Szatyor Bar - Plastic Bag Bar reopens after 100 years in Buda

Szatyor means plastic bag in Hungarian. Szatyor means now also the end of the ruin bar thirst on the Buda side.


 The bar got its name from our famous writer Karinthy Frigyes. When he first entered the underground floor of the Hadik Café, and saw the mat overlay on the walls, he exclaimed: "My dears, this is nothing but a Szatyor (plastic bag)!
Karinthy's works have been also translated to more foreign languages, one of his  famous ironic books about school life can be read here . For those with hard nerves, I can recommend Journey Round my Skull where he writes about his brain tumor operation experience.










      Nowadays there are neither mats nor plastic bags in this place but at least Budapest regained a cult place to go out, or actually even two: The famous old Hadik Cafe reopened and side by side a contemporary design bar awaits the youth and young-at-hearts.
      Hadik Cafe was a common and beloved meeting point for Karinthy Frigyes and Kosztolányi Dezső writers (nearby streets and squares bare their names) in the golden 20s. Later during the century it lost its fame and functioned till recently as a shoe shop. Finally, the 11th district's municipality decided to revive its old vibe.  As you can read on Szatyor's blog, even the descendants of the old owner's family, the Kaisers came to pay  visit to the old-new place.

     The Hadik Cafe's style takes you on a travel in time, and you can feel that cozy old cafe feeling, where writers were scribbling their world-changing poems on the napkins, businesses were set and lovers took secret rendezvous... The decoration might suggest high prices, but it is rather affordable.

If you are more into our Budapest ruin pubs and contemporary art stuff, go further to the left. Szatyor is modest from outside, you can fairly distinguish it from Hadik, but once stepped inside you will feel the difference. The owner asked 18 young contemporary Hungarian artists to splash their art on the walls, ceiling, wherever - the result is a joyful colourful chaos.Some consider it too artifical but as long as it is comfy, who cares? And the place is full even on a Sunday evening.

Actually, it might be a perfect place for a Sunday beer, an afternoon coffee, or a midday milkshake.



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Bakonyi Zsuzsa

http://szatyorbar.blog.hu/