Kelet Café

Some pockets of Buda can be as lively as Pest, but they are few and far between. Bartók Béla Boulevard is one such revitalized neighborhood, featuring art galleries, cafés, and bars. Kelet, a snug new-wave café lined with walls of books, was one of the early birds here that helped revive the area.

The small, crammed tables fill to capacity at all times of the day with an eclectic crowd of college students, fashionable Millennials, and local residents. Be warned: the floor-to-ceiling windows are addictively conducive to people-watching so pick someplace else if you need to get work done. Kelet serves a whole range of coffees, Chinese (oolong) and Japanese (sencha, matcha) loose leaf tea varieties, as well as pastries and cakes.