Book Cafe - Lotz Terem
Book Cafe - Lotz Terem
4.5
This location was reported permanently closed
Full view
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Neighborhood: Terézváros
How to get there
- Oktogon • 3 min walk
- Opera • 4 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
3,692 within 3 miles
Attractions
943 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
1,219 reviews
Excellent
791
Very good
308
Average
78
Poor
25
Terrible
17
azazelI0
Budapest, Hungary101 contributions
Feb 2017 • Couples
Lotz Hall was a great café with a breathtakingly beautiful interior that I enjoyed taking foreign friends to. Staff occasionally had their bad days, but that's just Hungary for you and it was nothing egregious.
However it has closed recently due to the bankruptcy of the book store chain that owns the building. Currently it is unsure what will happen to it, but for now the café is closed.
However it has closed recently due to the bankruptcy of the book store chain that owns the building. Currently it is unsure what will happen to it, but for now the café is closed.
Written March 2, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jer O
Loch Gorman323 contributions
Mar 2012 • Couples
Do NOT skip the chance to have a coffe here !!! The room is simple stunning and it is open til 10pm with a piano playing in the high decorated vaulted ceiling lends to the overall sense of well being...
Written March 20, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
effetì e
Brussels, Belgium24 contributions
Jan 2017 • Couples
I actually dislike the logic of doing a mix of something strongly cultural with something else related to commerce like in book-cafe. But in this case, I have to admit that this Book Cafe is very stunning, both internally and externally. The internal decorations and paintings are very impressive and give to the bar and to the bookshop the athmoshere typycal of an old eighteenth-century Cultural Forum!
Written December 2, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
koszeg
canada110 contributions
Mar 2012
Our son, who studies in Budapest now took us to this Cafe in March. The bookstore is great as well, great selections of books even in foreign languages. We went up to the Cafe and we were really amazed. Beautiful interior ! The service was fast , the coffee was great and the pastries were fresh and tasty. We were there in the morning and they had a great selection of the daily newspapers as well. It is really nice to sit and relax in this great Cafe!!
Written April 1, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pragua
Marrakech, Morocco200 contributions
Jan 2012 • Couples
Go to have a look, this is one of the most beautiful typical old roof of golden age pf Budapest. You go through the book shop from Andrassy avenue and go up the stairs, the eye will catch a nice view.
Then if you are visiting week-end, count on a good 15 to 20 lintues waiting queue. Serive is slow and low key, tables empty they do not fill despite 20 people waiting ... Once you finally get a table, clean it yourself, stand up to the ''do it yourself'' central table to get the menu. Then wave your hand during 10 minutes, and if you are lucky, you will be in a position to place an order. We habe not been patient enough, so after 20 queuee and 20 minutes waiting at our table, we left the place telling who seemed to be the "Maitre d'Hotel" than it was a waiting of 40 minutes with no care at all, the guy did not take any action or reaction so we assume he is used to it and can't do any better.
Too bad for such a beautiful place.
Then if you are visiting week-end, count on a good 15 to 20 lintues waiting queue. Serive is slow and low key, tables empty they do not fill despite 20 people waiting ... Once you finally get a table, clean it yourself, stand up to the ''do it yourself'' central table to get the menu. Then wave your hand during 10 minutes, and if you are lucky, you will be in a position to place an order. We habe not been patient enough, so after 20 queuee and 20 minutes waiting at our table, we left the place telling who seemed to be the "Maitre d'Hotel" than it was a waiting of 40 minutes with no care at all, the guy did not take any action or reaction so we assume he is used to it and can't do any better.
Too bad for such a beautiful place.
Written January 28, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mboyd71
Budapest, Hungary177 contributions
Sep 2011
I lived in Budapest for a year and I frequented the branch of the Alexandra Bookstore on Andrassy Blvd almost every day, for cards, books, calendars, or even wrapping paper. The store has several branches in town, including one in the Jewish Quarter and one near West End, although the branch on Andrassy is the main branch.
All branches have a wonderful selection of books, music, and DVDs. They have a terrific travel section, as well as a lot of English-language books. They have a section for foreign-language books as well including novels and even cookbooks in French, German, etc. One of my favorite things about it was that they sold translations of well-known Hungarian authors in English, which are hard to find in the US. They also have a great selection of postcards, greeting cards and calendars, and of children's books. Finally, they have a wine section with a wine expert on staff to help guide you in selecting the perfect Hungarian wine. It's definitely a bookstore with everything.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this bookstore, however, is the cafe on the top floor of the Andrassy Branch. The walls are covered with gleaming mirrors and gilded woodwork, the ceilings are adorned with frescoes, and glorious chandeliers hang from above, and are repeated endlessly in the mirrors, in true Secessionist style. It's a splendid place to have coffee, a cocktail, or a light lunch. The trout mouse is out of this world! You can dine in true splendor for the price of having lunch at Starbucks. It's one of Budapest's nicest features, and no one should visit the city without at least walking into the cafe to get a glimpse of its beauty, and to marvel that it's just a bookstore coffee shop!
All branches have a wonderful selection of books, music, and DVDs. They have a terrific travel section, as well as a lot of English-language books. They have a section for foreign-language books as well including novels and even cookbooks in French, German, etc. One of my favorite things about it was that they sold translations of well-known Hungarian authors in English, which are hard to find in the US. They also have a great selection of postcards, greeting cards and calendars, and of children's books. Finally, they have a wine section with a wine expert on staff to help guide you in selecting the perfect Hungarian wine. It's definitely a bookstore with everything.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this bookstore, however, is the cafe on the top floor of the Andrassy Branch. The walls are covered with gleaming mirrors and gilded woodwork, the ceilings are adorned with frescoes, and glorious chandeliers hang from above, and are repeated endlessly in the mirrors, in true Secessionist style. It's a splendid place to have coffee, a cocktail, or a light lunch. The trout mouse is out of this world! You can dine in true splendor for the price of having lunch at Starbucks. It's one of Budapest's nicest features, and no one should visit the city without at least walking into the cafe to get a glimpse of its beauty, and to marvel that it's just a bookstore coffee shop!
Written August 2, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Susan L
Newtongrange, UK85 contributions
We stopped off here for a coffee and a cake. The cake selection is amazing and the coffee was lovely.
The setting, however, is amazing. This is somewhere you must see whilst in Budapest.
The setting, however, is amazing. This is somewhere you must see whilst in Budapest.
Written March 4, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
EnglishwomanBp
Budapest28 contributions
Jan 2019 • Friends
If this room existed in any other major European capital, it would be a magnet for both locals and tourists to spend a quiet hour imbibing the atmosphere whilst drinking coffee or tea and chatting to friends. This was exactly how it used to be before the ground floor bookshop was closed and the building shut up for the last year or so.
Now, the lower floor is empty - though before Christmas it formed the entrance to a children's interactive experience....not exactly the atmosphere to add ambience to your walk to the cafe upstairs!
The cafe itself is now like a station waiting room with such sparse furniture that it feels unfinished, and has certainly lost the warm inviting feeling it had. The black coffee I ordered was weak and insipid and at 1100 forints is almost twice what you'd pay at other cafes.
Of course, the room is as stunning as it ever was - at least this could not be spoilt - but this is now a place to be visited only once to take some photos, but has none of the familiar atmosphere of a Hungarian coffee house which would lead you to go more than once.
Now, the lower floor is empty - though before Christmas it formed the entrance to a children's interactive experience....not exactly the atmosphere to add ambience to your walk to the cafe upstairs!
The cafe itself is now like a station waiting room with such sparse furniture that it feels unfinished, and has certainly lost the warm inviting feeling it had. The black coffee I ordered was weak and insipid and at 1100 forints is almost twice what you'd pay at other cafes.
Of course, the room is as stunning as it ever was - at least this could not be spoilt - but this is now a place to be visited only once to take some photos, but has none of the familiar atmosphere of a Hungarian coffee house which would lead you to go more than once.
Written February 1, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travellingisagift
Oslo, Norway1,912 contributions
Apr 2015 • Friends
We went here not for the bookstore but for their coffee shop. We were just impressed with the pictures we have seen in Trip Advisor that we just have to check out their coffee shop. What a pretty place! The interior is absolutely beautiful. I find wearing a pair of rubber shoes was out of place but then again, I am a tourist.
Like one reviewer mentioned here, do not look for Lotz Terem in the street but look for the sign Parizsi Nagy Aruhaz. The place is located in Andrassy utca 39.
I liked my cake though my companions were not that impressed of the cake they ordered. But for me, everything was good.
Like one reviewer mentioned here, do not look for Lotz Terem in the street but look for the sign Parizsi Nagy Aruhaz. The place is located in Andrassy utca 39.
I liked my cake though my companions were not that impressed of the cake they ordered. But for me, everything was good.
Written April 24, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kellyl0102
Nashville, TN75 contributions
Mar 2015 • Solo
Not only beautiful, but the food and the coffee were excellent! FYI, you will not find the name "Book Cafe" anywhere outside the building. I am glad I had the address when I went looking or I never would have found it. The building is labelled "Párizsi Nagy Áruház". You have to go in, walk to the back of the store, take an escalator up, then take a small flight of stairs to reach the cafe. You will not regret it!
Written April 3, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Will his cafe be open again in February after renovation?
Written January 15, 2018
I have no idea but I doubt it. The care had already been closed for months when we were in Budapest in Oct & Nov. The previous owner operated several Alexander Bookstores as well as this cafe. He apparently went bankrupt & sold them all. We heard from our Hungarian friends that the new owner intends to reopen the cafe & signage on the doors say something like "...coming soon" but soon is a relative term & in Hungary completion of such projects could require a very long wait. If you are going there it would be worth wandering by to see if anything is taking shape yet.
Written January 15, 2018
Has the Lots Terem Book cafe reopened? I'm going to Budapest 11december.
Have a nice day.
Brigitte
Written December 7, 2017
I'm coming at the end of the year and I'm also interested about the answer.
Written December 12, 2017
Can someone confirm if the cafe is now closed as some people are still reviewing when others have said it’s now shut.
Many thanks
Written November 19, 2017
Was there (outside the door) mid-November 2017; yes, sadly still closed.
Optimistic poster on the door saying it was being refurbished.
What a great loss.
Written November 19, 2017
Is it possible at dinner Time to eat something else than cakes please ?
Written December 4, 2016
Yes, you can park on the main streets, but it is not free, or you can find a parking garden in Nagymező street (between Király utca and Andrássy út) or in Mozsár street. Don't worry in this zone you always find a parking place maybe not always from 5 metres from the entrance.
And for sure you can get there by metro (Oktogon, Opera) or you can have a nice walk on Andrássy street from any directions ;)
Written October 14, 2016
Showing results 1-6 of 6
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing