New York Kavehaz - Cafe, Budapest

My travel buddy had been in coffee house
'New york' during his last visit and he did
think I had to see it. I saw pictures from the
interior and yes , that is not to be missed.
For some strange reason we found the coffee
house only in old books...not in the new
publications. (2004)

The reason? The whole building is getting
renovated and will open as a hotel from an
internationant chain.

This coffee house opened
it's doors in 1894 in the building of a life
insurance company. We did see a glimps
from the old interior under the plastic covers.
I think you should see it too...even from the
outside alone it is a fantastic example of
the rich architecture Budapest has.

And I hope for sure that the authentic spirit
of the coffee house returns when it opens.
Like no other coffee house 'New york' was a
meeting place for writers , painters , artist...

The most famous is the Café New York situated in a 19th century Art Nouveau townhouse of palatial proportions. The café's opulent interiors and literary associations have endowed it with near mythical status. Like other cafés, it was originally popular with writers for purely practical reasons: it offered a warm refuge from cold rented rooms that they could scarcely afford - and paper and ink were gratis. Though today you're likelier to rub shoulders with fellow tourists rather than struggling scribes, the New York still counts editors of literary magazines among its habitués. All that changed, however, following the acquisition of the New York Palace (in which the café is housed) by Italian hotel group Boscolo. Having spent in excess of 8 Billion HUF on restoration work alone, the building has now been transformed into a luxury 235 room, five star hotel.

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This beautiful palace located on Budapest's Grand Boulevard (in the Erzsébet korut section) was completed in 1895 to house the offices of the New York Life Insurance Company. The offices were located on the upper floors, while the ground floor housed the New York Cafe, which immediately became a popular meeting spot for the city's artistic and literary community. As with Gresham Palace, the building became a property of the state during the Communist era. In 2001, it was bought by the Boscolo Hotels chain, and it took 5 years to restore the palace to its former luxurious state and turn it into a hotel, but restore it they did - it's absolutely worth walking into the lobby, from where you can take a peak at the amazing New York Cafe & Salon.

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New york cafe , located a little bit far from the center is a beautiful cafe inside a luxury hotel called boscolo hotel.

The building was built for an insurance company (new york life insurance company) on 1894.

There are lovely statues outside the windows and the indoor architecture is very beautiful.

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Kavehaz is yet another New York coffee house. It's also yet another overpriced New York restaurant, yet another New York bar, and yet another New York jazz club. What makes it more than just another face in the crowd is the friendly wait staff, the really good music, and the wide selection of coffee and teas.

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The refurbishment was inevitable. Also the inner court was completely transformed, and, following the international tendence, it was covered by a glass roof. The furnitures reflect the italian taste: the Boscolo brothers made some other modifications as well: they opened the inner court connecting it to the cafe`, making it even more spacious. Also the tables and the chairs are modern, but very nice the same.
At the back side of the hotel, the Boscolo group is building a big apartment hotel in modern style.
The reconstruction of the building complex was honoured by Europa Nostra award.

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A hotel, a coffee house, and a glorious piece of architecture well worth a trip to Blaha Lujza ter just to see it. There's not much else nearby, so you won't come upon it by accident, but take a trip here to sample the coffee in its sumptious interior, or just admire the four storey eclectic palace from the outside.

Originally built for the New York Insurance company the building was nationalised under socialism. It only reopened in 2006, as a luxury hotel, after many years of dereliction and renovation.

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...After drinking a caffe and eating a delicious cake, it adviceable taking a turn to admire all the details. It`s impossible not noticing the numerous "panno`s" say ceiling frescos, created by Gusztáv Mannheimer and Ferenc Eisenhut.
It`s impossible to immagine, but it`s true that after the second world war, when the cafe was closed, it was used for almost a decade as a storage. Of course the original venetian chandeliers, the furnitures covered by velvet and silk, were stolen, moved away or destroyed, so The italian Boscolo company when projected the recontruction, needed the original photos to see exactly how it was, even if in 1954 it was reopened under the name of Hungária. In fact, since than the cafe wasn`t refurbished. this is why in the 1990`s it was in a very bad shape.

...that's 'coffeehouse' to those of us who speak English. Go. Do not expect good service. In fact, do not expect much service at all. You could be ignored for an hour without any effort, unless you stop someone and demand it. And don't expect anything good to eat. But the interior of this spectacular turn-of-the-century place is worth an hour of your time just to sit and admire. There is extraordinary art nouveau decoration throughout the interior and, apparently, it was the place to meet, to see and be seen, by artists, writers, musicians, poets, etc. a century ago.