Its terrace tables are still just barely soaking up the fall sunshine, but it’s the interior which will draw the big crowds. And the crowds can now be a lot bigger, due to the expansion of the entire café; it’s stretched out long and lean, with room for quite a few more tables.

And the main room is non-smoking! Will wonders never cease? About time, too. Of course, there’s still a small side room to accommodate those annoying smokers, so the café won’t lose any of its previous customers. But for most of us, the smoke-free long room will allow us to savor the aromas of the tasty dishes and to taste the wonderful recipes offered on the Alibi’s menu without fighting our way through a thicket of burning leaves. ‘Nuff said.

The menu has been pared down and is now fully displayed on two blackboards, one in Hungarian and one in English. The offerings are limited, but that just makes them all the better, as the café can concentrate on a few items and get them exactly right. The menu changes almost daily, so no worries about any of the dishes getting boring. And the prices seem to have remained just about the same, which will be a boon to the student customers.

The ambience is still that of a warm, welcoming, comfortable place to while away the minutes until the next class or the hours until the next meeting. Dark wood paneling and cream-colored walls make it a relaxed and relaxing atmosphere, suitable for extended tête-à-têtes, a quick coffee or a quiet read through one of the local magazines scattered around the rooms. Personally, I would have liked more comfortable chairs in which to sit for those long coffee breaks, but that’s picky.

So drop by soon and watch Café Alibi’s giant coffee-bean-grinding machine busily at work; I’m told the resulting coffees are even better now. And, by the way, in my ‘umble opinion, Café Alibi still has the best hot chocolate in town!"

This opinion piece was sent to XpatLoop.com for publication by Gary Lukatch in Budapest.

They were not asked or paid to write this by XpatLoop.com and this opinion does not necessarily represent the views of this portal or its publisher, we are grateful for such contributions.

We encourage readers to share relevant opinion pieces of similar length via email for review before possible publication in accordance with our Copyright and Liability policies available for review via the links below. As always your comments about this article are welcome below.