Even today, the legendary 130-year-old restaurant in Városliget is open to everyone.

130 years ago, the Gundel. Waiters who can already communicate in sign language for the birthday and this year’s Easter, and Braille-A printed menu also awaits guests, with the aim of ensuring that Gundel remains accessible to everyone today! The restaurant is not only the National11 It carries on not only through its menu, but also through its hospitality Károly Gundel its heritage.

People with hearing and visual impairments also receive special attention in the At the Gundel restaurant. The waiting staff have learnt basic sign language in both English and Hungarian, whilst those with visual impairments Braille-From a written menu, you can learn about the history of the dishes served at Hungary’s most famous restaurant, and the National 11. 

A short film about Gundel has also been made, which Péter Bergendy directed by a film director. 

Restaurant – Ours, the Hungarians’
Jenő Magyary, Managing Director of Gundel, explained that, alongside its legendary hospitality, social responsibility and sensitivity have always been part of Gundel’s core values, and have shaped the attitude of those who work here, which is now also evident in the care they show towards guests with visual and hearing impairments.

„Károly Gundel was a pioneer in the hospitality industry in the areas of family, love, care and innovation”
– Jenő Magyary summed up the essence of the Gundel legacy in four words.

„Gundel belongs to everyone. When we took over its management in 2021, we looked into what Gundel was like in the old days. We saw that it was a place open to everyone – from privates to senior officers, anyone could come here. In Károly Gundel, What was brilliant and innovative was that he designed the whole restaurant in such a way that, as you walked into the building, the menu changed to suit your budget. This meant that even people leading a simple, middle-class lifestyle could come here for a beer and a sausage. It wasn’t really a restaurant at all, but a pub.” – Jenő Magyary told Metropol. The managing director added: ‘We wanted to reopen this venue to the upper middle classes and convey the message that Gundel is for everyone and about everyone. Gundel belongs to us, to the Hungarian people.’.

Available to everyone

Jenő Magyary pointed out that, after the change of regime, Gundel was the sort of restaurant that people couldn’t really just walk into. There was a sort of dress code: you could only enter if you were wearing a suit, a tie or a tuxedo.

„The real, classic Gundel of the 1820s and 1830s wasn’t about that. When we reopened in 2021, we wanted it to be accessible to everyone. As far as prices were concerned, an important consideration was that anyone living in Hungary’s capital should be able to come here at least once or twice in their lifetime and enjoy a Gundel pancakes, or even a chicken paprikash or toothed Carpathian.”

Sunday family lunch

The dishes at Nemzeti11 are among these Károly Gundel its heritage.

„These dishes form the backbone of our menu. It’s important to us that we cook them well and to a high standard. We didn’t want to revamp these dishes, because what Károly Gundel has already created is perfect just as it is. We’ve also set the prices so that if someone comes here to the City Park, this isn’t the most expensive place, the Gundel is affordable for those who’d like to come and enjoy a lovely dinner with us, or even a real Sunday lunch to enjoy with the family. Our aim is to move beyond what came after the change of regime and to draw on the heritage which, incidentally, Károly Gundel ’as it was 100 years ago, in the 1920s and 1930s.’

They’re more expensive than the pubs

The Eventrend Group, which operates Gundel one of the founding owners, Zoltán Kőrössy Surprisingly, as a businessman, he spoke of Gundel as if it were a matter close to his heart.

„We believe that the Gundel legacy is a deeply moving and heartfelt one. The whole building is a testament to how a business can be run from the heart. This is the fundamental idea behind ”Gundel belongs to everyone’.” – he explained. Zoltán Kőrössy emphasised that they have experience in reviving the kind of mindset that, 130 years on, remains relevant today. „Károly Gundel set up a beer garden for the soldiers and maids. Historically, Gundel was not an expensive restaurant. Károly Gundel always used to say: ”We’re more expensive than the pubs, but cheaper than hotel restaurants.’ Today, to put it bluntly, I’d call it ‘mainstream’ – though Károly Gundel might not have put it that way; he’d probably have said: ‘affordable.’”

Veal paprikash with cucumber salad

„Part of the legend is that a young waiter offered veal paprikash with cucumber salad to a young couple sitting in the Beer Garden. Gundel gave him a real telling-off, asking what he thought he was doing – they couldn’t afford to order such an expensive dish. ”Why are you putting us in such an awkward position?!’” – said Zoltán Kőrössy.