Hungarian Pastry Shop

12/02/2007 Posted by georgiahy

My favorite thing about this place is that there is no music! Hurray! So you can sit (for as long as you can keep your mind off everyone else's conversations) and read unmolested by someone else's music. Even after I moved out of the area I always make the extra effort to stop by with a book or the paper. A plus is the coffee drinks and European pastries. (and I'm not even a student, a 30-year old mom in fact) G

11/18/2007 Posted by gardens4me

I've been coming to the Hungarian Pastry Shop since 1969...and even though I don't live in NYC anymore, it is one of the first places I visit when I am back in my old stomping grounds! What a thrill to find that, over and over again...it has NOT CHANGED! Same wonderful croissants, same apricot jam in a little cup...same endless coffee. And if it's the afternoon, you might try the Rigo Jancsi, a wonderful pastry, very dark chocolate, very rich, or the Dobos Torte, a many layered, chocolate butter cream cake! Wish I still lived close by!

06/12/2007 Posted by woodsrow

I know this city pretty well I have lived here for all my life and it is rare that I should come across something that is... well... rare (the food was cooked, if that is what you think I mean.) This rustic pastry shop with its endless cups of coffee was a pleasant surprise. A friend of mine told me to meet her there and when I didn’t know where it was she was ready to beat me up. It dates back a while and is one of the few remnants of Columbia’s beatnik era, the strudel is a bit heavy, but then it is strudel. I mean if you want something lighter they have great macaroons and I think their trade mark is the shoe horn almond cookie. I highly recommend this place if you have an afternoon to spend with a friend and would like to sit and talk and never be bothered.

12/14/2005 Posted by debreiner

This is the only place left in Manhattan to get authentic Hungarian sour cherry strudel - the best!

07/31/2005 Posted by phattums

By far my favorite place on the upper west side. Perfect place to go sit, read, talk, and drink great coffee all day (free refils - yay!). The incredible plain croissants are soft, so buttery, and come with a tiny paper cup of apricot jam. The hot chocolate is also a stand-out, and their other pastries are all well above average. Go when the weather's nice and sit outside, where you'll get the perfect view of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Great coffee, great laid back atmosphere, great pastries.

Pros: perfect atmosphere, great coffee, great food

Cons: dim light in parts

03/05/2005 Posted by jonathand1018

I stumbled upon this bakery as I initially planned on going somewhere else. I was pleased with the prices. Very reasonable. Not to many places in NYC where $1.80 gets you unlimited refills. I had a slice of carrot cake for $3.25. Was disappointed that it was quite dry. Frosting was excellent though. Also liked the idea that you could buy single cookies for $0.35 and not nescessarily by the lb. Tried a few and was very pleased. Ample seating. Would go again.

Pros: cheap, good coffee

Cons: only accepted cash

08/01/2004 Posted by nevedovsky

The style of pastries and variety of Eastern European style pastries, particularly the Sacher Torte, make this place stand out from a lot of the other places that offer baked goods. You will find better desserts at the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, but they're not worth the cost of the airplane tickets. As for this place, it's good food for a reasonable price, and something a little different from what you get most of the time in New York. Definitely head up and try the place if you can.

Pros: Good desserts, Different

11/02/2002 Posted by staypuft02

wonderful little shop featuring great coffee and an assortment of delicious pastries. The dark interior is usually full of studying college students and others enjoying some reading (how they do so in the dim lighting, I dunno), so it can be hard getting a table. Patio outside is usually full too. Next door to a gelato shop though.

Pros: good pasty, good coffee

Cons: usually crowded, v. dark inside

08/12/2002 Posted by ameena

The croissants are huge and especially good when you get them warm. The coffee is pretty good too and the prices are great! As for the other pastries, depends what you get. (I wasn't thrilled with my apply turnover). Not much of a place as far as atmosphere is concerned, but its a nice place to study (studying students tend to take up whole tables which means seating can be limited). A good place to meet for a quiet coffee or to just relax and read the paper.

Pros: croissants!, quiet

Cons: a little dingy