By the embassy-lined stretch of august Andrássy út, a studio-style café is attracting java aficionados to parallel Benczúr utca. At Tipo Workshop & Coffee light-roast brews are proffered alongside bagels, cocoa rolls, even handmade bow ties and salt cellars in the shape of a shuttlecock. This blend of café and design shop is a refreshing hangout by City Park, an area where such arty outlets are scarce. Coffee comes from Rubens Gardelli, a four-time roasting champion.
A modest counter is decorated with colourful wooden beams at Tipo café, a homely hangout no short of eye-candy design. The place tastefully blends its founders’ vocations, or rather passions, where Alexandra can dedicate her time to provide culinary pleasures to guests while in the adjacent studio, Erika can be more immersed into what drives her, design.
“All that you see here is our life”, says Erika, who hopes she can help prevent the trend that sees workshops entirely disappearing from the urban environment. “Benczúr utca is a better location for a place like ours than somewhere like Gozsdu Udvar,” she adds, referring to the bar-filled part of town.
The vibrantly shelved interior offers classic cocoa rolls by The Mill and gluten-free pastries from the Manióka bakery. Sandwiches are made with ring-shaped breads sourced from Budapest Bagel. Nothing goes to waste – what doesn’t sell on a given day is donated to an orphanage or to the homeless.
Cold-pressed juices also feature, at 600 forints a glass. For dessert, try Alexandra’s pudding fantasies made with coconut milk, superfoods and seasonal fruits.
Enjoying hedonistic pleasures in a leisurely place allows guests to browse the café’s selection of inedible, but not tasteless stock. Wanderlust diaries by the Malinovka brand, Honeybear’s felt purses and oversized paper-storage bags by Cucc are just a few of the creative goodies available at Tipo.
This design shop also incorporates Erika’s aforementioned studio, where she creates those big wooden letters you use for decoration or marking bookshelves. Adding community workshops to the Tipo portfolio is also in the pipeline.
Tipo guests come from all walks of life. Tourists often pop by, but with a garden playground nearby, the café is also popular with young mothers. Those who step in meet Alexandra’s vizsla, the four-legged member of the crew. Outside, two tables represent Tipo’s tiny terrace, placed under the leafy crowns of age-old chestnut trees.
