The Best Cafés in Budapest for Getting Work Done on Your Laptop
You have deadlines to meet, exams to study for or simply need to get things done. On a laptop. With a good and reliable internet connection and preferably a coffee right next to you. We feel your pain: Working or studying from home can be an insurmountable challenge. There are way too many distractions and often cleaning the whole entire flat is way more alluring than typing or reading any two words.
Or maybe you don’t have a flat in Budapest because you’re travelling and need to get remote work done. Either way, we got your back. Here are our favourite cafés in Budapest that are perfectly suitable for studying and working remotely on a laptop. Rest assured, most of what you read on Catch Budapest has been written in exactly these places.
Our criteria for working at a café are a stable and reliable internet connection, big enough tables, good coffee, fair prices, an appropriate noise level, strategically placed sockets, no pressure to frequently order and other people around us working on their laptops as well.
Agree with us? Let’s dive straight in then!
Kino Café
Terrace: yes
Fast wifi on terrace: yes
Sockets on terrace: no
Food: wide selection of paninis, dips, salads, cakes and fruit
Opening hours: Mo-Su 9 am – 11 pm
Address: Szent István körút 16, 1137
Contact: facebook
Located right at the big ring road, Kino Café lures us with its large terrace (wifi does work well outside!), the bright interior with big windows and its friendly prices. Sitting outside can get a bit noisy because of the cars in the background, but apart from that its a great place to get things done for many hours. Once you’ve had it with working or studying, consider watching a movie, as besides operating as a café, Kino functions as a small, independent cinema as well.
Magvető Café
Terrace: no
Fast wifi on terrace: n.a.
Sockets on terrace: n.a.
Food: cakes
Opening hours: Mo-Sa 9 am – 10 pm
Address: Dohány utca 13, 1074
Contact: facebook
Your ability to concentrate is guaranteed at Magvető, since mostly everyone comes here to get some work done. This is an airy, spacious and bright cefé completed by multiple bookshelves, delicious cakes, strong coffee and ambient background music right in the city center. The theatre-like seatings make for an additional level of coziness. This is the place where time will truly fly by quickly – no matter how long your to-do list is!
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Massolit Books & Café
Terrace: yes
Fast wifi on terrace: no
Sockets on terrace: no
Food: cakes
Opening hours: Mo-Mi, Fr 8:30 am – 19:30 pm, Th, Sa-Su: 10 am – 19:30 pm
Address: Nagy Diófa utca 30, 1072
Contact: facebook
We don’t know about you, but books always give us that extra special atmosphere we need to concentrate and get things done. Being an independent Jewish bookshop and café at the same time, Massolit is completely stuffed with books of all kinds and genres which provides the whole place with a really quiet and cozy atmosphere. As the place is small, it might often seem that all tables are occupied, but Massolit luckily has a table-sharing policy: As long as there is space left at a table, you’re free to sit there! The terrace is extra-lovely in spring and summer, although the wifi is rather weak outside.
Kelet Café & Gallery
Terrace: yes (small)
Fast wifi on terrace: yes
Sockets on terrace: no
Food: all healthy soups, salads, mains, spreads and cakes with plenty of veggie options
Opening hours: Mo-Fr 7:30 am – 11 pm, Sa-Su: 9 am – 19:30 pm
Address: Bartók Béla út 29, 1115
Contact: facebook
Kelet also comes with the book-bonus, as both its floors are lined with completely packed bookshelves. It spreads a really busy air and there are always people around you being occupied with their next projects. Choose the ground floor for a more dim and cozy atmosphere, the upper floor for a lot of natural light and the small terrace outside if you like the street buzz. Due to its opening times at 7:30 in the morning on weekdays its the perfect pick for early birds.
Trapéz Bar
Terrace: yes
Fast wifi on terrace: yes
Sockets on terrace: yes (!)
Food: all kinds of mains, burgers, sandwiches, spreads and salads
Opening hours: Mo-Fr 7:30 am – 11 pm, Sa-Su: 9 am – 7:30 pm
Address: Imre utca 2, 1093
Contact: facebook
With its latte priced at HUF450 and the lemonade at HUF500, Trapéz’ prices are literally unbeatable. So is the terrace which is the only one we know of that has fast wifi and even sockets. This is a typical student bar and café with students from the nearby Corvinus University frequently hanging out here for studying, chatting and drinking purposes. It stands out from the crowd by its homely atmosphere and although the interior is creative, this place is far from being hipster. Juli basically moved in here for her studies, wrote an endless amount of papers here (while spreading endless amounts of tears of both stress and laughter) and still comes back frequently for working on Catch Budapest.
Konyha Café
Terrace: yes
Fast wifi on terrace: no
Sockets on terrace: no
Food: all kinds of mains, soups and salads (rather on the higher end of the price-scale)
Opening hours: Mo-Do 9 am – 10 pm, Fr-Sa: 9 am – 11 pm, Su 10 am – 4pm
Address: Madách Imre út 8, 1075
Contact: facebook
This living room with a lovely view from the upper floor convinces with its cozy sofas overlooking the street and its extra large shared table that is always full with open laptops. Note that the prices (especially when it comes to food) are somewhat higher here than at our other recommendations, but still: Konyha is a real treat and provides the perfect backdrop for ticking off that to-do list of yours.
Madal Café near Szabadság Square
Terrace: yes
Fast wifi on terrace: yes
Sockets on terrace: no
Food: cakes
Opening hours: Mo-Fr 7:30 am – 7:30 pm, Sa-So 8:30 am – 7:30 pm
Address: Alkotmány utca 4, 1054
Contact: facebook
Madal Café has three branches across Budapest but the one on Szabadság Square is the real laptop-friendly place. It’s a favourite and frequent hangout of digital nomads and was elected as serving one of the best specialty coffees in the world, according to Lonely Planet’s “Global Coffee Tour”. The whole place has a calm zen-atmosphere ideal for working and getting stuff done.
Adna Café
Terrace: no
Fast wifi on terrace: n.a.
Sockets on terrace: n.a.
Food: cakes and sandwiches
Opening hours: Mo-Fr 7:30 am – 9 pm, Sa 10 am – 8 pm
Address: Török Pál utca 6, 1093
Contact: facebook
Located right at a side street of the famous Ráday Street close to Kálvin Square, Adna has big tables, an exceptionally friendly and helpful staff as well as exceptionally good coffee. You can pick from two types of roasted coffee beans (light and dark) and neither of them will disappoint you. The big bonus of Adna is that is its mission to help people with drug addiction, so every coffee is a direct contribution to a good cause.
Csendes Vintage Bar & Café
Terrace: no
Fast wifi on terrace: n.a.
Sockets on terrace: n.a.
Food: a full-on menu with all kinds of mains, sides, snacks and salads
Opening hours: Mo-Mi 10 am – 12 am, Th-Fr 10 am – 2 am, Sa 2 pm – 2 am
Address: Ferenczy István utca 5, 1073
Contact: facebook
Csendes probably serves the biggest latte in whole entire Budapest that comes in a giant, dotted mug straight from kindergarten. It’s a very international but also a favurite local place that is perfect for working during the day and having a drink when you kick off the night. It’s always full with people chatting, working and just being there. The interior resembles a colourful rabbit hole and even after coming here for years we still discover a new detail on the wall every time. This place is best when you plan to work alone, as the tables are a bit smaller than at the other places and can get a little inconvenient for two people. Also, definitely come on a rather grey and rainy day, as it’s a dim place perfect for escaping bad weather.
Fecske Café & Bar
Terrace: yes
Fast wifi on terrace: not really
Sockets on terrace: no
Food: a full-on menu with all kinds of mains, sides, snacks and salads and plenty of veggie options
Opening hours: Mo-Fr 10 am – 12 am, Sa 12 pm – 12 am, Su 2 pm – 12 am
Address: Baross utca 10, 1088
Contact: facebook
Another favourite student hangout, Fecske has become a real institution on the Kálvin Square-area. The mood is always cheerful here and in combination with the very wallet-friendly prices and the filling and good dishes Fecske is a pretty great option for getting stuff done. Unfortunately the wifi can get unreliable on the terrace so the cozy (but rather dark) inside is better suited for internet-heavy work.
Looking for more cafés? Check out our favourite cozy cafés in Budapest for rainy days right here!
And now it’s your turn: What’s your favourite laptop-friendly café in Budapest? Where did you best manage to tick off that to-do list you’ve been carrying along for weeks? Where’s the best place for you to get really productive? Let us and other readers know in the comments below and let’s extend this list together!
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