UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN
The Hungarian Pastry Shop
A 1961 Hungarian café opposite St. John the Divine — strudel, coffee and an afternoon of reading.
Across Amsterdam Avenue from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, this narrow, dim café has been feeding Columbia students, professors and novelists since 1961, when a Hungarian couple opened it. The walls are dark, the tables are crowded with notebooks, and refills of plain coffee have been keeping dissertations alive for generations.
The case is the draw: strudel — apple, cherry, cheese — and the Central European cakes Budapest's coffeehouses made famous, alongside almond horns and danishes. It is not a restaurant and doesn't try to be; it is the city's most durable Hungarian address, and the right place to sit for an hour with a slice of something and a book.
Editor’s tip
Order the strudel and a regular coffee rather than espresso, and take a sidewalk table on a mild day.
Also in the neighborhood
UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN
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Editorial draft — core details last reviewed October 13, 2026. Confirm practical details with the official site before you go.