Kocsis Irma: A tour of our Locals. (A very quick one) - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1993)

about him a deep voice suddenly speaks up from beside the counter: “Haven’t you a good word to say about me?” “Well, yes,” says the bartender, pointing a finger at the customer. “This is Lajos Kocsis.”

There is a tobacconist’s in this street, unchanged since the forties, that looks as though it came straight out of a fairy-tale, this is the

TÓTH-POTYA-FÉLE TRAFIK, DOHÁNYÁRU (POTYA TOTH’S TOBACCO SHOP)

Sárga Hordó Dreher Söröző Yellow Barrel Dreher Beer-Bar

XIV. Ilka utca 22

When 1 walk in one of the customers is playing the accordion beside the door. Above my head is a gallery built of undressed beams. It is a new pub with a pleasant atmosphere that nicely complements the Ilka pub.

Félidő Bisztró Half-Time Snack-Bar

XIV. Hungária körút 15-Kerepesi út 24

A beer-place on the comer with a big street clock. The bus station public uses it as an alternative to the heated waiting-room. One of the headwaiters is a non-smoker. Early in the morning everyone is smoking, red-nosed countrywomen in imitation fur coats are sipping their pick-me-ups, and he quietly opens the door to the minuses of Kerepesi út. It is winter. 1 am cold.

Törökőr Kisvendéglő Turkish Guard Restaurant

XIV. Mexikói út 5

Out of one’s way, but well worth the walk. One of the last beer-garden type pubs with good stews and gnoc- chi. It is very pleasant in wintertime too. There is never too much of a crowd, in the afternoon the sun shines into the room. It is a cosy, intimate place. A big black piano mopes in the corner. It is a peaceful place, chil55