As part of our ongoing drive to get out and actually, you know, review some restaurants, we headed over the other night to the New York Kávéház, the legendary café/restaurant that re-opened last year under Italian ownership after being closed for renovations for half a decade. But almost as soon as we walked in, we promptly turned around and walked out, having decided that we didn’t feel like eating dinner under what we estimate to be a billion candlepower of decidedly non-atmospheric lighting.
We’ll admit to being a little bit sensitive to what we consider inappropriate lighting in restaurants and other such establishments, and can similarly understand why the New York would want to highlight every nook and cranny of the café’s majestically crafted interior. Still, you’d have to be blind not to notice that something is out of whack here. Worse, the NY’s otherwise attractive upstairs bar (above) is similarly lit up like Times Square, except brighter. And all this may explain why both places were virtually empty when we visited.
So if anyone over at the NY is reading this, here’s our tip for the day: Dim the damn lights, dudes. Meanwhile, if you don’t have dimmers, go down to the nearest electrician shop and ask for a fényszabályozó. And if you can’t pronounce fényszabályozó, well, just invite someone from the store over for a coffee – they’ll immediately know what you’re looking for.
