Café restaurants in Europe
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A
Babalú
More inviting than your own living room, this first-floor cafe is ubercute. It only sells tea, coffee, hot chocolate and the odd crêpe, but once you’ve settled into one of its snug corners you won’t want to move. A teeny wooden balcony gives you a great vantage point over Skólavörðustígur, and in summer there’s occasional live music.
reviewed
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B
Auguszt Cukrászda
Tucked away behind the Fény utca market and Mammut shopping mall, this is the original Auguszt cafe (there are newer branches) and only sells its own shop-made cakes (200Ft to 500Ft), pastries and biscuits. There’s limited seating on the 1st floor.
reviewed
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C
Kitchen Bar
Whether you're just coming for a cool waterside coffee or seek some inventive international fare, this lofty, sumptuously decorated café-restaurant on the port is fab. The salads and risotto are as bright as the flames in the open kitchen where the chefs, like the style-conscious clientele, are always on display.
reviewed
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D
Carpe Diem
With its hammock seats, greenery and serene atmosphere, this small teahouse in Debrecen is an oasis on a pedestrian street dominated by concrete eyesores. It stocks teas from around the world for instant consumption or later enjoyment.
reviewed
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E
Fru Hagen
The low-key and always full Fru Hagen, ‘Mrs Garden’, serves sandwiches and burgers, all with a healthy side portion of vegetables. Its location facing Olaf Ryes plass also makes it good for people-watching.
reviewed
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F
Caffè dei Frari
Take your espresso with a heaping of history at the century-old carved wooden bar, or recover from sensory overload of I Frari with a sandwich, glass of wine and easy conversation at dinky indoor cafe tables.
reviewed
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G
Pão Pão Queijo Queijo
Join the snaking queue for Belém’s tastiest falafel (both hands required), sardine baguettes and Mexican salads.
reviewed
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H
Café Fútbol
No Raúl or Fábregas, but plenty of art nouveau decor and fresh churros.
reviewed
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I
SOS & Sultan Restaurant & Café
A cheapish option that offers belly fuel rather than gourmet meals.
reviewed
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Pierre Loti Café
After visiting the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, many visitors head north up the hill to the Pierre Loti Café, where the famous French novelist is said to have come for inspiration. Loti loved İstanbul, its decadent grandeur and the late-medieval customs of a society in decline. When he sat in this cafe, under a shady grapevine sipping tea, he saw a Golden Horn busy with caïques (long, thin rowboats), schooners and a few steam vessels. The water in the Golden Horn was still clean enough to swim in and the vicinity of the cafe was given over to pasture. The cafe that today bears his name offers views similar to the ones he must have enjoyed. It’s in a warren of streets on a prom…
reviewed
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K
Demel
An elegant and regal cafe within sight of the Hofburg, Demel was once the talk of the town but now mainly caters to tourists. The quality of the cakes hasn’t dropped however, and it wins marks for the sheer creativity of its sweets – its window displays an ever-changing array of edible art pieces (ballerinas and manicured bonsai for example). Demel’s speciality is the Ana Demel Torte, a calorie-bomb of chocolate and nougat which rivals Café Sacher’s Torte.
reviewed
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L
Beige Cafe
Beige might sound boring, but subtle lines and soft colours render this romantic cafe anything but. The setting is so sensual due in part to the circular room, arched doorways and rounded ceilings. The lack of sharp angles is cosy and comfortable, but still sophisticated. Dine on grilled fish and steaks, pasta, soup and salad, with an emphasis on fresh vegetables - this place is a great find for the health conscious.
reviewed
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M
Café Saturnus
Everyone from yummy mummies to peckish princesses flock here for Gallic-inspired baguettes, pastries and creamy café au lait. While Saturnus’ claim that it was the first to introduce Stockholm to ‘proper’ coffee is hotly contested, there’s little doubt that its kanelbullar (cinnamon bun) is the city’s biggest…and dare we say its best.
reviewed
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N
Indigo
You wouldn't expect to find quality in among the fast-food joints of the New Market. But there is Indigo. Salads feature strongly: the Indigo salad with croutons, rocket, walnut, lettuce oil and garlic entices, as does a 'playful chicken' salad made up of chicken strips in vegetables and a hazelnut salad with blue cheese. Subtle and scrumptious at the same time.
reviewed
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O
Monty Café
Italian-run and nicely laid back, this cafe with terracotta floor, art on the walls and classic marble-top tables has a series of varied, secondhand lounges down one side and a bar at the back. Great for coffee, a long list of teas and cocktails, it also offers food, from pasta to bruschette. It’s a great place to lounge around over your laptop.
reviewed
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P
Káva Káva Káva
The Smíchov branch of the popular internet café in Staré Město is bigger and brighter than the original, with Etruscan orange walls, terracotta floor tiles and modern art. There’s a more extensive menu too – you can snack on salads, sandwiches, quiche or nachos, or tuck into more substantial chicken gyros, Mexican chilli or home-made soup of the day.
reviewed
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Q
Café Engel
This heavenly spot in the Senaatintori hums with tourists and university students alike. There’s always a good selection of cakes and enticing meals often of a vegetarian bent such as a beetroot lasagne. It’s a cultural hub with films shown in the courtyard during summer, irregular piano recitals and a plump English-language magazine selection.
reviewed
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R
Morgenland
This eastern Kreuzberg multiculti café is a breakfast institution, especially on Sunday when everyone from red-eyed night owls to scarf-draped Turkish beauties invade for the table-bending brunch (reservations a must!). At other times it’s a relaxed café with pan-European food – pasta to lamb to fried fish.
reviewed
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S
Café Inglês
This cafe has a wonderful shady terrace and is everyone’s favourite spot. The food is excellent (don’t miss the Chocolate St Emilion dessert). One of the Algarve’s liveliest restaurants north of the coast, it has an elegant interior and in summer has occasional live jazz, fado and African music.
reviewed
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Café Marly
This classic venue facing the Louvre’s inner courtyard serves contemporary French fare throughout the day under the palace colonnades. Views of the glass pyramid are priceless and depending on how au courant (familiar) you are with French starlets and people who appear in Match, you should get an eyeful.
reviewed
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Pois Café
All hail Austrian-run Pois for its laid-back boho vibe. Its sofas invite lazy afternoons spent reading novels and guzzling coffee. Creative salads and sandwiches with names like Sepp (olive, pesto and Emmental) go nicely with tangy juices. There’s a kids’ play area.
reviewed
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V
Cafe Blikle
The mere fact that Blikle has survived two world wars and the pressure of communism makes it a household name. But what makes this legendary café truly famous is its donuts, for which people have been queuing up for generations. Join the back of the line and find out why.
reviewed
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Lukács Cukrászda
This cafe is dressed up in the finest of decadence – all mirrors and gold – with soft piano music in the background. The selection of cakes (450Ft to 1250Ft) is excellent but expensive. Must be because the chief pâtissier has come all the way from France.
reviewed
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X
Café Mise en Scène
This colourful French café has artwork on the walls, eclectic furnishings and a few outdoor tables. Delightful choices include coq au vin, fish soup and chocolate fondue, though it's also a nice destination for afternoon café au lait.
reviewed
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Y
La Cantineta
Off Piazza del Plebiscito, the upstairs restaurant offers checked tablecloths, a constantly going TV and cheap and filling meals. It specialises in seafood, including local salted fish, which is best sampled over pasta as tagliatelle allo stoccafisso.
reviewed
