Hunglish.orgThe Gerbeaud cafe in Budapest is well-known for its pastries and ice cream, but there's also this intriguing little urban legend about the place...
Written by Scott Savoie
There is a cukrászda (confectionary) called the Gerbéaud on the corner of Vörösmarty Square in Budapest. In the spring and summer, they have cafe-style seating on the terrace. Gerbéaud also has a ice cream stand that serves of delicious scoops on fresh waffle cones.
The strange thing about this place is the urban legend that Gerbéaud is, or used to be, a gigolo pickup point.
There are various versions of the story. One goes something like this: When the woman orders a cappuccino with three sugars, she has to lay the sugars in a certain way ... and this is a signal for her to be introduced to a young male escort.
There are various versions that involve different numbers of sugars. Some of the legends involved ordering a certain type of pie.
There is probably no truth to the rumour, and one can guess that the rumour was probably started by the Gerbéau people themselves.
Who could blame them? Except for the 92-year-old woman in a dibetic coma who had 19 cups of coffee in a row with 72 sugars and nine alma rétes in a desparate attempt to get a date.