Bodor Ferenc: Coffee-Houses - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1992)

Café pardon

The beginning of Szondi utca is shaping up well: new shops and businesses are opening one after the other, betokening a decided upswing. Here, in the dusty sixth district, a tropical garden has come into flower. The glass-paned frontal and the sun-blind of the Café Pardon promise a colourful little paradise. Inside, bamboo-cane furniture weaves in the air, slashed by the beams of the spinning globe of light. The hit-parade pounds your eardrums with the rhythm of a pneumatic hammer and the pretty waitress makes sure there is not a moment’s respite. The swing-chairs are empty; the natives sit around the counter, murmuring softly. It is quite evident that matters of great consequence are being discussed. It is highly unlikely that a simple customer like ourselves should ever be asked to participate in such a council of war.

11 SZONDI UTCA, VI.

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