The fact that the staff greets us from behind the bar in English is the first sign that this is no ordinary Budapest hangout. The owners of the café – we aren’t sure exactly what to call it – aren’t from Hungary: Michele got a job in Hungary as a consultant five years ago, while Margaux has been living in the country for two years, and she’s been working in the field of art management. The Italian guy and the French girl met in a Facebook group for foreigners living in Budapest, where Margaux created a survey to find out what an ideal spot would be like. As it turned out, the answer is multifunctional. They both wanted to start something new, and their ideas happened to match.
This is how Café des Arts & Innovation became a bistro with culinary delights, a free co-working office, exhibition area, concert hall, a futuristic techlab experimenting with 3D printers, and last but not least, a community meeting spot for foreigners living in Budapest. The place is huge, with many surprises and hidden corners. The restaurant area hosts an exhibition, and above the kitchen and the bar there’s a small dining area, the “mezzanine”, where we found a young startupper who was busy working on his laptop.
The 3D food-printer, arriving from Canada, will be placed in the techlab that occupies the corridor, while the basement will become a concert hall. The back of the room is like an elegant living room: it’s mostly furnished with French pieces – according to Margaux, the price of furniture of this kind of quality was better at home. She took two trips between France and Hungary with a truck, and it was still cheaper this way.The co-working floor above the “living room” is ideal for freelancers who run around with laptops; however, the small meeting room is only available for a fee. The 3D printer that uses plastic and organic waste is already working on this floor, and this service can be used by those who can’t afford high-volume production. Michele worked in this industry before, and an engineer in the house is there to help with planning.
The goal of Michele and Margaux was to create a space which is suitable for forging communities and networking, which can be a place for freelancers, startuppers, and artists, who can also connect here. They know very well what it’s like to get a foothold in an unfamiliar city, so they are always happy to help foreigners who come by to search for apartments or jobs. Although the target audience is the multicultural community of Budapest, many Hungarians also come by looking for something new; besides the Spanish story club, there’s an English-language film club, organized by an English teacher – this is a very useful program for language learners. They can speak Hungarian on a very basic level with the guests who don’t speak English.
Although they had InterNations meetings with up to 120 people showing up, which meant the café was chock-full with guests, normally – except for lunchtime – this is a place where we can step away from the bustling life of downtown and find exceptional peace. The menu has an assortment of courses: besides bruschetta, French quiche, cheese plates, and cakes, there are quality Hungarian wines, craft beers, Italian sparkling wines, cocktails, and pálinka. They have several options from breakfast to “after work” menus, but if we just want to work and don’t want to spend too much money, a coffee for 350 forints could be a great partner for hours. According to Michele, many people come here from the nearby offices during lunchtime due to the great location, so this way the business model could be sustainable – we hope their ideas will work.
Address:
Budapest 1061, Káldy Gyula utca 6
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