Where to get the best hot chocolate in Budapest?

Budapest is a great city for hot chocolate, and the Hungarian kind is thick, closer to melted pudding than to a drink. In winter it gets dark around four, so a café stop fits into the day naturally.

A note on prices. The grand historic cafés are beautiful, and part of what you pay for is the chandeliers. Treat one as a special treat, not your daily coffee.

The grand cafés

• Párisi Passage Café (our pick). It sits under a glass dome in a Moorish-style arcade at Ferenciek tere, a few minutes from Vörösmarty tér. You get the wow of a historic interior with a quieter table, and it fits easily between a market and a bath. It does not take reservations, so just walk in.
• New York Café. Open since 1894, with twisted marble columns, frescoes and chandeliers. Expect a queue, so go right at opening on a weekday. Try the hot chocolate with 24-carat gold.
• Gerbeaud. On Vörösmarty tér since 1858, right next to the Christmas market.
• Central Café (Centrál Kávéház). A literary café from 1887 with high ceilings and marble tables. Quieter than the New York, and it usually has no long queue.
• Művész Kávéház. A calmer classic on Andrássy út, opposite the Opera, founded in 1898 and open daily from 9:00 to 20:00. A good stop after the Opera visit.

For the perfect cup

• Rengeteg RomKafé. A cosy café on Szinyei Merse utca full of teddy bears, where you choose the type of chocolate, the toppings and the flavours from more than a thousand combinations. It is thick enough to need a spoon. Everything is made fresh, so there is often a wait. Bring some patience.

Retro and local
If you would rather skip the chandeliers, try Bambi Eszpresszó (Frankel Leó út 2–4, Buda), a 1960s time capsule with red banquettes where breakfast is served all day, or Ibolya Espresso (Ferenciek tere 5), a retro presszó from 1968 a few steps from the Párisi Passage. Both are unpretentious and cheap.