5Kaptafa
Akácfa Street in Budapest's party district is best known for Fogas ruin bar, but recently new places have popped up at a head-spinning pace. One of my favorites is Kaptafa, a hip breakfast-all-day restaurant. The high-ceilinged space used to be home to a shoe repair shop, hence "kaptafa," which means shoe tree in Hungarian. Yes, you could take issue with the cliched design elements – chipped walls and Edison bulbs – but effortlessly cool vibes suffuse the place nonetheless.
Of the breakfast sandwiches, try the "defibrillator/CPR," a savory French toast layered with bacon and oozing melted cheese (the name alludes to its hangover-curing powers). Also good is the Mrs. Molnár, a playful riff on the croque madame, made with a Hungarian roll named molnárka and swapping the ham for crisped-up bacon. Hungarian wines and draft beers are also available.
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