In the centre
of Pest, there was once a significant Serbian community living in the tangle of
streets around Szerb utca, Veres Pálné utca, Bástya utca, Váci utca and Nyári
Pál utca.
Back in the 1990s, a serious DJ party spot operated in Veres
Pálné utca called Crack Jokes, partly formed from the premises of an old Serbian
house of prayer. This added a touch of exoticism, until the police closed it
within six months.
The Három Szerb Kávéház is a different place entirely but does take into account its local Serbian heritage.
Serbs settled here from the 1300s onwards. Jumping forward 400 years, this part of Pest was one of the centres of Serbian culture. Tökölyanum, a dormitory for Serbs studying at Pest University, operated in Veres Pálné utca, which also housed a literary and scholarly society, published a newspaper, and had its own library and art gallery.
Now this café, launched last September by JÖSz, the Law Students’ Self-Education Organisation whose members study at the key universities of ELTE and Pázmány Péter, seeks to pass on the traditions of the intellectual workshop that has long defined the history and image of the area.
The ELTE István
Bibó Vocational College still occupies the upper storeys, the café the ground floor,
with a cosy little courtyard attached.
In addition to Serbian cultural
traditions, they also try to evoke the Pest café culture of the early 1900s, so
lectures, talks and readings cover a wide range of topics, public life, politics,
psychology, economics and culture. A garden cinema screens classics while concerts
are suitably low-key.
As the target audience is mainly young university students – although older visitors will feel welcome – prices are more adjusted to their wallets compared to other places around the city centre.
The day starts
with breakfast (HUF 850) of a butter croissant with jam or honey, your choice
of coffee and homemade cordial, or you can just cut to the chase and order one
of nine types of coffee, from espresso to iced. There’s a whole world of teas,
too.
Sandwiches (HUF 790), ham, salami or camembert on three types of bread centrepiece lunch (HUF 1,150, 11am-3pm), also featuring the aforementioned coffee and homemade cordial.
As the day runs its course, there are wines (HUF 340/dl) to choose from, spirits and Ogre pilsner on tap from the Szent András Sörfőzde in Békeszentandrás, with equally sought-after guest and bottled beers also available.
Both the tasteful interior and inner garden suit scholarly conversation, intimate romantic chatter or just a quiet read in private, a five-minute walk from the Danube and havens of downtown commerce.
Három Szerb Kávéház
District V. Szerb utca 3
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Current opening hours: Tue-Wed 9am-10pm, Thur 9am-11pm, Fri 9am-midnight, Sat 11am-midnight
