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

Alagút Büfé The Tűnnél Snack-Bar

I. Alagút utca 4

This is to be found on that tiny stretch of Alagút utca, on the Krisztinaváros (Buda) side of the tunnel, now pronounced unfit for pedestrian traffic, the air quality there being a health hazard. Recently they’ve put up a great big sign:

0-24 PUB

AZ UTCA LEGJOBB KOCSMÁJA,

KIVÁLÓ A KONYHÁJA or

THE BEST PUB IN THE STREET FOOD THAT’S FIT TO EAT

Adjoining it is a shop selling orthopaedic corsets and bust supporters in unbelievable sizes; an ancient tailor’s dummy stands in the shop window naked but for a corset.

Csillogó The Sparkling

I. Corvin tér 1

Csillogó is its nickname. I remember that there used to be a glazier’s next door to it, opposite the Capuchin church. The glazier’s has closed down, but the pub is still called the Csillogó. This is the only pub in Fő utca that would hold its own in any neighbourhood well stocked with pubs on the Pest side.

Bástya Borozó Bastion Wine-Tavern

I. Székely utca 2-4

This wine-cellar is in the street that opens into Szilágyi Dezső tér and the Calvinist church. It is divided into three sections. The entrance, with the counter, is a classic borozó. In the back, to the right, is a coffee-shop- like room equipped with silk lamp-shades and a piano. The surprise is to the left: three box-like enclosures with wooden tables hidden behind a partition wall in the back. My favourite place. The room is decorated with

7