Self-styled ‘Shop.House.Studio.Garden’, the newly unveiled Twentysix Budapest takes its name from its street number – and the temperature best suited to its abundant greenery.
With the aim of creating a place of harmony within the chaos of the city, the atmosphere here is verdantly exotic. The air filled with enticing culinary aromas, this green oasis can light up the cold, dark days of winter, from select coffee under palm trees in the morning to evening cocktails in a sub-tropical environment.
In all, some 34 types of plants, banana trees, rubber plants, palms and all sorts of begonia fill every corner, dividing the cultural spaces into four, each with a separate function.
Here nature can be combined with gastronomy, conscious living and the mindset of sharing and community. The upper floors, called Komplex, once a hostel and offices, now serve a completely new purpose.
Before getting lost in the vast foliage of the main space, it’s worth checking out the shop section, stocked with environmentally friendly items of home décor by Danish company, Bloomingville. You’ll find Hungarian wines, champagnes, jams and spreads from small-batch producers, with more products to appear soon.
The deli also offers brunch from 10.30am, bowls of muesli, smoothies, sandwiches and so on. You may sample tea from the wonderful selection collated by Zhao Zhou, or the excellent, self-roasted 80-100% Arabica coffees by the tiny Italian brand Amezze. Their list of freshly baked goods will be extended in February with heavenly breads, baguettes and focaccias prepared in the kitchen by the pastry expert from Baraka, David Seboek.
Closed off with glass walls, the soundproofed yoga studio hosts classes of all kinds on each day of the week. At weekends, visitors can enjoy a relaxing session of brunch-yoga.
The back room, also called the Chameleon Room by its founder, Barbara Poisson Angeli, stands out both in style and function. Its soft, versatile elegance allows it to serve as the perfect venue for dinners, birthday parties, press conferences, workshops, community cooking events and even gastronomic photo shoots.
Finally, we arrive back at the oasis of the inner courtyard, which – depending on the time of day – is both a restaurant and bar. The menu was conceived by two chefs, one Italian, one Israeli, presenting authentic Mediterranean and Eastern flavours that are both healthy and exciting.
Dishes are best when shared, reflected in the number of the delicious mezze plates (1,200-1,500 HUF) here, with dips of hummus, red-lentil and aubergine spreads and more. Mains include Provençal chicken, chili shrimp, lamb shawarma and whole seabass (2,990-7,290 HUF).
Along with offering all the standard mixed drinks, Twentysix is part of the citywide Plant a Tree Cocktail initiative recently launched by the aforementioned Poisson Angeli and Barbara Csallóközi. For each drink sold (4,800 HUF), a tree is planted in your name, a scheme also involving other prestigious drinkeries such as the 360 Bar, BB’z Bar & Grill and KIOSK.
Twentysix Budapest
District VI. Király utca 26
Open: Mon-Thur & Sun 9am-midnight, Fri-Sat 9am-2am
