Király utca has come full-circle. Once a lively shopping street, after World War Two stucco crumbled from the elegant buildings and shops were nationalized. Over the past few years, galleries and design shops have slowly begun to make their way back to “King Street,” and some of the city’s coolest open-air drinking spots are within steps. In 2005 the street got a much-needed renovation. But the construction was shoddy, the sidewalks are falling apart, and some of the new buildings are hideous. The plan was to make Király utca a walking street, but it didn’t really turn out that way. Nevertheless, the designers and artists keep coming and Király utca is on its way to being the place in Budapest to shop for designer home furnishings. New places are constantly opening—surely a good omen—but it remains a work-in-progress.
Király utca begins near Deák Ferenc tér and forms the edge of the Jewish quarter. Andrassy út is two blocks west and theatre-lined Nagymező utca and café-filled Liszt Ferenc tér intersect. VAM Design Center (Király utca 26) is the street’s largest gallery, occupying an entire building with a café in the covered courtyard surrounded by artwork hanging on exposed brick walls. The four-year-old Inda Gallery (Király utca 34) hosts a dozen exhibitions annually and represents 14 artists. G13 Art Gallery (Király utca 13) is located in Gozsdu udvar—a complex of seven buildings linked by six courtyards that was restored in 2008. Sirály (Király utca 50), a star of the neighborhood’s alternative cultural scene, has a bar, a café and performance/exhibition space on three levels. The edgy Boulevard & Brezsnyev Gallery (Király utca 39-46) specializes in young, unknown artists.
Müller Mónika (Király utca 36) was the first designer to arrive on Király utca. Her shop stocks her own designs, crafted by local mill workers, artists, and restorers. KARE (Király utca 43-45) is the Budapest outlet of the German home-furnishing brand, and is already rallying the street’s businesses and planning art exhibitions. On its opening-day, owner Ágnes Déri held a festival showcasing the street’s design shops, and hopes to make it a regular event (the next one is coming up on June 19th). “Király utca used to be one of Budapest’s most famous shopping streets and trade centers,” said Déri, “and I really believe this will become the single famous furniture and design street in Budapest.” Goa Home (Király utca 1921) has several storefronts brimming with pieces from around the world. Arioso (Király utca 9) stocks international houseware, stunning flowers, and French food products by La Petite Francaise. Be sure to check out the small green courtyard café. Látomás (Király utca 39) sells one-off fashions designed by a longtime Budapest expat.
At night, the neighborhood fills with drinkers heading to the kerts—which spring up in empty, grungy buildings—for cheap beer and wine. Graffiti-covered Kuplung (Király utca 46) is located on the site of a former motorcycle repair. Café Bobek (Kazinczy utca 51), named for a Communist-era cartoon character, has tables in a green yard. Kőleves Kert (Kazinczy utca 35) serves food from its own restaurant, and the outdoor bar has swings for barstools and other playground-like effects. Around the corner, Mumus (Dob utca 18) is two levels, with a piano bar and barstools made of stacked beer boxes. Take a walk on Király utca for some of Budapest’s hippest venues, from high-concept design shops to retro bars. The best part: the feeling that lots more is yet to come.
–Carolyn
