Unwind at Ruszwurm Confectionery in Budapest, Hungary

While many head to the most beautiful New York Palace Cafe or the famous Cafe Gerbeaud, here's a hidden gem located at the Buda side of Budapest that we found!

Like the coffeehouse culture in Vienna, Budapest's cafe culture centres around allowing people to sit, relax, and people-watch. The cafe culture started in the 16th century during the Turkish occupation but only started to gain popularity in the 19th century. During that period, there were more than 400 cafes in the city!

Ruszwurm Cukraszda (Ruszwurm Confectionery) is the oldest pastry shop in Budapest. It is a little cafe with both indoor and outdoor seating located in the quaint Castle District, a short 5-minute walk from Matthias Church. Opened in 1827 by the Szamos family, they still retain their century-old recipes, recreating these cakes and pastries all year round.

To get to Ruszwurm, you could consider joining the Open-Top Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Tour. Otherwise, get the Budapest City Card and take the metro to Széll Kálmán tér and head to the bus terminal and transfer to bus 16.

You could possibly also walk from the Széll Kálmán tér metro station (1.2 kilometres) or get up to Budapest Castle via the Funicular and then walk to the Castle District (700 metres).

Ruszwurm Cukraszda (Ruszwurm Confectionery)

Budapest, Szentháromság u. 7, 1014 Hungary

Sitting outside the cafe grants you a splendid view of Matthias Church as you sip on your coffee and enjoy your pastries. The indoor boasts a rustic-looking interior that is extremely cosy especially on a cold day!

When you first enter the joint, you'll be spoilt for choice at the counter, looking through all the cakes and wondering what you should order... You could either pick what sparks your fancy or try their Ruszwurm Cake - a square shaped pastry filled with delicious cream.

To be honest, I was initially reluctant to try this as the heavy, fatty-looking cream puts me off. But when you first take a closer look at the cream, you'll see tiny dots of vanilla and a taste of it would expel the thoughts of calorie-counting. The cream wasn't cloying at all. In fact, it was light and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness.

We also tried a palmier which was slightly warm when served which was oh-so-good as we sat in the cool breeze!

Till today, we simply cannot forgot the experience we had in Ruszwurm, the sight of Matthias Church, the amazing pastries, the great coffee and the entire atmosphere.

Other cakes that you could try include the Dobos cake, a typical Hungary cake made by Jozsef Dobos. You'll see layers of sponge cake with cream stacked together. Since we could only stomach a pastry each, we gave this a miss.

Ruszwurm Cukraszda (Ruszwurm Confectionery) in Budapest, Hungary

Ruszwurm Cukraszda (Ruszwurm Confectionery) in Budapest, Hungary

When we were there, the entire place was so peaceful and serene, unlike what we constantly experience in Singapore. #takeusbacktoBudapest When you are there, take some time to also read the history of Ruszwurm Cukraszda in the simple menu they had. Service at the cafe was also great as the staff would take a peek outside the cafe every now and then to make sure their guests where doing fine.

Even when it is cold outside, the cafe offers blankets for their patrons to ensure that you'll still have a great snack when you are there.

Ruszwurm Cukrazda is definitely one of our favourite cafe that we've been to so far and definitely a place that you cannot miss when visiting Budapest! Have you been to Ruszwurm Confectionery? Share with us your experiences in the comments below!

Looking for a place to stay when in Budapest?

We spent three nights at Ibis Budapest City when we were in Budapest. It is conveniently located near Blaha Lujza Ter metro, has several supermarkets nearby, and is in walking distance to many of the Ruin Pubs. Since it is so close to the metro, we could get anywhere and everywhere easily via the metro line.

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