My favorite thing about Fruccola, which opened a few months back on Arany János in District V, is the orange juice squeezer. It is worth going just to watch it in action, robotically juicing orange after orange and spitting the spent peels out the side like ammunition shells. And, of course, there is nothing wrong with the fresh-squeezed orange juice, either, and here it flows at Ft 200 (€0.80) per deciliter, or less, if you order more.

Fruccola took the place of the short-lived Goldberger Café, on the ground floor of the building of the same name, which currently serves as the headquarters of the Open Society Archives, which is affiliated with Central European University, an institution that by coincidence is currently in the throes of other food-related dramas.

It is already a popular lunch spot, and most of the tables were still filled by the time I rolled in well after the daily rush. On the recommendation of the barista, I went for the soup and baguette menu for Ft 890. The shrimp soup was pungent with tamarind and swimming with tiny, sweet shrimp, and very flavorful. The baguette stuffed with rocket, sweet bell peppers and smeared with grainy French mustard, was also quite satisfactory, though I would not say it was exactly bulging with chicken. Also available are salads made to order from an array of ingredients and toppings. They are huge and generously adorned, the price ranging depending on how you order.

Don't get me wrong: I like Fruccola. But there is something a little oppressive about the bright cheerfulness of the space. Meanwhile, their motto - "Fruccola makes us happy. Happy is good" - seems a bit Orwellian for the "house" café of an institution devoted to archiving communist propaganda. This wouldn't matter if everything they offered was actually happiness-making. But the ginger/lemon Citrus (non-alcoholic) Fröcc I had for Ft 320, which was totally devoid of bubbles and ginger flavor, made me unhappy. And unhappy is not good. In fact, it's double-plus ungood.

Though it resembles no other café in Budapest, Fruccola is quite similar to a more international breed of café - epitomized by the more recently-opened Kiskőleves - that emphasizes fresh juice, premium ingredients and gourmet coffee drinks, like the one pictured above left. Only open on weekdays, Fruccola's target market is drawn from the banks and offices in the area, providing a quick breakfast or lunch option for those in a hurry. But what about those of us who are not in a hurry? Well, there's always that orange juice squeezer.