The legendary restaurant had been closed for a year and a half, but it has reopened today with a fresh concept, interesting ideas, an appealing menu and a revamped design.
Not only was the restaurant always elegant, but so was every single room in the house. This is where Zoltán Latinovits was born, and where Károly Gundel lived with his 13 children and their descendants. It was never merely a restaurant, but an integral part of Hungarian artistic and social life. But not just theirs: few people know that in the 1920s and 1930s, soldiers and maids, tired from their walks in City Park, would sit in the garden terrace enjoying salted pretzels and beer.
The legendary restaurant had been closed for a year and a half, but reopened on the 8th with a fresh concept, interesting ideas, an appealing menu and a revitalised design. The Eventrend Group, which has taken over operations – whilst Danubius Hotels (DH) remains the owner – has been working on the renovation of the building for months now, in the spirit of tradition and innovation. The contract regarding this was signed at the end of January 2021.
It is important to DH that the Gundel restaurant, a part of Hungary’s legendary culinary heritage, continues to be a key player in the country’s gastronomic scene; to this end, they sought out the most suitable strategic partner – according to the press release. The current management team – Norbert Polyák, Csaba Szabó and Jenő Magyary – as well as the chefs, Viktor Moldován and András Wolf, outlined the details of this complex undertaking during the tour of the premises.
Károly Gundel was constantly experimenting with new recipes: it was here that Palóc soup, chicken paprikash, Bakony mushroom ragout, pikeperch à la Kárpáti and Tokaj goose liver were created. It was Gundel who established the culture of Hungarian-style sauces and ragouts as we know them today. It was on his terrace that Jókai bean soup, Bakony mushroom ragout and Gundel pancakes were first served. Károly Gundel named certain dishes after his favourite regular guests. This is how, for example, Újházi chicken soup came into being, named after the actor Ede Újházi, Jókai bean soup, Munkácsy-style eggs and Feszty steak. Few people realise it, but they were also the ones who introduced Wiener Schnitzel to Budapest.
As for today’s offering, there was no need to write the main part of the menu, as it has been ready for 80 years – or so I heard from the chefs. The centrepiece of the menu is the ‘National 11’, the eleven iconic Gundel dishes regarded as part of the restaurant’s gastronomic heritage. High-quality ingredients, preserving traditions, and precise, uncompromising craftsmanship – that is the culinary motto.
A new feature is that the music café now opens at 9 am, where you can pop in for a good cup of coffee, a full breakfast, or simply a chat or a business meeting. Digital nomads are also very welcome.
By now, several generations have grown up without knowing what a ‘musical café’ is as a genre. Well, it has now been revived: the music at Gundel is provided by a female Roma band, who play in front of an authentic period horse-drawn carriage carrying young ladies, dressed in beautiful costumes. In the early 1900s, gentlemen would often be driven out to the Liget with a Romani band in a separate horse-drawn carriage behind them, providing music along the way. When they are not playing, live piano music is played. During the day, they also serve what is known as ‘afternoon tea’. In the evenings, the restaurant area on the gallery opens, where dinner guests are served in aristocratic style, with Zsolnay porcelain and silver cutlery.
Viktor Moldován, a highly skilled young chef, spent 14 years running a Hungarian-style kitchen in Japan, during which time he mastered the consistent and precise Japanese work ethic and kitchen organisation. Anyone who features authentic bejgli, Bácska-style rice-stuffed meat and chicken paprikash on the menu 8,500 kilometres from Budapest – and whose cooking is adored by Japanese diners – is truly a lover of Hungarian cuisine. He is supported in his work by the highly respected András Wolf, one of the corporate chefs at the Eventrend Group; together, the two lead the kitchen team.
Károly Gundel once put it this way: „We’re not a cheap place.” Gundel has always been a little more expensive than everyday restaurants, but cheaper than five-star hotels. In line with the ‘back to our roots’ concept, prices are still set accordingly, but the menu also features dishes and drinks that are affordable for everyone.
The refurbished interior also builds on the „back to our roots” theme. Two-thirds of the former restaurant area has been transformed into a classic café, with tables without tablecloths, small lamps, plenty of plants, elegant ornaments and antiques. They’ve even made sure not to leave out the fan palms, as these were a characteristic feature of the place back in the day, as were the shades of eosin blue and green, and the lush, slightly bohemian atmosphere.
The back wall of the restaurant is adorned with a 60-square-metre jungle-themed wallpaper, specially designed for this space. Elephants, the venue’s traditional symbols, also make a humorous reappearance in the interior – let’s not forget that the restaurant has always had close ties with the zoo. There is a unique dish that „arrives on the back of an elephant” – the food is served on top of a small porcelain elephant figurine. Interior designer Ildikó Hergenrőder and theatre director Zsolt Meskó are responsible for the interior design.
Over the past 125 years, presidents, queens and Hollywood celebrities have sat at these tables. That is why each table has been dedicated to a famous guest or a Gundel heir, chosen from the many hundreds of public figures, well-known stars, politicians and artists who have visited here over the past 100 years. Thus, tables have been named after Zoltán Latinovits, Queen Elizabeth II, Antonio Banderas, Angelina Jolie, Larry Hagman and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
