Several pieces of literary genius were penned within the walls of the building, including pieces about New York coffee house,that resonate with us to this day!
“No Café, no literature!” Márai Sándor
„He usually worked in the main room, with six other colleagues. He found them rather troublesome. To ensure a measure of privacy, he pitched a makeshift canvas booth in one of the corners, but whenever it was sketches or anything requiring vivid language that he was writing, he found the booth inadequate at blocking out distractions, so he opted instead for the gallery of the Café; many of his articles ended up being written there. In those days, waiters were still expected to provide pen, ink, and writing paper, not to speak of credit, or – in the case of the universally beloved head waiter – even small loans. (According to legend, the supply of free ink was only stopped when Karinthy spilled half a bottle of it on the sofa – from then on, ink was out, and pencils were in.)” /Molnár Ferenc
“From whence do these strange, unfathomable friendships between customers and waiters spring? I’ve lost count of the number of such friendships I’ve made, from Fernand in Paris in Fiume Café, to wise Gyula in Otthon, to the “immortal” Gyula of Hungarian literature in New York Café, to weird and wily Ödön at the all-night bar. How their wit, kindness, and gentleness have sweetened my days , like that of the whipped cream and sugar they served with my coffee! If only one’s memory were able to hold all that goodness! I envy writers who pen their own autobiographies. I’m also taken aback: is that all? Has nothing else happened in their lives? This much and no more? They don’t mention the women who were there all their lives. They don’t mention the waiters who bore witness to their struggles and their adventures, the birth of their poems, their romances, their sorrows and their victories! But, above all, I pity those who’ve never savoured mysterious friendships like these, and saw only the tip they left, not the hand holding it, the hand waiting to be held.” /Heltai Jenő
“In the New York? I say, it’s so full of illiterate oiks now that Harsányi, the proprietor has expressly forbidden pen and ink to be handed out amongst them. Yes, because Karinthy has spilled ink all over the grey sofa.” Krúdy Gyula
“About whether or not man has free will, what shape plague bacteria might be, what the median wage in Britain is, how far to travel to get to Sirius, (…), whether homosexuality can be justified, or Anatole France is Jewish. They probed into the depths of anything and everything, quickly and thoroughly, because although they were all very young, barely in their twenties, they all felt rushed and pressed for time.” /Kosztolányi Dezső
“In the lavish New York Café, you got your shoes polished, your clothes ironed, could get a shave, a haircut and a manicure at all hours…The Café was also a workshop and a writer’s nook, and, if it came to it, lodgings and overnight accommodation too, as it was perfectly feasible to spend an entire day inside.” /Heltai Jenő