A word that will make your friend sit next to you
There are words that carry more than just a simple meaning – a whole atmosphere, a feeling of life, a city. The „"smoothie"” is also such a word. Anyone who has visited a late 19th-century café in Budapest or listened to a grandmother's tales about the golden age of bourgeois life between the two wars knows: a smooz doesn't simply mean conversation. Much more.
At Smuz Café Budapest The name was not born by chance. We are located in the neighborhood of the Parliament, in Kossuth Square on the side facing Margaret Bridge We brought back this lost culture – the art of relaxed, long, meaningful chats over a cup of specialty coffee.
But where does this strange, melodious Hungarian word come from? Why does it sound both homey and exotic at the same time? And why did we choose it as the name of our café? Now we'll tell you everything.
The origin of the "smoothie": Yiddish roots, bourgeois spirit
At „The word "smoothie" is of Yiddish origin.. The original Hebrew-Yiddish expression is shmues, which means: „"conversation, chat, friendly discourse"”. The Yiddish language developed in medieval Europe and became the everyday language of Central European Jewry in the 19th–20th centuries, naturally permeating surrounding languages – including Hungarian.
In Budapest, at the end of the Monarchy, Hungarian, German, Yiddish and Romanian languages coexisted in the streets, cafés and markets of the city. The bourgeoisie gathered in the huge, marble-topped cafés in Lipótváros, the Inner City and the surrounding streets. Here, a „smúz” meant that someone he sits down next to you, orders a coffee, and we talk for hours about the most important things in the world – about politics, art, business, love, tomorrow's weather.
The same word in English „"schmooze"” It survived in a different form, and came back into common parlance from the American Jewish community. In New York restaurants and London clubs, it still means: relaxed, friendly conversation, relationship building. The atmosphere of the Hungarian „smoothie” is perhaps best described by „"small talk"” The expression most faithfully translates it into English – but while small talk means superficial chat, smooze is always a little deeper: there is the warmth of the coffee, the coolness of the marble table, and true immersion in conversation.
The golden age of Budapest coffee houses and the smoothie
Late 19th and early 20th centuries Budapest: the golden age of coffee houses There were more than 600 coffee houses in the city – Gyula Krúdy at the New York Coffee House, Frigyes Karinthy at the Central Coffee House, and Kosztolányi and Móricz at the Hadik Coffee House, where, in addition to Krúdy, some of the most beautiful lines of Hungarian literature were written. But the coffee house was not only for writers.
For the citizens the coffee house was the noise of life. Here they read the newspaper in the morning, here they met with business associates at noon, here they courted women in the evening. This was the meeting place for men and women, the testing ground for social prestige, and yes – it was the official stage of the smooz.
The coffee shop waiters knew: they didn't just serve coffee. They served an entire lifestyle. A free piece of newspaper on the table, a glass of water with the coffee, and quiet discretion – because everyone knew that what was said at the table stayed there.
The verb "smúzolni" was used in Hungarian colloquial speech until the mid-20th century: „"They were having sex at the table in the corner cafe."” Then the decades after the war slowly erased the word, like so many other things from bourgeois Budapest.
Why did we become Smúz Café?
When we opened the Smúz Café at Kossuth Lajos Square 18, in the immediate vicinity of the Parliament, on the side of Kossuth Square facing Margaret Bridge, we wanted to fill a gap. Downtown Budapest – and especially the area around the Parliament Building – is too busy these days. Diplomats, lawyers, tourists and shoppers rush through the square and don't have time to stop.
What, in turn? we wanted them to stop with us.
To sit on the terrace, which overlooks the Parliament, the Palace of Justice and the Danube. To not only have a quick coffee, but get to know each other, get to know the barista, get to know the journey of our Smúz Blend coffee across three continents. To start a conversation over breakfast that grows into a business agreement or a lifelong friendship by the afternoon.
At „The word "smoothie" expresses exactly this.: the slow, authentic, present-oriented coffeehouse conversation that the digital age has eradicated in many places, but which still lives on in our guests today. Everything here serves this purpose – the Catamaran-lettered menu, the sourdough bread for our egg breakfast, the windows overlooking the parliament and the barista who takes his time.
Smoothies in the 21st century: where all generations meet
Today, Smúz Café is a place where every generation finds its own rhythm. Diplomatic meetings take place in the morning, friendly gatherings during lunch, and in the evening, smoothies take place over signature cocktails and wines - just like in our grandparents' time.
Here you will meet:
- a specialty coffee culture (our Smoothie Blend coffee: 33% El Salvador, 34% Brazil, 33% Ethiopia)
- the Budapest bourgeois meal (goulash soup, chicken paprikash, eggs benedict)
- 21st century wellness (Smúz The Lab functional drinks with collagen, ashwagandha, spirulina)
- craft brewing (Smúz Blue – our own blue spirulina lager beer)
- contemporary cocktail culture (Espresso Martini, Smúz Sunset Spritz, Smúz Crown Jewel Gin & Tonic)
And all this in the vicinity of the Parliament, on the side of Kossuth Square facing Margaret Bridge, where old Budapest comes to life again every now and then – in the form of a „smoothie”.
Smoothie as a philosophy of life
The word "smoothie" is used in our more than a company name – a philosophy:
- Deceleration in the digital age. Put down the phone and listen to the other person.
- Real presence with our guests. Our waiters don't rush around, they sit down with you for a word.
- Respect for tradition in a modern guise. Coffeehouse culture is alive – it just has a new flavor.
- Community building next to the Parliament. No matter where you come from, how you live, who you love - everyone is equal in the smoothie.
Next time you're looking for the Parliament in Budapest, come and have a Smúz. You might find something here that you didn't expect amidst the hustle and bustle of the city: a real, relaxed, long conversation over a coffee.
You've arrived at Smúz Café – time stands still here.
Interesting facts about the word "smoothie"
- Yiddish origin: The word shmues already existed in medieval Europe and comes from the Hebrew word "shemua" (news, something heard).
- English equivalent: At „"schmooze"” It entered American English with Yiddish immigrants from New York in the early 1900s, and today it is „"networking"” It means a friendly, informal form.
- Hungarian civil slang: At the end of the 19th century, „"to smooze"” meant the coffeehouse bond of the gentry circles – not chatter, but artistic conversation.
- Famous smurfs: Gyula Krúdy, Frigyes Karinthy, Jenő Heltai – they all "smooched" at the marble tables of Budapest's cafes.
Come to Smúz Café!
Our address: 1055 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos Square 18.
Phone: +36 30 954 4200
E-mail: smuz@smuzcafe.hu
Table reservation: smuzcafe.hu/astázlfoglas
Opening hours: Every day 10:00 – 20:00
We are waiting for you in the immediate vicinity of the Parliament, on the Margaret Bridge side of Kossuth Square - for a cup of Smúz Blend coffee, a salmon eggs benedict, a Smúz Sunset Spritz or a long smoothie with someone you love.