The riverfront section of Pest between Boráros Square and Budapest Park is somewhat neglected, mainly providing a home for shiny office buildings of multinational companies and the massive Palace of Arts. This part of the district used to be an industrial area, and traces of this are still visible, especially in the beautifully refurbished Hungária Malomudvar complex. We can find Malom Bistro here, and in addition to offering packed sandwiches and a diverse coffee selection, this hip hangout also supports young artists.

Putting in eight hours at an office is not a refreshing activity, especially for those who have difficulties with enduring a monotonous atmosphere. Even the most creative work can be tiring in an artificial environment under fluorescent light. A nice lunch can cheer up any tired office worker – especially a lunch somewhere away from their workplace, enveloped by new faces and tasty flavors. However, around this kind of environment we cannot usually find decent restaurants, and thus workers usually have to order their food for delivery or drop by a nearby supermarket.

Recognizing this, Malom Bistro operates within Hungária Malomudvar as the cherished server and saviour of about 300 companies. This is a café with a pleasant atmosphere, loft-height ceilings, periodic exhibitions, and a video-game corner. We have to admit that it's nice to play a bit after eating our lunch, even if the bistro is a bit far away from downtown’s buzz. The interior design highlights exposed brickwork and the retro accessories from the building's industrial roots. We can even find a train seat next to the office buildings, separated by a glass wall.

As the bistro opens early in the morning, we can start the day with a classic breakfast: ham and eggs (690 HUF), scrambled eggs (690 HUF), and cooked sausage (690 HUF) are all on the morning menu. They have lunch specials available until 2pm (990 Ft), and we can also choose among paninis, fresh sandwiches, and crisp salads every day. We tried the Malom sandwich (27-cm baguette with chicken-breast strips, mayonnaise, and fresh vegetables for 790 HUF), the blueberry-ham-camembert panini (blueberry jam, camembert cheese, turkey ham, salad for 750 HUF), and the vegetarian salad (mixed green salad, tomato, cucumber, sun-dried tomato, feta cheese, toast for 1,290 HUF), and we were immensely satisfied. We are talking about simple bistro foods, yet the fillings almost fall out of the sandwich, and the panini was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

Although the opening hours are aligned with the working times of the nearby offices, we can still drink a fröccs until 7pm, for which Malom Bistro uses wines from the 7773 Winery of Villány. The fröccs menu is quite detailed, so you might want to study all the fröccs types a bit before ordering. When we visited the bistro, a photography exhibition by Zsolt Korcsog had just concluded, but Malom Bistro always welcomes talented artists to decorate the trendy interior once in a while, and to help them introduce their work.

Address:
1095 Budapest, Soroksári Street 48.
Opening hours:
Monday-Friday: 7:30am - 6:30pm
Facebook