Cafe Brunch Budapest Featured in Dining Guide: The Story Behind Our Ten-Location Restaurant Group
- Cafe Brunch Budapest
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
What began as a small breakfast café near the Hungarian State Opera House has grown into a restaurant group with ten locations in Budapest, Szentendre and Győr. Dining Guide recently interviewed Cafe Brunch Budapest founder and owner Tamás Korchmáros about the journey behind the brand, the challenges of building a hospitality business and the plans shaping its next chapter.
The interview tells a story that started long before the first Cafe Brunch restaurant opened.
From international banking to hospitality
Before entering the hospitality industry, Tamás studied economics in Vienna and worked for international banks in Frankfurt, Zurich and London. His career involved frequent travel across Europe, America, Asia and the Middle East, giving him the opportunity to experience many different restaurants and styles of service.
After returning to Budapest in 2013, he initially focused on managing short-term rental apartments. Guests repeatedly asked where they could find a good breakfast in Budapest, but at the time the city offered far fewer dedicated breakfast and brunch restaurants than it does today.
A barista course, received as a Christmas gift, helped turn the idea of opening a small café into a concrete business plan.
The first Cafe Brunch in Budapest
The first Cafe Brunch Budapest opened in Hajós Street in September 2017, close to the Hungarian State Opera House and Andrássy Avenue. The original restaurant occupied only around 40 square metres, with ten indoor seats and a small terrace.
The concept was straightforward: serve quality coffee, fresh breakfasts and welcoming hospitality throughout the day.
The restaurant quickly attracted not only international visitors but also local guests. As demand increased, the original location was expanded, while the larger Brunch Bistro Budapest opened on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Road in 2019.
The early years involved constant learning, experimentation and difficult decisions. Those experiences eventually became the foundation for the operational standards, training systems and management processes used across the group today.
Surviving the pandemic and choosing a direction
The hospitality industry faced an unprecedented crisis in 2020. One of the expanded Cafe Brunch restaurants reopened only days before pandemic restrictions forced it to close again.
During this period, the company experimented with delivery, sandwiches and other products that could travel more successfully than traditional breakfast dishes. The main priority was to preserve the team and give employees as much stability as possible.
At the same time, Tamás had to choose between continuing the apartment management business and focusing fully on hospitality. The decision was made to concentrate the company’s knowledge, energy and resources on the restaurants.
That focus became a turning point in the development of Cafe Brunch Budapest.
Ten locations and more than one hundred colleagues
Cafe Brunch now operates ten locations: eight in Budapest, one in Szentendre and one in Győr. The group employs more than one hundred colleagues.
The network includes restaurants near several of Budapest’s best-known landmarks and neighbourhoods, including the Hungarian State Opera House, St. Stephen’s Basilica, the Great Market Hall, the Danube riverbank, Deák Square and the Chain Bridge.
The Szentendre restaurant brought the concept to one of Hungary’s most visited riverside towns, while the Győr location became an important test of how the brand performs in a market that depends more heavily on Hungarian guests.
Although the individual restaurants have different layouts, surroundings and local characteristics, the objective is to provide a consistent Cafe Brunch experience at every location.
Hungarian breakfast and international brunch favourites
A defining feature of the Cafe Brunch menu is the combination of Hungarian breakfast traditions with internationally recognised brunch dishes.
Guests can choose from Hungarian-inspired breakfasts alongside Eggs Benedict, avocado toast, pancakes, French toast, omelettes and other all-day breakfast favourites.
Seasonal offers allow the chefs to experiment with new ingredients and ideas throughout the year. Successful seasonal dishes may later become part of the permanent menu. This system creates space for creativity while ensuring that new dishes are tested through real guest feedback.
The Hungarian character of the menu is particularly important. International visitors often want to discover local flavours, while Hungarian guests appreciate familiar dishes presented in a modern brunch setting.
Our own artisan bakery and locally roasted specialty coffee
Quality bread and pastries have always been central to the Cafe Brunch concept. In 2022, the company established its own artisan bakery to produce sourdough bread, croissants and other pastries for the restaurant group.
The bakery gives the team greater control over quality, consistency and product development. It also operates as an experimental workshop where new bakery products and sandwiches can be tested before being introduced more widely.
Coffee is equally important. Since the beginning, Cafe Brunch has worked with a local roasting partner to develop its own 100% Arabica coffee blend. The medium roast profile was designed to balance sweetness, fruitiness and pleasant acidity, making it accessible to a broad range of guests.
The group later expanded its coffee expertise by establishing a barista academy, where both Cafe Brunch colleagues and external participants can learn professional coffee preparation.
Building a family-friendly and dog-friendly brunch experience
Cafe Brunch restaurants aim to welcome different types of guests, including families, travellers, local residents and people visiting with dogs.
Where space allows, locations offer children’s play corners and baby-changing facilities. All Cafe Brunch restaurants are dog friendly, with dogs welcomed both on the terraces and inside the restaurants.
Vegetarian and vegan choices are available, while many dishes served with bread can also be ordered with gluten-free bread. Plant-based milk alternatives are offered for coffee and other drinks.
The purpose behind these details is simple: guests should feel that their needs have been considered before they arrive.
The next chapter: franchise growth and new cities
The Dining Guide interview also looks ahead.
After years of standardisation, training development and investment in the bakery and central operations, Cafe Brunch has created a system that can support further expansion.
The Cafe Brunch Anker restaurant operates as the group’s first franchise location. Its strong first year demonstrated that the concept can work successfully with the right local partner while maintaining the same brand standards and guest experience.
Future growth may include franchise restaurants in Hungarian cities such as Pécs, Szeged or Debrecen. Vienna could eventually become the first international location.
The objective is not growth at any cost. Every new restaurant must be economically sustainable and capable of delivering the same quality, hospitality and all-day breakfast experience associated with Cafe Brunch Budapest.
From a ten-seat café in Hajós Street to a ten-location restaurant group, the Cafe Brunch story has developed far beyond its original plan. The next challenge is to preserve what made the first restaurant successful while building a brand that can continue to grow.
Read the full interview with Tamás Korchmáros on Dining Guide.
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