Around four hundred celebrities have visited Gundel over the years; famous actors, the world’s leading politicians and royalty have all dined at the legendary restaurant in City Park. To mark the 130th anniversary of the Gundel Palace, the restaurant is now making its famous guests’ Gundel experiences available as part of the ‘Celebrities’ Menu’ series. First of all, between 8 and 17 July 2024, dinner guests will be able to sample the „Four-Crown Menu” from the reception held in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Gundel building has been dedicated to hospitality and gastronomic excellence since 1894 and is celebrating the 130th anniversary of its founding this year. In keeping with the philosophy conceived and realised by Károly Gundel, the restaurant has always been a place characterised by hospitality, attentive service, innovation and a commitment to preserving tradition.

Gundel’s mission today is to nurture this legendary heritage, preserve its values and traditions, and share the experience with everyone. To mark this momentous anniversary, the Gundel team is further strengthening this commitment.

Celebrities’ Menus
The restaurant in Városliget is renowned for its recipes that have shaped Hungarian gastronomy, its centuries-old tradition of hospitality, its social awareness and its illustrious guests. Visits by royal and ecclesiastical dignitaries, princes, politicians and international celebrities have enriched the 130-year history of Gundel Palace. These famous guests have enjoyed special menus that were not available to others – until now.

To mark its 130th anniversary, and in keeping with its mission, Gundel is now making the Gundel experiences of its famous guests available to everyone, evoking those memorable flavours. Under the direction of executive chef Viktor Moldován, the restaurant is launching the ‘Celebrities’ Menu’ series.

The first event, a reception held in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, will feature the „Four Crowns Menu”, which – in the form of a dinner, with a simple table booking – will be available to anyone within a few weeks: this sumptuous selection will be available for ten days.

Elizabeth II in Hungary
The Queen of the United Kingdom and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, arrived in Hungary on 4 May 1993 at the invitation of Árpád Göncz, President of the Republic. During their four-day stay in Hungary – alongside the obligatory political engagements – the royal couple attended a performance of the ballet *Sleeping Beauty* at the Opera House, went on excursions to Kecskemét and Bugac, and had lunch at the Gundel restaurant. On 5 May 1993, at the distinguished ceremonial event

PRIME MINISTER JÓZSEF ANTALL AND HIS WIFE HOSTED A LUNCH IN HONOUR OF ELIZABETH II AND HER HUSBAND.

The lunch for 32 guests began with a reception for the royal couple in the Queen Elizabeth Ballroom, located on the upper floor of the Gundel Palace. The choice of Gundel and the luncheon held there were particularly significant because this was reportedly the only formal occasion during their four-day stay when the royal couple did not eat a meal prepared by the court chef they had brought with them from home.

„Gin and tonic, please”
Before the gala lunch, the kitchen prepared ten trial menus to ensure they could definitely be served within the exact time limit of 1 hour and 40 minutes. Alongside speed, quality was of course also a priority. The menu was handwritten, and the waiters were taught a special choreography.

THE SECTION OF ROAD IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING WAS COMPLETELY CLOSED OFF, ONLOOKERS LINED UP ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD, WAITING FOR THE CAR CARRYING THE QUEEN AND HER HUSBAND.

The guests were escorted up to the upper floor via the palace’s red marble staircase. The venue for lunch was the Queen Elizabeth Ballroom on the upper floor of the Gundel Palace, though guests enjoyed their welcome drinks on the upstairs terrace. The staff had prepared a selection of exquisite drinks, each better than the last, but Her Royal Highness suddenly said:

„GIN AND TONIC, PLEASE.”

According to one account from the Gundel Palace, no one had expected this, so Kálmán Kozma, the hotel manager, took the stairs three at a time down to the ground-floor bar to fulfil the request.

The dishes for the dinner were conceived by Kálmán Kalla, Gundel’s executive chef at the time, with the aim of incorporating the royal crown into the presentation of every dish. The pigeon essence proved the greatest challenge; here, the vegetables were ultimately shaped into tiny crowns. For the main course, the sirloin, arranged in braids, was grilled on a specially made mould, whilst the dessert was a strawberry parfait, presented in a magnificent giant pasta crown brought in on a trolley and piled high with strawberry goulash.

The Gundel team
Executive chef Viktor Moldován has been proving his mettle ever since Gundel opened in 2021. As a great enthusiast of classic Hungarian cuisine, he ran a Hungarian-style restaurant in Japan for many years, whilst mastering the highly disciplined and precise Japanese work culture and organisation. He is assisted in his work by András Wolf, one of the corporate chefs at the Eventrend Group; in fact, the two of them lead the kitchen team. Their work is supported by chef János Kovács and pastry chef Györgyi Dudok.

There was no need to write the Gundel menu – its backbone has been in place for more than eighty years. The dishes are based on the finest Gundel traditions, the centrepiece of which is the ‘Nemzeti11’ – the eleven iconic Gundel dishes, comprising the following:

Tokaji Aszú goose liver pâté with poppy seed bread;
goulash soup with homemade csipetke;
Homemade chicken soup with homemade noodles;
lamb soup;
Carpathian pike-perch fillet with mushrooms and prawns in a butter sauce;
chicken paprikash with nokedli and cucumber salad with sour cream;
Bakony sirloin with bacon and cottage cheese noodles;
Viennese schnitzel made from Mangalica pork, served with roasted parsley potatoes and homemade pickles;
the original Gundel pancake;
Somló dumplings;
and Rákóczi with cottage cheese and sour cream ice cream.
Over the past 125 years, Gundel’s reputation has spread across the globe, and world-famous public figures continue to enjoy the restaurant’s hospitality to this day.

HOWEVER, THE RESTAURANT WAS NOT JUST A PLACE FOR LUXURY DINNERS; ON THE TERRACE, THEY USED TO SERVE SALTED PRETZELS, draught beer and boiled eggs in gravy were also served on the terrace.

From the 1920s onwards, Gundel became a venue for elegant, large-scale events and a leading meeting place, yet visitors to the zoo and the English Park also enjoyed popping into the restaurant, as it was the height of fashion to dine at Gundel.

Gundel and Eventrend
In May 2021, the Eventrend Group took over the management of the world-famous Gundel and Bagolyvár. The contract to this effect was signed at the end of January 2021 with representatives of the owner, Danubius Hotels. At the time, the lessors stated that they had confidence in the professional expertise of Eventrend Group, which has significant experience in operating venues with a rich history and heritage.

Following the takeover, the group’s executives made the following statement:

This is a momentous occasion in our lives! We can continue to preserve and look after yet another special Budapest ‘bucket list’ destination, something of which we are very proud. Welcoming this new addition to our family is both an uplifting feeling and a great responsibility, as Gundel is a national treasure and a world-famous family brand. With over 30 years’ experience in hospitality and event organisation, our expertise and the enthusiasm of our entire team, we will preserve this reputation and enhance it to the best of our ability. Our aim is to ensure that the Gundel experience is not just available to a privileged few, but that anyone can enjoy it.

Who can find the crowns?
Gundel’s vast terrace and garden have always been a prime venue for social life in Budapest. The Eventrend Group has also refurbished the garden to create an outdoor space that is worthy of its history whilst meeting all modern requirements. Guests can therefore enjoy one of the dishes from the Nemzeti11 menu here, have Sunday lunch, or, for ten days between 8 and 17 July 2024, sample what Queen Elizabeth II The four-course menu is also available in two- or three-course versions.

For starters, there is pink-smoked salmon served with white asparagus and a sage sauce,
the soup is known as ‘pigeon essence’,
the main course: braided veal fillet, Queen Elizabeth style,
and the dessert is „Trompe l’Oeil strawberry parfait”.

The salmon is tender yet firm, with a pleasantly smoky flavour; the depth of the soup comes not only from the various vegetables and the flavour of the parsley oil, but also from the fact that the bones were browned before being added to the soup. The meat for the main course is braided, taking care to ensure it is cooked through all over, which is no mean feat. Wild rice and chanterelle mushrooms serve as the accompaniment in the centre of the braid. As for the dessert, the term ‘optical illusion’ might well be included in its name, as the parfait is also shaped like a strawberry.

The crowning glory of the dish, alongside the salmon, is provided by the vegetable garnishes: in the soup, we find crown-shaped carrots alongside the delicate pigeon meat dumplings; on top of the veal fillet, the royal crowns reappear in the form of potato crisps, whilst the dessert is accompanied by crown-shaped biscuits. The dishes are served on Herend porcelain with silver cutlery.

And if anyone fancies a gin and tonic with their dinner, they can have one at Gundel.