The 130-year-old New York Café, regarded as the world's most beautiful café, has reached a new milestone: from March it will also be open at night.
Following an earlier trial, from 1 March the iconic venue on Erzsébet körút welcomes guests with night-time opening hours and a night-time menu: from Thursday to Sunday, from midnight onwards, the aim is to give even more people the chance to enjoy Budapest's iconic café undisturbed.
Night-time opening allows guests to avoid long queues and enjoy the magic of the café in calm, exclusive surroundings.
The trial run over the festive season was announced by the café's management at the 130th anniversary event of the World's Most Beautiful Café, who added that if the idea received positive feedback from the public, night-time opening would become a regular fixture from March, in line with demand.
The trial period answered the questions raised: guests were delighted to take their seats at the café's tables after midnight too.
Csaba Szabó, general manager of the New York Café and a partner at Eventrend Group, said that, in their experience, night-time visits to the New York were linked to evening activities, and the café filled up mainly on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Guests tended to order drinks rather than coffee, with so-called “nibbles” on the side, but they were also keen to try the cakes. Accordingly, the night-time menu will mainly consist of drinks and cold dishes. Music is also an essential part of the atmosphere: a lounge, chill-out vibe was tried out, but some more rhythmic music was also played, and the audience voted for the latter. Accordingly, during night-time opening a bar pianist will entertain guests with enjoyable, more upbeat hits.
The café will receive decorative lighting to match the night-time atmosphere, and El Asmodáj, a life-size figure of the torch-bearing demon on the façade, will also move in to become a favourite subject of photos. Special selfie spots will also be set up, providing the perfect setting for memorable pictures.
According to a legendary anecdote, when the café opened, Ferenc Molnár wished that it should never close, and so threw the keys into the Danube. Now, 130 years later, this dream is coming true once again with night-time opening.
For its 130th anniversary, celebrated last November, the café created a new, special mini cake: guests can also order this creation, which combines apricot and chocolate flavours.
The New York serves 2,500–3,000 guests a day, which adds up to more than 1 million guests a year. This extraordinary challenge demands a tremendous level of organisation. The team at CER Kft., part of Eventrend Group and operator of the New York Café, is committed to carrying out this task, a source of pride, with the utmost professionalism.
Source: Turizmus.com