“No photos, no ladies” – this slogan of the original Barber Shop Budapest remains valid at all of their locations, including the most recently opened third joint found near Astoria. This trio of old-fashioned havens for stylish gentlemen seeking haircuts and straight-razor shaves are all run by the Gellei Family, who create each of their men’s clubs with old-fashioned flair and old-school barber’s chairs – and yes, these are clubs, since the service is about much more than good grooming.
Before going into details, let’s take a moment to clarify who we are talking about. The founders of Barber Shop Budapest are all members of the Gellei Family, a multigenerational clan of Budapest barbers – decades ago, the grandfather had a parlor in Kispest before moving to Váci Street, then his son had a haircut shop on Bartók Béla Avenue, and finally the third generation, András and Áron, opened their unique styling establishment in the city center after a stint of living in Australia. After opening their first Barber Shop on Dob Street with great success, they expanded to a new location on Király Street, and most recently opened a new site by Astoria.
“Our service has swiftly risen in popularity, since the profession was long absent from Budapest. In the old times, like during the World Wars, barbers not only cut hair and shaved beards, but also tended to wounds. We dropped the latter of those three services, and focus on men’s heads with classic techniques like using a straight razor and aftershave. There is a real demand for this these days,” says elder brother András.
The third Barber Shop also opened near the party district of Pest. András explains that tourists are purposefully browsing barber shops, and the Gallei Family’s establishments give them everything they are looking for, including classic customer service. The guest is given a welcome drink – a water or a coffee – and the new location by Astoria also features a huge brown chair in the shop window, where waiting customers can get a shoeshine.
All three locations are similar in terms of their interior design and vibe. Their walls are adorned with surfboards (a memento from the brothers’ time in Australia), a stag-antler trophy, and museum-quality vintage scissors and barber tools. The wooden furniture gives a unique look to the new shop, which also features old-school-style barber chairs made specifically for thechain. These are custom-made, weigh more than 200 kilos, and have a built-in sink to make the experience all the more comfortable for guest and barber alike. The shop also offers beard dyeing, and this novelty makes the process simpler by eliminating the need to walk the guest to a sink.
The list of novelties does not stop here. There are plans to include tattooing among the services, and the owners are going to start a barber school called Barber Shop Budapest & Academy. (However, for the time being this is only for the benefit of the current team and barbers from abroad.) A couple of days every week, the shop will close early for practice and to experiment with new ideas .
The lads divide the tasks among them, since they perfectly complement each other. Their father, a legend in the trade, orchestrates everything from the background, offering advice along the way.
As we already clarified, this is a men’s only zone, with exceptions made only for female members of the Gellei Family. You don’t need to worry about making an appointment: this practice is simply not a barbers’ thing, so no appointments are available. Guests are attended to first-come-first-served, and while guests are waiting, they can enjoy a newspaper, a coffee, or a chat with the others – like at any gentlemen’s club. We have a feeling that this won’t be the last Barber Shop Budapest location.
