Soup in cups to go The two young men running LEVES. (=soup) had a different association in mind regarding “paper cups” and “takeout”. Having visited New Zealand and many other distant places they thought that Hungary too should have soup to go in cups. Their idea worked out so fine that since the opening in August they’ve been cooking and serving soups day in, day out, as winding queues block the entrance of the unique diner.
There’s something in it for everything: nutritious flavors for the body, cheerful service for the soul and reasonable prices for the wallet.
Takeout SOUP taking over LEVES. opened in mid-August at the site of a former Berlin sausage shop at 14 Vámház körút. 12 square meters upstairs, 12 square meters downstairs: that’s all the space this business needs. The blackboard and the unique fonts both betray a love for design, not unlike the bicycle with the names of the soups standing in front of the shop. There’s a gray top as uniform, too, that bears the name of the shop, which has a slight resemblance to “Levis” but as we learned it is not at all intentional.
What goes into the SOUP?
Takeout food can be liked and disliked, it can be done well and poorly, but the fact that it’s an indispensable fixture of cities cannot be denied. In Hungary, however, it’s in its early stages. The aim of the SOUPerb boys is to provide simple but quality food in their cups for a reasonable price. And what’s there to know about the menu? There are 4-6 different kinds of soups every day chosen from the total selection of 30-35. The recipes come from all corners of the world and they are modified, too. Apart from toppings, you can order baguettes with your soup, as well. The smaller of the daily offers, which includes a soup and half a sandwich, costs 790 HUF. The bigger, which comes with a whole sandwich, is 990 HUF. But these are far from your usual ham-and-cheese sandwiches! You can get more info about the daily offers from the blackboard.
Who goes into the SOUP?
About 300 people drop by daily for a little sip of a soup. 90-95% of them are female, though a very pretty and cheerful server girl has already joined the staff. Ádám remarked funnily that beside the fact that girls like soups more, it’s important to mention that Zoli’s nicely shaped butt is a considerable allure to them. The nearby colleges give at least 50% of the customers but many come here from the offices of the neighborhood – Hungarians and foreigners alike. The boys are deep in the preparation of the next LEVES. but the current place also took 8 months to get their hands upon. It’s even more complicated as they are planning to open the next shop in a well-frequented place such as Deák tér or near Móricz Zsigmond körtér. And putting together the right team will be even tougher. “Actually we’d like to have another pair of ourselves.” – says one of the owners illustrating the difficulty. At the same time they are still planning to make some adjustments to the shop in Vámház körút. There are things they couldn’t fit in the usual six-and-a-half-day workweek. Picures on the wall, a new entrance, a short video showing the essence of takeout eating – to mention but a few from the boys’ to-do list.
Their enthusiasm is ever present and we can only hope that gyros consumption won’t hinder the ingenuity of takeout customers in Hungary. Let us eat more and more soup!
