Budapest cafe

One of the only Hungarian cafes left in Manhattan and under Hispanic ownership it has lost it’s authenticity. They rip you off every chance they get ( half portions for full Price see photos) and the food is warmed up in a microwave not freshly made. Needs new management!

Probably the worst chicken paprikash I’ve ever had in my life. I even asked them if this was chicken paprikash because I’ve never seen it like this and they said it was. Like someone else said in the reviews, I’m pretty sure they just microwaved the chicken since it was lukewarm at the center. I usually finish my food or take leftovers to go, but I ate about a third of it and then paid and left. I regret spending $30 on it. Service was not good either; requested a condiment and never got it. Had a really hard time flagging down the server as they had one person working the cafe and the takeout bakery.

I’ve been eating the 7 layered cake from here for so long… I eat a piece practically everyday. But today, the cake is different and I hate it! The top coating seems to be carlmelized sugar.. the chocolate layers aren’t as sweet and the bread is more crumbly. Did you guys run out of chocolate or changed the baker? I’m so so sad.. Here’s two pictures to show you the difference. I’m so sad.

The pastries might be nice but the chicken was dry, I couldn’t even finish the breast with how dry it was

Legit strudel!!! Probably the best in the city, can't compare with the strudel at the Hungarian pastry shop (they're better with cakes), this one is balanced, not too sweet and traditional. Try the apple one, the cheese with cherry and the poppy seed one, this is a unique taste.

Maybe the coffee/pastry reviews are real. But any positive reviews about the other food are probably fake. Terrible microwaved food (with ridiculous portions) and service. No beer despite it being listed on the menu. The bread they serve is the cheapest possible (100% bought from the cheapest source, the type of loaves used for subs that are blander than flour itself). I highly doubt they make the pastries themselves given the ridiculous level of disappointment overall. This used to be a legit place, but someone bought it and is now riding on the old good reviews. They probably just use this place to launder money honestly. Stay the hell away.

Great, simple and authentic Hungarian (broader central European) place. The strudels are great and a large selection of savoury and sweet ones. But they have amazing traditional dishes including goulash and stuffed peppers.

I think it’s not bad, but … that’s it? Overall the food was hearty, but the soup was oily and the cheese biscuits were stale. I think the chicken paprishka was good, but the noodles (some kind of spaetzel) were stuck together. The veal goulash looked watery. The lunch special is good value for sheer amount of food, but … it doesn’t compel me to go back.

I agree with most reviewers: Budapest's homemade desserts are stellar. Their other food -- well, I could take or leave. The tiny restaurant caught my eye, and the $19.95 lunch special on their website sounded good. First off, the special is actually $25.95. The $9 glass of wine I saw on line is really $12, and for a restaurant equipped with a bar why do they only carry white wine and just a single choice at that!? The special includes a cup of soup or salad, any entree on the menu, and a slice of pie. I started with a salad which was nothing special. They have no dressing, just the oil and vinegar on the table. T enjoyed his veal goulash. Since I'm not a goulash kind of person, I wouldn't necessarily know good from bad. The accompanying handmade pasta (nokedli) seemed heavy and tasteless. Wienerschnitzel, my choice, was average, a bit dry. Then came dessert. We were each entitled to a slice of pie. I asked if I could have something else, maybe strudel. Nope! But in checking out the variety of pies in the showcase I realized we lucked out. Blueberry crumb served warm, is arguably the best blueberry pie I've ever eaten. I can look forward to having it again, as I took most home. Budapest's forte are cakes and pastries. The bakery is located at the front of the shop. And THAT's where they do most of their business, tending to a steady stream of customers while we were there. While I won't be back for a meal, I will return for coffee and cake. Next time it'll be rugelach.

This is a cute spot to go for coffee and dessert. The people who work there are lovely.

Coming from a Hungarian family, I grew up eating Hungarian food - prepared all different ways. This was the worst Hungarian food I have ever had. I should have trusted my gut based on previous reviews on yelp. Not only was the chicken paprikas dry and terribly flavored, the nokedli was like paste. The others at my table had the stuffed cabbage which was not good either. The server was very unattentive and couldn't care less about the customers. I do not recommend this restaurant at all and wonder why yelp has it as their first choice for Hungarian food. Never again!

Another gem in the neighborhood. The food is a bit pricey for my liking but the goulash was extremely tasty and flavorful. I forgot what my husband got, I think one of the cutlets but he wasn't super impressed with it. This is a place where you can say "oh i tried that place once". It's really a bakery more than anything. Their pastries are to die for and their strudels are the best. I'm very much a fan of their rugelachs, cakes, and pies. My husband said their pies were among the best he's ever had and trust me, he's had many pies. I love stopping by this place on the way back from the gym and getting pastries. If you haven't tried their pastries, do yourself a favor and try them. Service is quick and ambience is usually quiet and chill. Very laidback.

I wanted to come here for a long time. There are not many true Hungarian restaurants left in Mew York City. I grew up near one and used to go with my parents once a week as a child. I would order the same things - cherry soup, chicken paprikash and apricot pallacinta for dessert. This place helped bring back childhood memories. Come for lunch where they have a great lunch special - 3 courses for $26.00. Got my childhood favorites. Food was very good. Will come again.

this place has been under new management and now offers no authentic Hungarian food. Not sure who cooks but food tastes like microwaved frozen dinner. They also rip customers off. I paid $10 for a cup of Hungarian dessert and they filled it less than half way. Would not recommend this place.

Ugh. I hate to leave bad reviews. I really do. I wanted to like Budapest Especially when you walk in and see the delicious pastries. Unfortunately it ends there. I won't tell you how bad the "grilled chicken" was or the noodle dish my friend ordered...but I will tell you, as we walked out to pay the bill and told the waitress, "look, we're nice people and you're really nice...but the food was terrible." "I know," she replied.

I went because previously the strudel was pretty good. However, today, open at 10am on Saturday and by 11:10am there is no apple or cherry strudel, C'mon

No lie, this small but charming bakery & restaurant helped me choose Budapest as a destination this summer! While the presentation & preparation was... rustic perhaps, it was still all pretty delicious. We had the veal goulash and the chicken palacsinta, as well as some peppers stuffed with a cream cheese and a couple of pastries. Of those, I recommend the chicken and the pastries the most, both of which were good enough for us to actually go wow! The goulash was a bit overseasoned though (which I can confirm now is not just a cultural thing after having like five different goulashes IN Budapest itself). Service is very friendly and sweet.

Nice, cool spot to grab a coffee and sweet treats on a hot summer's day! Friendly service and fresh cookies are wonderful ET

Classic food and desserts from Hungary and Slovakia. The desserts interest me more than the food, to be honest.

Years ago, this restaurant was very good. Now it's terrible. The food last night was inedible. Some burned. Some not fresh. The server was inexperienced and hard to communicate with. I could on, but why bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, a waste of money and a frustrating dining experience. It's almost as if they don't realize they're running a restaurant.

Picked up a cherry and cheese strudel to go. Was hoping to see more Hungarian items. Most of the pastries were what you'd find at most NYC bakeries. Service was quick and accommodating.

Really, really bad. Food appears to be microwaved and served. Staff is rude. Chicken was dry and cold. Bacon was old and crusty. One of the pastries was dry. The poppyseed cake was good. Extremely overpriced.

The cookies & pastries are wonderful. The cherry desserts are made from real cherries, not the sweet gooky stuff from a can. There are also savory biscuits which are great for appetizers at home. The hot restaurant dishes are good and enormous!

When we got there, we were greeted with a smile from a Hungarian lady and her Egyptian colleague. He made a joke about being Hungarian and the lady made a rude remark about how of course he isn't Hungarian. It was a bit awkward. We originally ordered to go and last minute we asked if it was okay if we actually ate in - she angrily said of course not "it's different". Which is fine but the interaction was a bit cold and the place was empty when we came so I did not feel that we were imposing on them. She angrily agreed to let us eat in and then slapped our food on a plate. The Egyptian man was very nice and accommodating - the presumable owner not as much. The pastries and cookies are fairly good but the service not as much.

My grandfather was from Hungary and I was raised by my grandparents and it was wonderful to discover this Bakery and Cafe. The strudels and bake good are delicious and out of this world. I recommend everything both sweet and savory. The cabbage strudel is yummy!

Service is friendly and prompt. We tried the cheese cake, napoleon cake (a little soggy) and the winner was the apple crumble cake.

I've been meaning to come here, and I'm glad I did. The window facing the street beckons you. When you go in the customer service is incredible, the staff is super helpful at helping non-Hungarians pick out pastries. The pastries themselves are great. Live a little and try something made with prune, or poppy seeds. You'll be pleased.

Budapest Cafe and Restaurant has always been intimidating for me to enter. It's the entry space that disturbs me. Its very narrow in front of the pastry counter. It's been a long time before the pandemic that I have frequently peered into the window wanting to try the delicious looking pastries. When I walked by recently and saw the tables and chairs outside I made it a point to go for the Spinach Feta Strudel I wanted so badly. I should never have put this off so long! The young lady greeted me with a big Hello and quickly made her way to the front behind the counter putting on her gloves. I knew what I wanted and she had it in the oven to heat before I paid. I had the smallest piece of Spinach Feta Strudel and a small coffee for exactly $9.00. I must say the table outside needed to be cleaned off. I wiped the crumbs with my napkin. I was given disposable utensils and sat in the chilly morning for my brunch. The Strudel definitely is NOT a disappointment. I'm sure I'll get this Spinach Feta Strudel to bring home in the future. I didn't care for the coffee taste. The coffee was only $2 and was warm and stimulating which was what I needed. I saw the sign for the PENDING Grade from sanitation inspection while I was eating. I would still eat here it's that good to me. I'm recommending you try this shop. There's a steady stream of people taking food out. I definitely will return for the other pastries I want to try. The French sliced cake looks great. Enjoy my photos!

Charming restaurant in an historic building. The food was very good. I'll definitely go back.

This place never has a line but always has people. Service is efficient, the food is great, I had a 5 dollar cherry bar that was large enough that I'm kind of full haha. Would go back.

Food is good.. service is awful. Ambiance is what I want in a dive Hungarian.. but the staff is like two young dumb girls that don't understand even if you clearly explain things very slowly.. they don't realize they are running a restaurant and that they need to refill water or offer a napkin.. it's a bit funny actually. No one here is Hungarian. They don't understand what Hungarian food is when you talk to them. Get the paprikash

I had the low sugar turnovers. They were fantastic and satisfied my craving. Next I will choose their breads

I spotted a delicious looking pastry through the window and the counter server said it was a cheese danish. I sat down at a table and ordered the cheese danish. It was the best one I'd ever eaten. An older gentleman sitting nearby said he comes in every day for a cheese danish and coffee. Two visitors from Alabama said they'd come in on the recommendation of a friend, had a delicious lunch entree, a bowl of cherry borst and some type of lemon dessert and loved everything. I'll be back next week.

I'm really disappointed in this place. Not only was the food absolutely dreadful (close to no seasoning, slippery chicken with fat still hanging on, veal goulash tasted like frozen soup), the service was confusing. They have two different parties (myself included) move tables twice to make room for larger parties. Isn't a café first come first serve? Also, I heard the microwave running in the back before my food was brought out. Dang! At least try to hide it? The paprikash was oily, in a curdled sauce with a sour tinge that really felt spoiled. The dessert was probably the best part, but still largely mediocre.

I only had the strudel so that's what I'm rating it on. It was great. However I stuck up a short conversation with the lady online in front of me who recommended other pastries and got to try one. It was also very good.

I was born and raised in Budapest before moving to the U.S. in 2015. Despite going back every year, it hits different having Hungarian food in another country. I went with three other friends who also lived there for a long time, and everything about the restaurant and it's food reminded us of home. Firstly, I was surprised at how many people stopped by to purchase pastries. While we were seated indoors, there was a never ending flow of people coming, which is partially why the service was a bit slow just because the staff was extremely busy. But when the food came, that was all that mattered. We had the first three items on the entree menu - all traditional Hungarian dishes. The best part was when we learnt the soup of the day was goulash, a staple. Nothing is better than a large bowl of hearty goulash season for every occasion and season. For the entree, we were shocked because it was definitely not Hungarian portion sizing... it was HUGE. We all had to bring the rest home and could have totally shared a few among us. The flavour was on point as if it were back in Budapest, though I'd just say the chicken paprikás could have had a bit stronger sauce and was missing the sour cream that this usually comes with. The other two dishes were spot on. Dessert is one of the best parts about Hungary. From the Nutella palacsinta (crepe), to the poppy seed and curd cheese strudel, our sweet tooth was satisfied. Even though we could barely eat anything more after the entrees, we still went for the dessert knowing we wouldn't be disappointed at all. Afterwards, we also all bought pastries to take home. This was a nostalgic meal reminding us of home, and we're so happy to have stopped by. Though unfortunately at the time there were no Hungarian staff onsite, next time hopefully we can learn more about their background and story!

Hungarian Very Good Bakery Fabulous Strudel, Linzer Torts and Babka Hungarian Food needs an Hungarian chef -- Food misses André Nice, cozy-- just tables and chairs with service, Café/Restaurant in Yorkville.

This new area we've rented in is going to be dangerous, lol! Stopped by here on a long walk up 2nd Ave. We bought apple strudel and coffee and OMG. The strudel is (was, actually, sorry I forgot to take a picture!). absolutely stuffed with fruit and exceptionally delicious! Sweet but not overly. Coffee the perfect foil (only wish they had decaf). We will definitely be back here again!

Small but very good food and great desserts. Not fancy, bakery counter up front so you can just order baked goods to go.

First time here and had the jelly cookies and the elephant. Both were OMG quality. Everything looks spectacular I want it all! Need to go again and keep trying more things, totally recommend.

It use to be the best place in town but somehow it got run down. The food was not what I ordered and the pastries was suppose to be fresh instead it was frozen and stale. It is sad because it was one of my favorite places in NYC.

After attending an event at the Hungarian House a few blocks I thought the Budapest cafe would be a great way to end the day and I was mostly right. The bakery here has some fairly nice European pastries and the dinner was mostly good if a bit expensive. First and foremost, this place is quite small. There aren't that many seats and the restaurant can feel a little crowded. I had to wait 10 min to get a seat which isn't that bad. The brick walls and paintings give this place a quaint European flair to it. The first thing you see from outside and when your walking in is the pastries they have in display and I only had one it was pretty good. I can imagine just coming into this place every once in a while for tea and sweets (which btw, I did get tea and crumpets while I was dining here.) If you come here for the food, it is good though I was not particularly impressed by it. I mean I love eastern European dishes like stuffed cabbage and the one they serve here was pretty tasty. It's just they don't have a particularly large dinner menu and for the items they do have the prices can be quite high. Think 20+ dollars for most items on the menu. I did have an apple strudel as a dessert here though. They have a much larger dessert menu then they do the main entree menu which shows this place is a bakery first and a restaurant second. I would say I enjoyed (for the price) my dessert the most in this meal. If your coming to the Budapest Cafe I would say think of it more as a pastry focused bakery. Try to grab a pastry and some tea to finish off your night and you will probably have a great experience here.

Poor customer service. Dropped by for coffee, a strudel and rugelach. I paid in cash but was charged the extra 4% and wasn't given my change. When i inquired about this the saleswoman Elvira said " oh, i dont know, it's the POS". Shame that bad employees leave a bad tast for a business.

Great food! Service was a little off, but it was dinner rush and there was only one waitress. We tried the goulash and the turoscusza tepertovel...both were good. Next time I'm definitely trying the stuffed cabbage! We also had a couple of desserts...cherry cheesecake was super rich and the honey bar was delicious! Cute restaurant, but they would do well to get rid of the pop music and instead play some Hungarian folk music.

I walk past here all of the time and never thought much about it, but the other night we decided to stop in to get an espresso. We saw the desserts and they looked so amazing and we couldn't help ourselves! We got a chocolate moose cone and it was amazing. It has a cookie base, a tall heaping of chocolate moose and is dipped in dark chocolate. It's one of the best chocolate desserts I've had in a long time. I look forward to coming back to try their Sacher cake!

Wonderful and cozy restaurant! My Dad was from Hungary and it was such a treat to enjoy a meal at this Hungarian restaurant while in NYC. One of the highlights of our meal was the körözött, which is a delicious appetizer of paprika, goat cheese, and caraway seed. They served it in a green bell pepper, which looked so nice and tasted even better. The service was sweet and friendly. I definitely want to return as soon as I can!

Old fashioned style bakery with a limited selection, but what they have seems good. They have a basic selection of good coffees (American, cappuccino, latte). We had regular iced coffees and they were good and strong. Their chocolate rugulah was so delicious, worth going in just for that. The apple strudel was very tasty too, although super heavy. They had roll cake slices in various flavors that looked really good too. Biggest complaint...we got our order, paid, and went to sit down in the nearly empty restaurant. The woman who sold us our items approached us and told us we couldn't sit there, the tables were only for people who ordered at the restaurant with a waitress. Now, this was 4:00, only 1 other table was taken, we had just spent $20, and they dont have tables outside. Would it really have killed them to let paying customers sit at a table? That was definitely annoying.

Had a wonderful meal at one of NYC's few Hungarian restaurants. Give it a try for some unusual food.

The heaven of strudel. This place has an impressive number of strudel variations. They are delicious. It is a good idea both to eat a piece here or to buy to take home. I removed some stars though, because the place is not really that taken cared of in terms of decoration, and coffee and service are not awful, but neither great.

We went to the Budapest Cafe this weekend to purchase some pastries and were greeted with a bright yellow sign, dated December 28, 2022, that said, "Closed by order of the Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene". After reading the other recent reviews for this restaurant, e.g. "the space smelled of heavy bug spray", we were not surprised. Thank-you to the City of New York for doing its job to protect the public. I hope that the (new?) owners get their act together. The Budapest Café was a neighborhood gem.

The pastries from the window look great so we decided to go in to have dessert. we entered was there for 15 mins looking at the food in the front and the only person who interacted with us is a patron whom said we should go have a seat. two working people looked at us but said nothing. the space smelled of heavy bug spray which we noticed when we sat at a table. we got up and left and two the workers looked at us and still said nothing. it was strange. I've passed by daily and always wondered what was happening inside and now i know.

The pastries here are just ok. The service here is downright pathetic. The staff are clearly overstretched and instead of turning away customers, they seat 15-20 people with ONE server. Orders are wrong, billing is incorrect, and it takes forever to get any service. Almost all the patrons who were seated while we were there got wrong orders and NO cutlery at all. This place really needs to start training staff better and have them turn down customers if they don't have enough staff. It's strange that they expect one server to serve 20 people! Management at this place seems clueless and unplanned and the poor servers face the brunt of customer anger.

First off, the service was excellent! Very friendly and offered us a taste of the sugar free raspberry rugelach. It was delicious and we will definitely be back for me. What drew us in, however, was the storefront window with gleaming poppyseed filing. Alas, it left a bitter aftertaste--but I'll try a recommended pastry next time!

Shamelessly horrible service, mediocre food. I showed up here with two friends and asked for a table for us three, and the server immediately sighed and rolled her eyes at us. We didn't show up here last minute either, the restaurant was open for another hour and the kitchen was still open for another half hour. The server was rude and so clearly didn't want us to be there that within minutes of being seated we asked to have our orders done for takeout instead. We were hoping that maybe the food would offset the terrible service at least, but it laughably didn't. It was mediocre at best (And I say this as someone who lived in Budapest for a extended period of time). There are way too many good and decent restaurants in NYC. Avoid this place. And if you don't, do not be surprised if you have a bad experience.

I went on a Saturday afternoon to pick up some pastries for family. Many of the desserts only had 1 or 2 left, the slice of tiramisu looked like it was crushed and the cream was all messed up. Many of the pastries appeared to be leftovers from the day before. It was curious why they did not make a fresh batch, especially considering it was the afternoon, not even early morning. I went with the apricot mocha roll which was SICKLY sweet, had very artificial flavor, and cake was dry. The raspberry rugelach looked promising but was also dry or stale around the edges. Might have been subpar if fresh, but would not recommend.

They changed management. It used to be Hungarian staff now it is Hispanic staff. It is horrible now. Everything seems to be prepackaged and not made there like before. We went today to buy pastries and it was shocking how rude the women working there were. We were waiting and waiting and not one of the staff welcomed us or said a thing. Finally I spoke up and said please we need help and they were extremely nasty and said in a minute we are doing something else. So we waited and a minute passed and still no help. It was shocking I told my friend let's go somewhere else and as we were walking out the door they stopped my friend and helped her. I was already outside. I've worked in restaurants and the key for it to be lucrative is customer service and they have none. It's sad because this place used to be wonderful.

This is one of my favorite eateries in NYC for many years. I love their goulash soup, the stuffed cabbage, the crepes, veal goulash, etc. But most of all, I love the fact that you can find delicious pastries, pies, cakes, cookies, espresso, cappuccino, and I can buy some bread to take home too! I used to live in the area many years ago...but last night, I was in the area, so I stopped by. I bought myself apple crumb pie, the vanilla-chocolate roll, and the cherry cake. I am a very happy camper! God, I hope they stay open for many years to come. I love European food and this place is a gem.