, with a shopping passage roofed in pressed glass prisms. It is the last early 20th-century arcade of its kind in Budapest.8

The Jégbüfé (ice café) worked on its ground floor from 1952 to 2015, and after a renovation costing about 12 billion Ft the building opened as a Hyatt hotel on 29 November 2019.8 Párisi Passage Café, in the arcade, opens daily 08:00–17:00. Out on Váci utca, the counters lean toward kürtőskalács (chimney cake) and bubble tea; Mia's Bakery at no. 41/b opens daily 08:00–21:00.

Sources

  1. Belváros-Lipótváros, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Gerbeaud, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Centrál kávéház, Wikipedia (Hungarian), accessed October 2026
  4. Egy törzshelygyanús kávéház: a Három Holló története Ady Endrétől a piaristákig, We Love Budapest (Bartha Dorka, December 6, 2017), accessed October 2026
  5. Egy feketét és egy verset kérek: megnéztük az újranyitó Centrál Kávéházat, We Love Budapest (Költő Nóra, April 8, 2022), accessed October 2026
  6. Embassy Espresso café in Budapest by Spora Architects, Dezeen (February 12, 2014), accessed October 2026
  7. A kávé nem keserű, 444 (October 24, 2015), accessed October 2026
  8. Párisi udvar, Wikipedia (Hungarian), accessed October 2026
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FAQ

Belváros-Lipótváros (V) cafés: questions

When did Gerbeaud open on Vörösmarty tér in Budapest?

Henrik Kugler founded the confectionery on József nádor tér in 1858 and moved it to Vörösmarty tér, then called Gizella tér, in 1870. Emil Gerbeaud joined as a partner in 1884 and gradually took it over. Nationalized in 1948, it was called Vörösmarty until March 1984. Today it opens daily at 09:00.

Is the Centrál Kávéház on Károlyi utca in Budapest open again?

Yes. The Centrál, opened in 1887 at Károlyi utca 9, closed in March 2020 and reopened in April 2022 under a new operator, with its original main entrance restored. It was the Nyugat writers' café from 1908, was closed from 1949 and first reopened as a café in 2000.

Where can you get specialty coffee in Budapest's district V?

Espresso Embassy on Arany János utca, in a vaulted former city palace, opens at 07:30 on weekdays and 08:30 at weekends. Dose Espresso is at Hercegprímás utca 21 and Vivina's Café & Roastery at Szerb utca 17–19.

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