Gundel is better and more effective publicity for Budapest than a shipload of tourist brochures. This is how the New York Times raved when reviewing the official restaurant of the Hungarian pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair. The celebrated man after whom the restaurant is named learnt his craft in the finest French, English, Swiss and German establishments. The bar has been set high for anyone following in the founder’s footsteps. Viktor Moldován (on the left in our photo), head chef at the reopened Gundel Kert – whose Hokkaido restaurant, Víz, was the first Hungarian establishment abroad to be included in the local Michelin Guide – has taken up the challenge.

Let’s be honest: gastronomy, when practised well, is like poetry. I was thinking about this the last time I visited – or, more accurately, dined at – the reopened Gundel Kert, where the restaurant’s two chefs were discussing the dishes. The chefs pay particular attention to proportions and emphasis, just as in a poem. ‘At Gundel, we portion out every ingredient and take our time over the cooking. The base for the goulash, for example, is cooked for two and a half to three hours, and only then is the meat added. That’s when the dish acquires the depth on which we can build,’ says chef Viktor Moldován, before his colleague, András Wolf, adds: ‘We love it when the ingredients work in synergy with one another.’.

At the reopened Gundel, not only has the menu been revamped, but the outdoor seating area has also been given a makeover. The old dark parasols have been replaced with light-coloured ones, a trickling fountain has been installed in the centre of the space, and alongside the plane and chestnut trees, oleanders and palm trees have been planted, from which golden-coloured animals – such as gorillas and flamingos – gaze out at us, a nod to the neighbouring zoo. ‘We look forward to welcoming not only tourists but also Hungarians to the revamped Gundel. We no longer have a dress code, as in the old days, and we are a child- and dog-friendly venue’ – says Norbert Polyák, the restaurant’s manager, adding that during the restaurant’s refurbishment, they researched every aspect of the Gundel family’s heritage to restore the venue’s original atmosphere even more fully.

But let’s get back to the menu – we are, after all, talking about Gundel. The selection includes lighter dishes – such as lecsó with Mangalica sausage and eggs – as well as heartier options – such as goulash soup with homemade csipetke or matured sirloin, Budapest-style. We must also mention the desserts, and you can never go wrong with the original Gundel pancakes. We tried them ourselves and can attest that the chocolate sauce and walnut filling were a heavenly combination.

A chef who has been to Japan

At Gundel, of course, it goes without saying that the menu is impeccable; after all, the restaurant has boasted excellent chefs since its inception. However, not even Gundel has ever had a chef quite like Viktor Moldován, who popularised Hungarian cuisine in Japan. – I never wanted to leave Hungary. I always wanted to cook Hungarian dishes and showcase them at home. Then, one day fifteen years ago, I received two job offers from Tokyo, from two different places at that. I felt it was fate.

Moldován began working as head chef at the Hungarian Embassy in the Japanese capital, which meant he could continue to prepare Hungarian dishes. And although his posting was for five years, at the request of his wife, whom he had met whilst there, he stayed in the country, where he soon went on to run a restaurant called Víz on the island of Hokkaido.– Hungarian cuisine is rarely found in Japan, especially of a high standard, says Moldován, who eventually realised that Hokkaido and Hungary lie in the same climate zone, meaning that the vegetables available are similar. ‘In the southern part of Japan – on the islands of Kyushu, Honshu and Okinawa – completely different vegetables grow to those we have here, but fortunately in Hokkaido the selection is the same,’ he says.

His Japanese employer was also pleased with Moldován’s meticulous style, so the Hungarian chef remained in the country for a further eight and a half years. The Víz restaurant, which he managed, became the first Hungarian restaurant outside Hungary to be included in the local Michelin Guide.

Precision to the recipe

On his return to Hungary, Moldován realised there was work to be done in the field of Hungarian gastronomy. When chef András Wolf asked him to join Gundel, he set to work straight away. “I wrote down each recipe down to the gram, be it paprika chicken, Carpathian pikeperch or butcher’s stew. We don’t work by eye. We know exactly how much water, salt and vegetables each dish requires, and how long it needs to be cooked for. This is the only way to consistently deliver the same quality,’ explains the master chef. When they cooked their first dishes together with András Wolf in the Gundel kitchen, and then tasted the results with spoons in hand, they immediately identified what makes a dish good. According to Wolf, if you can’t stop tasting it, then the dish is ready.

The history of Gundel dates back to 1866, when the Zoo opened in the City Park, alongside which a restaurant was established – on the site of today’s restaurant. Its first notable owner was Ferenc Wampetics, who financed the refurbishment in 1894 after the venue had become increasingly well-known amongst artists and politicians alike. In 1910, the restaurant was taken on lease by Károly Gundel, who renamed it Gundel Restaurant and, in doing so, revolutionised Hungarian hospitality and cuisine. He introduced classic dishes such as Újházi chicken soup and Palóc soup.

Gundel flourished even between the two world wars; over time, it took over the restaurants at the Gellért Hotel, and its reputation spread as far as overseas: in 1939, it became the official restaurant of the Hungarian pavilion at the New York World’s Fair. Moreover, during Károly Gundel’s lifetime, not only did the business expand, but his family grew too: he had thirteen children and twenty-six grandchildren.

However, the restaurant did not escape nationalisation in 1949, and the family were exiled to a farmstead because of their German origins. The restaurant was initially run by the National Tourism Hotel and Restaurant Company, then became part of HungarHotels, and was later incorporated into the Forum Hotel. It closed in 1973 and reopened in 1980.

The „revival” was brought about by György Láng, who left Hungary in 1947 and went on to become a world-renowned restaurateur in New York. With funding from his friend Ronald Lauder – one of the heirs and directors of the Estée Lauder empire – he relaunched the restaurant, and managed to secure Kálmán Kalla as head chef, who revived the old recipes.

In 2004, Gundel was taken over by CP Holding, owned by the British Schreier family, and the restaurant thus became part of the Danubius hotel chain. Since last year, Gundel and the associated Bagolyvár Event Venue have been operated by the Eventrend Group.