There are words that carry more than just a simple meaning \u2013 a whole atmosphere, a feeling of life, a city. The \u201e"smoothie"\u201d<\/strong> is also such a word. Anyone who has visited a late 19th-century caf\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Smuz Caf\u00e9 Budapest<\/strong> 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<\/strong> We brought back this lost culture \u2013 the art of relaxed, long, meaningful chats over a cup of specialty coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 caf\u00e9? Now we'll tell you everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At \u201eThe word "smoothie" is of Yiddish origin.<\/strong>. The original Hebrew-Yiddish expression is shmues<\/strong>, which means: \u201e"conversation, chat, friendly discourse"\u201d<\/em>. The Yiddish language developed in medieval Europe and became the everyday language of Central European Jewry in the 19th\u201320th centuries, naturally permeating surrounding languages \u2013 including Hungarian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Budapest, at the end of the Monarchy, Hungarian, German, Yiddish and Romanian languages coexisted in the streets, caf\u00e9s and markets of the city. The bourgeoisie gathered in the huge, marble-topped caf\u00e9s in Lip\u00f3tv\u00e1ros, the Inner City and the surrounding streets. Here, a \u201esm\u00faz\u201d 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<\/strong> \u2013 about politics, art, business, love, tomorrow's weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same word in English \u201e"schmooze"\u201d<\/strong> 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<\/em>. The atmosphere of the Hungarian \u201esmoothie\u201d is perhaps best described by \u201e"small talk"\u201d<\/strong> The expression most faithfully translates it into English \u2013 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Late 19th and early 20th centuries Budapest: the golden age of coffee houses<\/strong> There were more than 600 coffee houses in the city \u2013 Gyula Kr\u00fady at the New York Coffee House, Frigyes Karinthy at the Central Coffee House, and Kosztol\u00e1nyi and M\u00f3ricz at the Hadik Coffee House, where, in addition to Kr\u00fady, some of the most beautiful lines of Hungarian literature were written. But the coffee house was not only for writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the citizens the coffee house was the noise of life<\/strong>. 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 \u2013 it was the official stage of the smooz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u2013 because everyone knew that what was said at the table stayed there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The verb "sm\u00fazolni" was used in Hungarian colloquial speech until the mid-20th century: \u201e"They were having sex at the table in the corner cafe."\u201d<\/em> Then the decades after the war slowly erased the word, like so many other things from bourgeois Budapest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we opened the Sm\u00faz Caf\u00e9 at Kossuth Lajos Square 18<\/strong>, in the immediate vicinity of the Parliament, on the side of Kossuth Square facing Margaret Bridge<\/strong>, we wanted to fill a gap. Downtown Budapest \u2013 and especially the area around the Parliament Building \u2013 is too busy these days. Diplomats, lawyers, tourists and shoppers rush through the square and don't have time to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What, in turn? we wanted them to stop with us<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 Sm\u00faz Blend coffee across three continents<\/strong>. To start a conversation over breakfast that grows into a business agreement or a lifelong friendship by the afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At \u201eThe word "smoothie" expresses exactly this.<\/strong>: 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 \u2013 the Catamaran-lettered menu, the sourdough bread for our egg breakfast, the windows overlooking the parliament and the barista who takes his time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, Sm\u00faz Caf\u00e9 is a place where every generation finds its own rhythm<\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here you will meet:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u2013 in the form of a \u201esmoothie\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word "smoothie" is used in our more than a company name \u2013 a philosophy<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next time you're looking for the Parliament in Budapest, come and have a Sm\u00faz. 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<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You've arrived at Sm\u00faz Caf\u00e9 \u2013 time stands still here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our address:<\/strong> 1055 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos Square 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phone:<\/strong> +36 30 954 4200<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe origin of the "smoothie": Yiddish roots, bourgeois spirit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The golden age of Budapest coffee houses and the smoothie<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why did we become Sm\u00faz Caf\u00e9?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Smoothies in the 21st century: where all generations meet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Smoothie as a philosophy of life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Interesting facts about the word "smoothie"<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Come to Sm\u00faz Caf\u00e9!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n