Gundel, Hungary’s most famous restaurant, is set to reopen its doors within a few weeks. For most Hungarians, Gundel is synonymous with luxury and elegance; however, few people realise that this legendary restaurant in Városliget did not start out as a luxury restaurant – quite the contrary.

The Gundel restaurant opened its doors in 1910 in the heart of Budapest, in the centre of Városliget. The work of its founder, Károly Gundel, has been pivotal to Hungarian gastronomy and hospitality, as he took Hungarian cuisine to a new level whilst retaining its distinctive characteristics, by combining traditional dishes with the sophistication and elegance of modern gastronomy. Károly Gundel also wrote numerous books on hospitality and the culinary arts. His works, including *The Art of Hospitality* and *The Little Hungarian Cookbook*, published in English and German respectively, along with his articles, have greatly contributed to enhancing the reputation of both the author and Hungarian hospitality.

The Wampetics restaurant had been located in the building since 1894; Károly Gundel took over its management in 1910. The Gundel House has weathered the storms of history, including two world wars, economic crises and the years of nationalisation.

Legendary dishes were created

Gundel belonged to everyone: every social class found something to suit them and a place of their own there.

It was a high-quality restaurant, but for a long time it wasn’t regarded as a particularly elegant, luxury establishment. Its layout could be described as follows: the further into the building one went, the more sophisticated the menu became, and the higher the bills grew.

Although many dishes that have come to define Hungarian cuisine were created at Gundel’s or by the Gundel family, such as the

• palóc soup,
• chicken with paprika,
• the Bakony mushroom ragout,
• fish à la Kárpáti,
• Tokaji Aszú goose liver,

On the terrace, they also served very simple dishes, such as boiled eggs in goulash sauce, sausages in broth, or salty pretzels with draught beer. Gundel’s most famous creations were desserts: the Gundel pancake, the Somlói Galuska, and the Rákóczi Túrós. But it was this gastronomic workshop that introduced the culture of sauces and ragouts to Hungarian cuisine, and even the Viennese schnitzel, or Wiener Schnitzel.

Pancakes weren’t always a Gundel speciality either

Everyone has come across Gundel’s most famous dish: the recipe for the world-famous walnut pancakes originally came from Lola, the wife of the writer Sándor Márai, which is why it appeared on the menu as ‘Márai pancakes’. During the communist era, however, the name of the émigré writer was blacklisted, so Károly Gundel had to rename the dish.

By the end of the 1800s, the City Park had become an increasingly popular place for relaxation and strolling amongst broad sections of society. It is no coincidence that eating and drinking were an integral part of the outdoor activities. The restaurant was accordingly enormous; it could accommodate as many as a thousand people in the garden, and on peak days served 3,000 plates of food – in other words, it catered for huge crowds.

It was a popular meeting place in the town; its own 11-piece band played in the garden, so there was always live music. What’s more, it was considered a real family restaurant, where children ran about in the garden – including the founder’s 13 children.