My mom must be right: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And it applies to everyone from jet-setters through globetrotters to backpackers and flashpackers. Although I’m not a morning person, I like sitting at the table having breakfast. Even if there is an early morning rush, for me there’s no breakfast without a cup of coffee.
I have a deal with my man. I have to make the breakfast making mornings as delicious as possible, whatever that means. 🙂 In exchange he, alias Chef Nacho, cooks mouthwatering meals for lunch and dinner e.g. chicken taco on Tuesdays. Not that bad a deal, hm? 🙂 I love lazy Sunday mornings when there is extra time to rethink regular breakfast meals and give them a makeover. But you know what is even better? Going out for breakfast. Like having breakfast at Liberté Grand Café.
Your day definitely will go better if you start it sitting in a comfortable armchair and a waiter with a big smile serves you your favorite coffee and a tasty croissant. We all deserve a royal breakfast every now and then. If you want a quiet spot to have a relaxed breakfast then, Liberté Grand Café fits the bill.
The restaurant is away from the normal tourist track but is still only a few blocks away from the Parliament building. It is lovely to sit outside and enjoy a meal without crowds of people walking past. I like the interior and the atmosphere inside as well, which preserves the elegant traditions of this locally beloved type of hangout. It’s inspired by American diners with lots of black, white and brown, glossy marble-topped tables and green plants.
A brief history of the building
The building, where the café is located, once stood as a giant reminder of post-revolution Habsburg tyranny: the Neugebäude (New Building) and functioned as a barrack. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848-1849 Count Lajos Batthyány, Prime Minister of Hungary, was held in here and later was executed in the courtyard of this building. It is now marked by the Batthyány sanctuary lamp.
The former building was demolished in 1899. The current building was built between 1899 and 1902 in Art Nouveau. On the ground floor Family Strausz opened their café called Szabadság Kávéház (Café Liberty) in honor of the Hungarian Revolution in 1848-1849.
Cafés have always been a gathering place for intellectuals and served home to the most important cultural circles of the 19th century anywhere in Europe. Café culture in Hungary goes back centuries with living-legend cafés like Gerbeaud, New York, Central, Hadik, just to name a few.
This Art Nouveau café became also popular with residents of Budapest soon, especially among greatest poets of the era e.g. Endre Ady, who wrote one of his famous poems here. A big jump in time – forgetting the past and vicissitudes of the café – let’s arrive at the 21st century! Many years later, the space was occupied by the unimpressive Restaurant Spartacus, until the original Art Nouveau interior and Szabadság Café name were eventually restored.
The next makeover and name change took place in December 2015, and Liberté Grand Café began its mission of achieving a reputation among downtown’s 21st-century coffeehouses.
Hearty Breakfast Options
The café opens at 8am every day, so it’s a perfect place to start the day with a hearty morning meal and an awakening cup of coffee. Whether you are looking for the perfect Eggs Benedict, a savory sausage meal, toothsome local pastries, a bowl of fruit-infused granola, flavorful fresh juices and different types of coffees drinks, Liberté Grand Café has a variety of breakfast options from Hungarian specialties through international favorites. It’s the place where not only quantity that counts, quality also matters.
We arrived at the café around 11am on a Sunday and sat at a table outside. It was really quiet. I ordered croissant with smoked salmon, herbed cheese cream and ruccola and a glass of fresh orange juice. My husband ordered croissant with serrano ham with all the ingredients of the sunkissed Italy like tomato, ruccola, pesto and mozzarella. And we shared one pair of Frankfurter with mustard and horse-radish.
All the dishes had the perfect taste and were absolutely delicious. My espresso put the icing on the cake. 🙂 I was really impressed by everything. It was a perfect start of our romantic Sunday. We will return. That’s for sure.
Make sure to follow us on Instagram or like us on Facebook to get exclusive contents and other exciting announcements from MyLittleHungary.