When we think of Gundel, the first thing that springs to mind is that you have to be born into it. A sort of neo-Baroque palace right next to the Zoo in City Park – of course, it would be brilliant to give it a go, but it’s not a place for mere mortals. And yet, enjoying the original Hungarian gastronomic sensation created by Károly Gundel was certainly not the exclusive privilege of the wealthiest classes, although there’s no doubt they were frequent visitors to Gundel too. 10 things you’ve never thought of before when it comes to Gundel.

1. Gundel belonged to everyone!

There was no luxury, no privilege, no VIP treatment: every social class found something to suit them and a place of their own there. Gundel was a restaurant that welcomed everyone with open arms, anyone who wanted to feel at home and enjoy a good meal. With its wide range of prices, it appealed not only to celebrities but also to ordinary people.

2. Gundel is a must-visit destination even for world-famous public figures.

Over the course of its 127-year history, the venue has been visited by most of the celebrities who have come to Budapest. Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Luciano Pavarotti, Angelina Jolie and Arnold Schwarzenegger – it would take a very long time to list all the world-famous public figures who have stayed here.

3. Károly Gundel was an extremely enthusiastic experimenter.

It was thanks to his imagination, knowledge and exquisite taste, as well as the Gundel family’s keen creative drive, that dishes such as Palóc soup, paprika chicken, Bakony mushroom ragout, Fogas Kárpáti and Tokaji aszú goose liver were created… Gundel’s most famous creations were desserts, such as Gundel pancakes, Somlói Galuska and Rákóczi Túrós.

4. If anyone was simply in the mood for a simple meal, which they wanted to enjoy whilst listening to the rustling of the vast trees under the open sky, they found just that on the Gundel terrace.

Among other things, they served delicacies such as boiled eggs in goulash sauce, sausages in broth, and savoury pretzels with draught beer.

5. Gundel was not the preserve of just a select few.

It made catering for large crowds its mission. Its outdoor seating area was so vast that it could accommodate as many as 1,000 people. On peak days in May, 3,000 plates of food were served; they enjoyed a huge turnover, serving crowds of people.

6. At Gundel’s, nobody had to feel self-conscious about having a family lunch or dinner with a particularly lively little one.

Every member of the family was made to feel welcome, and the garden was full of children running about and having fun. Károly Gundel’s 13 children also grew up in the restaurant, whilst Zoltán Latinovits was born upstairs.

7. Gundel offered not only delicious dishes, but also a comprehensive experience.

The restaurant had its own 11-piece band, providing a continuous programme of live music. In this way, throughout the entire opening hours, they ensured that guests visiting Gundel were able to lose themselves as fully as possible in the enjoyment of the food, life and the moment.

8. Gundel was not just a restaurant, but also a creative workshop.

It has given us numerous dishes and flavour combinations that we now regard as the cornerstones of Hungarian cuisine, such as goose liver paired with Tokaji wine, or, within the category of sauces and stews, the sauce for chicken paprikash and the mushroom stew with paprika and sour cream. With astonishing perseverance, he sampled the various sauces, gravies and stews he had devised from different ingredients and in varying proportions; he spent months perfecting the Bakony mushroom stew, for example. It is thanks to him that we have the combination of cottage cheese, apricot jam and vanilla, the embodiment of which is the Rákóczi cottage cheese dessert; but he also conceived the complex flavour profile of another dessert, which, under the name Somlói galuska, has also become a famous Hungarian delicacy.

9. We have Gundel to thank for everyone’s favourite: the Wiener Schnitzel.

He introduced the art of breading from Turkey at a time when it was not at all widespread here. Breaded meat, or Wiener Schnitzel, was not strictly speaking Gundel’s invention, but it was thanks to him that it entered the Hungarian public consciousness; later, however, it took the country by storm, and its triumphant march continues unbroken to this day.

10. Not only was Károly Gundel not a chef, he never even held a wooden spoon in his life!

He was an incredibly talented gastronome; thanks to his wide-ranging, in-depth knowledge and his experimental approach, he succeeded in putting Hungary on the world’s gastronomic map.