Antique Cafe

V60, AeroPress and Mizudashi on the brew bar

The filter list is the reason to take Antique Cafe seriously: V60, AeroPress and Mizudashi cold brew, all sitting behind a classic Italian espresso and a rotation of blends and single origins. That covers both kinds of coffee drinker, the one who wants a quick espresso on the way past and the one who wants twenty minutes and a slower brewed cup. The shop calls itself Specialty Coffee and Tea, and the second half of that is not decoration.

Tea, cocoa and a long cold list

Quality tea blends and specialty teas share the board with the coffee, along with homemade syrup, and the cold and seasonal drinks run further than most café lists: iced matcha tonic, iced chai latte, cold brew and tonic, fruit juices, and hot chocolate in both a handmade and a classical version, made with plantation-selected cocoa beans. Food is deliberately in a supporting role, with croissants, light French pastries and other fresh bakes rather than a kitchen.

The room is small, with only a few tables inside and a sunny terrace when the weather allows. Service is friendly and professional, and the atmosphere is calm, which makes a focused coffee, tea and pastry break the right use of the place rather than a long working session. It sits on Petőfi Sándor sugárút, a busy avenue, and manages to stay quieter than its address suggests. Szeged’s newer café scene is where it belongs.

Order the iced matcha tonic, then a croissant

Start with the iced matcha tonic, the clearest named drink here and the one that shows how the tea-room half and the cold-drink half of the menu overlap. If you want coffee cold instead, take the cold brew and tonic; if you want something spiced and milky, the iced chai latte is the other named order. For a warmer visit, work through espresso, a single origin, or one of the filter brews, then set it against a specialty tea or a handmade hot chocolate. Add a croissant or a light French pastry rather than expecting a plate of food. That is the shape of a good hour here: one brew method, one tea or cocoa, one pastry, and a seat on the terrace if there is one free.