Budapest is a city full of surprises, one of which is its excellent cafe and coffee shop culture. From opulent high-end cafes to independent roasteries, this is my guide to the best cafes and coffee shops in Budapest.
If I’m honest, I absolutely did not expect to experience such a thriving cafe and coffee scene when I last visited Budapest. Back in 2013, when I first visited one of Europe’s most popular city breaks, I wasn’t a coffee lover so I didn’t intentionally seek out cool cafes or independent roasteries but now, in my mid-30’s with two little ones, I rely on my daily coffee. So, with that in mind, for my trip in 2025, I made sure that I scouted out as many cafes and coffee shops in Budapest as possible.
I was only visiting for three nights, and there’s only so much coffee a man can drink, so I haven’t managed to try everywhere that came recommended or I added to my list of places to try. This will however pull together all my favourites with some additions that come with high praise to help inspire your own trip to Budapest to ensure that you too experience the very best silky smooth coffee (not all in hipster hangouts I promise) and freshly made sweet treats in opulent interiors.
I recently spent three nights in Budapest with Jet2holidays and Visit Hungary however, apart from Gerbeaud Cafe, all of the cafes and coffee shops I managed to visit were in my free time. As always, all opinions are my own.
THE BEST CAFES AND COFFEE SHOPS IN BUDAPEST
MAP
All of the cafes and coffee shops in Budapest below are included within this map which hopefully will help plan your visit!
HOW TO USE THE MAP | Click the icon in the top left to show the list of all locations. Click on the top right corner of the map to open a larger version in a new tab. The star allows you to save directly to your own Google Maps.
Parisi Passage Restaurant
I stumbled upon this stunning cafe and restaurant whilst wandering around shortly after sunrise. I was a little surprised that nowhere was really open at 7:45am on a Saturday morning for a coffee but, after peering in through the door admiring the stunning arcade, I was welcomed in for a drink alongside guests of the Parisi Udvar Hotel. The Parisi Passage Restaurant is part of the luxurious Parisi Udvar Hotel and takes centre stage within this historic building.
The building itself, when it opened in 1817, was Hungary’s first ‘modern’ shopping mall followed by a bookshop and the Central Savings Bank. Due to its architectural design, the building was declared a monument back in 1976 however from the 1980’s all the way up to 2014, it was abandoned! That will be why I don’t remember it at all from my trip in 2013.
Thankfully, after five years of restoration, the building re-opened in 2019 in its current form. The interior is absolutely beautiful; in the vein of Victorian arcades across the world expect golden ceilings with intricate glass designs. My neck started to ache pretty quickly after craning it to admire the interior from as many angles as possible. I know the New York Cafe in Budapest is touted as the most beautiful cafe in the world but you can’t be far off with the Parisi Passage; plus there’s no real crowds.
I ordered a flat white which came in quite a posh glass (for me at least) and it tasted pretty good. The price however was equivalent to around £7.50 / $9.80 – that’s extremely expensive but you’re paying for a very high-end establishment. Was it worth it? Yeah it probably was, the architecture was beautiful, the atmosphere peaceful and so I really enjoyed it!
MTRM Roast
With just a few hours left in Budapest, I set off on one of my characteristic strolls with no real purpose save for capturing cool little details and nice light. I ended up having a look on Google Maps to see whether any of the places I had saved were nearby and decided to venture out to MTRM Roast which just so happens to now be my favourite coffee shop in the entire city.
MTRM is a microroastery in the suburbs of Budapest where the tree-lined streets are quieter, more residential in nature and with more chance of finding a hidden gem. This is exactly that. I was welcomed into the coffee shop and immediately my hand-pulled espresso shot was smoothly streaming into a glass ready for the frothy milk.
The interior is small, cosy, with exposed rust coloured bricks, open shelving and a small opening where you can glimpse into the small batch roasting that goes on here. I got talking to two of the other customers; one of whom, Haifa, was exhibiting her beautiful artwork on the walls. It just like a really nice place to hang out and drink coffee. I picked up some freshly roasted coffee beans too for back home and the coffee basically tasted like a Mars bar… incredible!
Whilst this one will almost certainly be out of your way, if you do get time, it’s a lovely place to grab a coffee!
Gerbeaud Cafe
Found in Vörösmarty Square, Gerbeaud Cafe is a classic and historical cafe in Budapest that dates back to 1858 (yes, it’s even older than the ever popular New York Cafe). If you’re looking for an opulent cafe that isn’t the New York Cafe then you can’t go wrong with Gerbeaud.
Here you will experience elegance, decadent chocolates and pastries and a lovely selection of hot drinks. We had a small selection of three of the most popular cakes; Gerbeaud Slice, Blackberry Yoghurt Slice and the Royal Chocolate Cake. I devoured all of these with a cappuccino and I can’t think of many better places to spend an hour in the morning. It is beautiful here!
Kontakt
Kontakt Coffee feels like a real local’s favourite kind of place, the kind of place that if you weren’t specifically looking for it I bet you’d never stumble across it. Between the Danube and the Jewish Quarter, in a courtyard enclosed by tall residential buildings you’ll find this minimalist coffee shop. Expect concrete, a tiled coffee bar and loads of monstera plants. The menu is small with a focus on serving up a few expertly crafted brews; flat whites, black coffee and cold brews. There are of course other offerings but the coffee is the main draw. There’s a strict ‘no sugar’ rule in place here so don’t go trying to add to your coffee; it’s more than good enough!
My Little Melbourne Coffee
My Little Melbourne was somewhere I definitely wanted to visit in Budapest thanks to its obvious connection to my favourite city on earth which, incidentally, is home to some of the best coffee on earth too. Whilst I visited late in the afternoon, I still found space for a flat white that turned out to be the smoothest of all coffees I tried. I may have already had 3 or maybe even 4 coffees before visiting My Little Melbourne but it was clear to see that this place is one of the best coffee shops in Budapest. After five coffees though I think I could physically feel the caffeine running through my veins.
Really good coffee and I highly recommend visiting here to fuel up when visiting the cities Jewish quarter, District VII.
Madal Coffee Co
Whilst I didn’t have time to sample the coffee offerings from Madal, I passed by a few of their outlets and was immediately drawn in thanks to the beautiful smell of freshly brewed coffee and the beautiful logo and fonts across the glass windows; yep that’s true! It comes highly recommended and some would even go as far as saying it could be the best coffee in Budapest – I need to visit next time!
Twentysix Budapest Restaurant
This is one of those cafes for brunch that is going wild across social media at the moment and, whilst we managed to have a quick peek in, there was a huge queue showing just how popular it is. The location is stunning, it’s like an urban jungle in this beautiful atrium.
Booking your table in advance is very much recommended here and, given that you’ve had to make an effort to get a table, you might as well stay for breakfast or brunch too (or even dinner). The breakfast menu looks incredible with its focus on Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.
EVERYWHERE ELSE ON MY LIST
As I mentioned above, I didn’t managed to get to every place on my list unfortunately. I am sure however you know exactly how it is; I save so so many places to my Google Maps when researching through blogs, social media and on Google Maps itself and I never manage to make my way round all of them. I get disappointed and often feel a sense of not having ‘completed it’ – seeing a reel of 20 best coffee shops or even a blog like this perhaps makes it seem normal to try everywhere all at once.
That being said, I do think it’s important to at least see what’s out there so that you can plan your trip or have back-ups depending on whereabouts in the city you are when you need a little break. So, the other places on my list of cafes and coffee shops in Budapest (and bakeries) that I really wanted to visit were Bageri, Aran Bakery, Espresso Embassy and CAUSE Cafe & Roastery. Next time I visit Budapest, I’ll be sure to check these out!
Well I hope you enjoyed my guide to all of these incredible cafes and coffee shops in Budapest. Let me know what you think if you do visit or if you have any other recommendations, I’d love to hear them!
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