Massolit Budapest Books and Café — Restaurant in Budapest

It was a much better place 2 years ago, but I had really weird experiences especially last few times. One of them: one day I was studying there but also charging my phone because my battery was about to die. Owner of the place (I knew she was the owner because I visited this place lots of times) came with a disrespectful attitude and unplugged my phone without even asking and complained about the costumers using electricity !??. I was really shocked but did not care because I really liked the vibe there. Today I went there with my dog because they are advertising themselves by being dog-friendly. When I arrived, I learned that dogs were not allowed in garden because of neighbors (completely understandable). Then I said it is okay for me and we can also sit inside. Then the person working told me that there is no place even though I was able to see many empty spots. I showed a chair and said "look there is a place there" and then went and sit there. However, after sitting in a chair for 1 hr, my back hurt and just wanted to sit to nearest chair for only 5 min (many places were empty again). I realized that it was a no-computer table (I really appreciate this approach too btw), but I just wanted to sit for 5 min and did not want to to carry my dog and things to another place only for 5 min. Person directly came to me and said that this was a no-computer table. I was just trying to say I was going to sit only 5 min and almost all other places were empty, so I should not have been a problem for only 5 min. But she interrupted me by sayin "We know but it is not allowed" (to add his person was not rude while saying that, but just impatient and did not feel any need to listen to me). I know and really appreciate that you (Massolit) have values and this was the reason I like this place. However, maybe you can try to more customer friendly. Good cafe, good vibe but decreasing quality of service. To be honest, there are better places in Budapest to study and chill these days. Therefore, after writing this review, I will leaving the place and I don't think I will be visiting again for a while....

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This afternoon I decided to join one of my colleagues for his coffee break as he told me that there is a nice indie book store / coffee shop just a few corners away from our office. This place. At this point I had already drunk my post-lunch coffee and since the place doesn

t offer mineral water I decided just to accompany him, have a glass of tap water and look around. (My colleague ordered a croissant and a coffee and we went ahead and sat down at the garden area of the place which was completely empty.) The waitress did give me a strange look upon that request but I didnt make much of a deal of it.  Few minutes later the same waitress appeared and told us that it is mandatory for both of us to consume something as it the rule of the garden

which was supposedly written on blackboard right next to us – and it was also mandatory to order whatever we consumed at the counter. She gave me the option to pay 500 HUF/hour to stay at the place, which I found appalling and refused. Few minutes later, the manager (I suppose) appeared and explained the house rules for both of us and insisted that I pay the 500 HUF so that I can stay. At this point we asked her if it would make a difference if I had the croissant and my colleague would have the coffee as my intention was solely to accompany my colleague and take a look around, to which she responded that this is how the place supports itself and paying is sort of a filter against the like of us. Not sure what to make of this but this was my...

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I don’t usually post reviews, especially negative ones, but this experience was a bit sad. The place looks really cool, welcoming, I love the concept. However, the waiting time was extreme. When I put my order in I saw that they had issues with their coffee grinder and due to that I ordered a simple lemonde, so that I wouldn’t have to wait too long. I asked if I can go out back to wait for the order and they said that they’ll come let me know when it’s ready. After about 10min I went to the toilet and looked if my order was ready, it wasn’t. After 25min I went inside again to check, nothing. I saw that they were busy though so I didn’t want to add to the stress by going past people standing around the bar and the staff working on other orders. After about 50min I finally got to the counter and asked where my order was and one of the baristas said that they called out for me and because I didn’t show up they gave my order to someone else. I said that I didn’t hear them, and that I’m sorry. I get that it’s stressful when something doesn’t work, especially when there’s many people waiting, I also work as a barista, but the least you can do is apologize :/ I paid a lot for a standard lemonade that I then got after almost an hour of waiting. If I hadn’t paid right after ordering I...

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