This grand Budapest hotel really has 'the most beautiful café in the world' - The Telegraph

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It is not often that I am made to feel like a film star. But as I tucked into scrambled eggs and smoked salmon at breakfast in my Budapest hotel, I couldn’t fail to notice the cameras. Or rather, the phones. 

At first, there was just one person at the top of the stairway pointing her mobile my way – and filming. She was followed by others; a steady stream of onlookers. Then I noticed that most of them were filming each other.

It wasn’t me they were interested in, but the setting: a mass of twirling marble columns, sparkling chandeliers and intricate carvings and frescoes depicting scenes from antiquity through to modernity, including a cheeky Statue of Liberty.

The inscription outside says that this is “the most beautiful café in the world”. I am inclined to agree – for this is the legendary New York Café in Budapest, a supreme example of Belle Epoque ornamentation and the magical institution that is the central European coffee house.

Having breakfast at the New York Café will feel like a treat Credit: Anantara New York Palace Hotel

I have been here before. In the mid-Nineties, when I was reporting on former Eastern Bloc countries following the overthrow of communism, this was the place to which I would retreat to recover my equilibrium. To remind myself that this splendid city on the Danube had seen grander days – and possibly would do so again.

Back then, coming to the New York Café was always a treat. There was still an echo of the days when it was a magnet for the city’s creative forces – artists, journalists, filmmakers and poets seeking inspiration. 

But the place was clearly showing signs of wear and tear and was due a major refurbishment – of the café, but also of the building within which it is contained, a heady confection of Renaissance, Baroque, Gothic and Art Nouveau styles commissioned by the New York Life Insurance Company to serve as its European headquarters towards the end of the 19th century when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was at its peak.

The European coffee house is a 'magical institution,' says Bridge Credit: New York Palace Hotel

The First World War, the collapse of the Habsburg Empire, the Second World War and then the imposition of Soviet-style communism in Hungary all took a heavy toll. When I lived in Budapest, the building commonly referred to as the New York Palace was in a sorry state, some of its once-grand rooms still bearing the scars of having been reduced to serving as retail outlets for sports gear and the state travel agency.

Fast forward a quarter of a century and it has been successfully transformed – over a number of phases – into a truly exceptional space that is now part of the Anantara luxury hotel group. The hotel, situated in the original insurance company building, is once again gleaming. 

The 19th-century hotel building was restored to its former glory after decades of decay Credit: Anantara New York Palace Hotel

A splendid glass-roofed atrium housing the lobby takes centre stage. Communal spaces are filled with artefacts that pay homage to Anantara’s Asian origins. A top-floor display of black and white photographs captures the spirit of the New York Palace through the ages.

The café is an integral part of the building – indeed it is the piece de resistance – and those staying at the hotel have privileged access to certain parts of it (such as the lower-level breakfast room). But there is a constant flow and hum of customers to the café, many of whom, as I discovered, want to film the splendour.

The rooms are just as grand as the café and hotel building Credit: Anantara New York Palace Hotel

The hotel has other beautiful and calmer spots – such as a spa with a pool and multiple treatment rooms, and the satin-lined Poet Bar. Here, writers once agonised over life and love. These days, signature cocktails involve generous shots of palinka fruit brandy and Unicum plum liqueur. New this year is the White Salon restaurant, offering fine-dining takes on Hungarian classics such as Korhely fish soup and duck liver and the best view in the house.

I loved the teeming life all around the hotel: the bustling Erzsebet Boulevard (always a favourite when I lived here) and the nearby Jewish Quarter, home to many of Budapest’s famous “ruin bars”; cool drinking dens set up in grand buildings that are yet to have a 21st-century refurb.

There is a greatness but also a grittiness to the city, which was why I always liked it. It’s not too manicured. This was confirmed when I took one of the hotel’s signature excursions, a tour in a classic VW Samba lovingly maintained by Imre Kopasz, a vintage car enthusiast who makes for a highly engaging guide.

Adrian overlooking the Erzsébet Bridge Credit: Adrian Bridge

There were times during his tour when again I felt like an A-lister, though of course, alas, it was the retro van that people were really admiring. 

Over three hours, we went through the highlights of Pest – Heroes’ Square, St Stephen’s Basilica and the sweeping parliament building modelled in part on London’s own – and the hilly Buda side containing the castle, the medieval-era old town and some Turkish-style bathing houses that date back to the period of Ottoman occupation.

My favourite was always the Rudas, a building dating from the 16th century with domes, arches and walls that still echo to the gentle sounds of bathers wallowing and putting the world to rights.

I always had a soft spot for Budapest. And I always will.

Adrian Bridge was a guest of the Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel (00 36 1 886 6111; anantara.com), which offers double rooms from £266

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Have you visited the New York Café in Budapest? What are your recommendations for this city? Let us know below 

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This grand Budapest hotel really has 'the most beautiful café in the world' - The Telegraph
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