Budapest’s latest new-wave café has just opened its doors in the city centre. The interior of SixLetter Coffee has been designed by Gáspár Bonta, whose work has gained acclaim at home and abroad.
Bonta also designed the remarkable interior spaces of neighbouring Greek restaurant Mazi. Ironically, here was once a Greek travel agency – Bonta then conceived a space of puritanical white. He brought the outside world into play with huge windows where you can gaze out with your coffee, while plenty of natural light also reaches into the corners.
Despite the original iron columns, brick walls and ceilings being stripped away, an industrial atmosphere still dominates. There’s also a transparency that Bonta seems to like. Under the counter, wires still show. There’s no reason for secrecy, and this concept is reflected in the open kitchen, where you can watch your Eggs Benedict being prepared and presented for delivery.
Beneath high ceilings, tables spread over 150 square metres. Everybody likes to sit at a different vantage point, and Bonta’s diverse layouts should suit everyone's needs. Upstairs, you can enjoy your own company at the counter or join the communal round table, while downstairs you’re part of the crowd. In addition, the glass-walled meeting room is available to hire out for private events, the windows giving out onto the inner courtyard of the house.
Connecting the ground and first floors, a lift has been illuminated in surrealistic fashion, the houseplants behind glass providing a little hint of tropical rainforest, while potted kokedamas and ferns embellish the tables. Smaller plants are fed by a special irrigation system at the top of the wall – in six months’ time, they will be large enough to be wrapped around the upper grid.
Interestingly, the trendy velvet chairs come from Remodel, who employ and train prisoners.
As for the café name, six letters spell C.O.F.F.E.E., and light-roast Racer Beans is the brand chosen to filter through the Synesso machine. For breakfast and lunch, your macchiato may accompany or bookend sundry egg dishes, Croque Madames and duck-liver pâté, as well as grilled Debreziner sausages, plus salads and club sandwiches during the day.
Although it’s only open until 6pm, craft beers and wines are also available. And, as we’re in the city centre not far from Parliament, prices are a tad higher.
SixLetter Coffee District V. Alkotmány utca 21
Open: Mon-Fri 7am-6pm, Sat-Sun 8am-6pm
