I guess these days the so-called “McCafe”s managed by McDonald’s are the life-style and style conscious version of the fast food chain though I don’t really know for sure as I never go to McDonald’s or the other version when I’m in Tokyo.
We knew there was one McDonald’s that was supposed to be housed in an elegant old building that was worth visiting in Budapest but since we neglected to do our homework, we didn’t know exactly where we could find it or how it was significant.
So we were pleasantly surprised when we visited the Budapest Nyugati pályaudvar, the “West” railway station, which we read was designed and built by the Eiffel Company, the same people that built the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Budapest Nyugati pályaudvar
It was when we were entering the building that we saw the M sign.
Note the yellow M.
We went in and exclaimed, “This is it!”
It is quite stunningly beautiful. This is taken from the balcony opposite the entrance.
Downstairs is your regular "McDonald's" and upstairs is "McCafe".
The lamps which are obviously new add a very warm feel to the place.
We opted for McCafe.
A blog by Ayako Mathies 
haha they have a pretty ones in Paris too. In fact the golden arches are so stylish that they aren’t yellow! They are white to match the rest of the buildings 🙂
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I remember when there was a big controversy about opening a McDonald’s in Paris (on Champs-Élysées?) and which they did open but was forced to go out of business later on (not sure if this last piece of info is accurate).
It’s great that they went to change the color of the “M”. That’s what 7-11 does here (in Tokyo) when it opens in newer, more elegant shopping complexes.
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Mcdonalds definitely outdone itself here in budapest!!! thats really pretty!
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I can be going to tihs Mcdonald’s everyday just for the ambience!
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I’d never guess that’s a McDonalds if you hadn’t told me!
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Haruko-chan, pardon my delayed response. I guess it’s like housing a McDonald’s inside one of your beautiful shopping arcades in Brussels!
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Yes that’s true. One of the only Starbucks that we have in Belgium is housed in the historical Antwerp Station building. The ceiling looks like a rough medieval castle or wine cellar ceiling or something. A very strange combination with the typical Starbucks vibe.
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This is so strange (for an American, familiar only with traditional McDonald’s).
My understanding is that McCafes only sell coffee and pastry, and not the full McDonald’s menu, although other online postings seem to disagree about this. As far as I know there’s only one McCafe in the US, in Chicago, whereas there are both McDonalds and McCafes all over the world. In fact, I think I remember reading that McCafe is the leading coffee vendor in Australia and New Zealand. If you Google “McCafe” you get a raft of discussion about how much better the espresso drinks are in the McCafe than in other nearby local establishments. I find this difficult to believe as far as Paris goes, but I admit I’ve never been in the Paris McCafe.
Great photographs! I probably would have taken a break from sight-seeing and ordered an espresso myself! Ken
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Hi Ken, I found this article from The Japan Times, an English-language newspaper based in Tokyo. It answers all our questions (at least for Japan and McDonald’s would obviously have different marketing strategies in different parts of the world, I’d imagine) though you can’t really tell how good its coffee may be!
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20070830a1.html
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If MacDonalds looked as good as that worldwide I might go into one. Budapest is a bit far for a Macafe – I think any distance is a bit far for a Macafe! Budapest looks great.
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Haha. Maybe if there was one housed in an old traditional Japanese building/house, that could be interesting. I have been to a couple of Italian restaurants like that here. The only problem may be that there aren’t many old buildings available in central Tokyo.
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[…] zich niets speciaals denk je maar als je de integratie van het oude gebouw met een vestiging van Mc Donalds zal zien, ben je ongetwijfeld onder de indruk. Weinig of geen lichtreclame, een sfeervolle […]
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