„The most famous Hungarian restaurant” – that’s how Gundel describes itself, having reopened on 8 December after a year and a half’s enforced closure. It’s hard to argue with that, mind you; it really is the Hungarian restaurant that everyone has heard of, although there have been issues with quality in recent times. Now, however, Gundel has reopened, completely revamped and fresh, under the leadership of Viktor Moldován and András Wolf. To be honest, I’m not surprised that it was fully booked on the very first day.

I arrived at 11 o’clock in the morning, just as the To Gundel Restaurant, which is regarded in Hungary as the birthplace of the Gundel pancake and has almost legendary status. There is certainly no guidebook that does not recommend it to tourists – a fact borne out by the large number of celebrities who visit here. From Angelina Jolie to Queen Elizabeth II, everyone has dined at the restaurant, which, unfortunately, has recently fallen short of its former glory. Last year, the Eventrend Group took over its management; by their own admission, they regard the restaurant as a national treasure and intend to manage it accordingly. 

The legend of Károly Gundel, the founder

No one can dispute the fact that Gundel is a unique establishment with a fascinating history. The building was constructed in 1894, as it had been decided, when the Zoo was founded, that a restaurant would also be established on the zoo’s grounds. Károly Gundel took over the running of the restaurant in 1910. His father, János Gundel, had moved to Buda from Bavaria and was already a well-known restaurateur in the city. Among other things, it was he who introduced the Wiener schnitzel to Hungary. Károly Gundel carried on these traditions; he approached the catering business not only professionally but also very innovatively, devising the names and recipes for a great many new dishes. 

Under the leadership of Károly Gundel, the restaurant began to flourish. Not only was he a master of exceptional hospitality, but he also served the finest dishes of Hungarian and French cuisine, creating combinations of ingredients and flavours that are now regarded as the foundations of modern Hungarian cuisine. They were constantly experimenting with new recipes: palóc soup, chicken paprikash, Bakony mushroom ragout, carp à la Kárpáti and Tokaj goose liver were all created at Gundel, but it was Gundel that also established the culture of Hungarian-style sauces and ragouts as we know them today.

It was on the terrace of the Gundel Restaurant that such now-famous dishes as Jókai bean soup, Bakony mushroom ragout and Gundel pancakes were first served. Károly Gundel often named dishes after his regular guests. This is how, for example, Újházi chicken soup came into being, named after the actor Ede Újházi, as did Jókai bean soup, Munkácsy-style eggs and Feszty steak. Incidentally, the Gundel family also lived here, on the upper floor, although they never actually bought the building from the state.

A radical makeover, with huge wallpapers 

Gundel brought a great deal of acclaim to Hungarian gastronomy. The restaurant was then nationalised after the Second World War, and from that point on it was less of a success story, although it did experience several periods of resurgence following the change of regime. However, its operations were characterised by inconsistent standards; it was then forced to close due to the pandemic, and the pandemic situation ultimately highlighted the need for renewal. This has now taken place, and it appears to have been a success. The interior has been radically transformed, and not for the worse. 

During the refurbishment, the focus was on three main areas: the garden, the indoor café and the restaurant area. The garden is expected to open in the spring and will be able to accommodate several hundred guests. The restaurant’s interior has been revamped: the heavy carpets and dark paintings have been removed, and the whole interior has been refreshed and brightened up, although I think it could be even brighter still. Even so, it’s turned out brilliantly, full of adorable and, of course, very Instagrammable details, such as the cute little elephants and animals. The huge green palm trees look great, as does the custom-made, enormous colourful wallpaper – the motifs on these, of course, all refer to the zoo. They also reminded me of the grand Spanish cafés. The restaurant’s main colour is turquoise, which is quite a bold choice in itself, and I think it’s very beautiful; the Zsolnay plates were designed to complement it. 

A breakfast spot, café and restaurant all in one 

The restaurant is essentially divided into two sections: the first, larger section serves as a café, where you can sit all day, even from the early morning. There’s a wide selection of breakfast dishes, but you can also just sit and relax over a coffee. In the rear, slightly more secluded section, you can only have dinner; here, however, there is no à la carte menu – only three- or four-course set menus are available, all at quite reasonable prices of 12,000 or 15,000 forints respectively. The prices aren’t exorbitant, mind you; I’m not saying Gundel is a cheap place, of course, but anyone can certainly afford a cake or two if they fancy giving the place a go. 

András Wolf emphasised that they specifically wanted Gundel to be accessible to everyone. So that a grandmother could sit down with her grandchild for a lemonade just as easily as a family could come for dinner. I don’t dispute that, but regardless, Gundel has become the sort of place where you can finally take a foreign friend if they want to sample Hungarian cuisine.

Tourists will also be drawn to the live music throughout the day, as well as the all-female Gypsy band, who play for 15 minutes every hour. They don’t play traditional Hungarian folk songs or Gypsy music, mind you, but film soundtracks and pop hits. The sight of girls playing the violin on a red carriage set up in the middle of the restaurant is admittedly verging on kitsch, but tourists will love it, that’s for sure. And it’s no bad thing that we finally have a place like this here at home, which, even if it is a bit kitsch, manages to stay within the bounds of good taste.

Not a reworking, but an original Hungarian work

András Wolf emphasised that he and chef Viktor Moldován did not want to reinterpret the dishes, as foreign tourists have no such requirement. Anyone who has never tasted Gundel pancakes or Palóc soup in their life will want to try the original versions. So, they reverted to the original recipes for everything, whilst striving to prepare the dishes using the finest ingredients and to the highest standard. 

„There was no need to write the Gundel menu – its backbone has been in place for 80 years. The dishes are based on the finest Gundel traditions, the centrepiece of which is the ‘National 11’ – those eleven iconic Gundel dishes that we all regard as the most important part of Gundel’s heritage. We believe that Gundel – and, by extension, Hungarian cuisine – competes on the international gastronomic stage with these flavours.

The 11 dishes of the ”National 11’: Tokaj wine with goose liver, goulash soup, palóc soup, Újházi chicken soup, chicken paprikash, Feszty sandwich, Mangalica pork Bakony-style, pike-perch Kárpáti-style, Somlói galuska, Gundel pancakes, Rákóczi cottage cheese cake,” said András Wolf. I honourably tasted everything I could possibly manage, and I was satisfied with it all. The soups particularly left a lasting impression on me, but Palóc soup is a great favourite of mine anyway, and I regret that it’s only available in a few places, especially of good quality. Just so you know, proper palóc soup – which was first made for Kálmán Mikszáth – is made with lamb, plenty of vegetables, green beans and sour cream.

What is the original Gundel pancake like? 

I loved the starters too, especially the trout, and the paprika chicken was also a real hit – it’s bound to be one of the most popular dishes on the menu. And of course I couldn’t miss out on the Gundel pancake, which was actually created by Károly Gundel back in the last century. This is one of those rare dishes for which the original recipe still exists. A key element of this is that only part of the walnuts should be ground, whilst the rest should simply be chopped with a knife to leave some chunks. And the sauce, of course, is made not from cocoa powder but from real chocolate. According to András Wolf, they made everything exactly as Gundel prescribed, except that they reduced the amount of sugar quite significantly. 

I couldn’t find anything to criticise about this place – not that that was my aim, mind you. It’s clear, of course, that it wasn’t opened for the Hungarian public, but that’s not a problem. It’s absolutely fine for such lovely Hungarian restaurants to dominate Instagram.

And it’s well worth popping in for afternoon tea at least once, as it really can be a brilliant family experience. What’s more, the cakes are brought to the table on the back of an elephant!