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“A legend born from a theatre play.”
The Gundel pancake is one of the most famous and iconic dishes in Hungarian dessert culture, and it is linked to a special event. In 1940, the premiere of a theatre play by the world-famous writer Sándor Márai was celebrated at the Gundel Restaurant, where a new dessert was created in honor of the occasion.
The pancake recipe was based on a family recipe belonging to Sándor Márai’s wife, Ilona Matzner, which the pastry chef prepared in the Gundel kitchen. The dessert was so successful that Károly Gundel refined the recipe and made it a permanent staple on the menu. It was then that it received the name by which it is still known today: Gundel pancakes.
What makes this dish special is not only its flavour but also the way it is prepared. The flambéed—or flaming—presentation adds a spectacular element to the experience, evoking the theatricality of hospitality. This technique later became an iconic part of the dish in the second half of the 20th century.
At Gundel, pancakes still offer the same experience today: a dessert that embodies history, tradition, and the spectacle of hospitality all at once.
An icon of the Gundel experience—try the original.
A stuffed, flambéed Hungarian dessert.
Made according to Sándor Márai's family recipe and perfected by Károly Gundel.
The flaming presentation and the rich filling.
In 1940, at a theater premiere.
At Gundel Restaurant.
Everything is made exactly as Gundel specified in the original recipe. The pancakes are made with a lot of eggs so that they can be cooked to the right thickness for the filling. The chopped walnuts are lightly toasted in hot flavoured sugar syrup and fresh orange peel is added to make the filling so delicious. Brush the filled pancakes with sugar butter and caramelise until crispy. Topped with a real chocolate glaze and lightly toasted walnuts.
Interestingly, the dessert known to everyone as the “Gundel pancake” is not the restaurant’s own invention. The restaurant was celebrating the premiere of a theatre play by Sándor Márai, the world-famous 20th-century writer, when the writer’s wife had the pastry chef prepare it based on a family recipe. Károly Gundel liked the pancake so much that he immediately added it to the menu under the name “Márai Pancake.” It was renamed the “Gundel Pancake” after the Márais emigrated. The flambéed (flaming) preparation method, which Gundel himself invented, is quite spectacular.
There's a dish at the Gundel Restaurant that everyone has heard of and is almost a legend in Hungary. The Gundel pancake is a deservedly famous Hungarikum. It is made at many places, but unfortunately, not according to the original recipe. That's why foreign guests don't understand why a walnut pancake with chocolate sauce is so famous. That is why we would like to show you the real flavours of this gem of our gastronomic heritage.
