Kelet Kavezo on Bartok Bela ut in Ujbuda is a cafe, book-exchange library and exhibition space combined, with bagels, filter coffee and a slow Buda crowd, Budapest.
Must order: The bagel with cream cheese and a single origin filter from the rotating menu.
Tip: Bring a book to swap; the back room is the quietest place to work in Ujbuda.
Address: Bartók Béla út 29, 1114 Budapest
Mantra Specialty Coffee on a tree-lined Lipotvaros backstreet pours light-roast Ethiopian, Brazilian and Honduran filter coffee on AeroPress, Chemex and V60 in downtown Budapest.
Signature drink: AeroPress and Chemex filter
Order: The single-origin filter on Chemex or AeroPress, the room's specialty.
Tip: The owners run home-barista classes; ask if a class lands on your visit dates.
Espresso Embassy on Arany Janos, steps from the Basilica, opened in 2012 as Budapest's first wave-three specialty cafe and still sets the bar for downtown filter, Budapest.
Signature drink: Espresso and flat white
Order: The single-origin espresso, paired with a chocolate chip cookie.
Tip: Mon to Fri 07:30 to 19:00, weekends 09:00 to 17:00; queue is short on weekday mornings.
My Little Melbourne on Madach square was Hungary's first specialty coffee shop when it opened in April 2012, an Australian flat-white cafe near Gozsdu Udvar in Budapest.
Signature drink: Australian flat white
Order: The flat white with the daily filter from the Brew Bar next door.
Tip: The Brew Bar next door is the slow-pour twin; ask for a manual brew there.
Madal Cafe on Hollan Erno in Ujlipotvaros pours 13 single-origin coffees from two micro-roasters and stocks a wide loose-leaf tea wall in a quiet Pest residential block.
Signature drink: Single-origin filter coffee
Order: A V60 filter from the rotating single-origin menu.
Tip: Mon-Fri 07:30 to 19:30, weekends 08:30 to 19:30; the outdoor terrace is calm in summer.
Auguszt on Kossuth Lajos has run as a family confectionery since 1870, now in the fifth generation, with a Belle Epoque room and a hidden Paloma Garden terrace in Budapest.
Signature drink: Espresso and Hantas Flora pastry
Order: The Hantas Flora pastry with a small black coffee.
Tip: Open Mon to Fri 09:00 to 19:00; ask for the Paloma Garden terrace when the weather permits.
The New York Café in the New York Palace on Erzsebet korut has poured coffee under frescoed ceilings and gilded chandeliers since 1894, the most ornate cafe in Budapest.
Signature drink: Hungarian melange and Sacher torte
Order: The Hungarian Melange with the New York apple strudel.
Tip: Queue moves; ask for a table on the upper gallery for the full ceiling view.
