{"id":13147,"date":"2021-11-16T16:47:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T15:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gundel.hu\/?post_type=sajto&#038;p=13147"},"modified":"2024-05-10T17:05:51","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T15:05:51","slug":"the-mysterious-history-of-hungarys-most-famous-restaurant-gundel-was-not-just-about-luxury-2","status":"publish","type":"sajto","link":"https:\/\/gundel.hu\/en\/sajtoszoba\/a-legismertebb-magyar-etterem-rejtelyes-tortenete-a-gundel-nem-csak-a-luxusrol-szolt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The mysterious history of Hungary\u2019s most famous restaurant: Gundel was not just about luxury"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Gundel, Hungary\u2019s 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 V\u00e1rosliget did not start out as a luxury restaurant \u2013 quite the contrary.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Gundel restaurant opened its doors in 1910 in the heart of Budapest, in the centre of V\u00e1rosliget. The work of its founder, K\u00e1roly 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. K\u00e1roly 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Wampetics restaurant had been located in the building since 1894; K\u00e1roly 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-legendas-etelek-szulettek\">Legendary dishes were created<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gundel belonged to everyone: every social class found something to suit them and a place of their own there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was a high-quality restaurant, but for a long time it wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although many dishes that have come to define Hungarian cuisine were created at Gundel\u2019s or by the Gundel family, such as the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>pal\u00f3c soup,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>chicken with paprika,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the Bakony mushroom ragout,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>fish \u00e0 la K\u00e1rp\u00e1ti,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tokaji Asz\u00fa goose liver,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the terrace, they also served very simple dishes, such as boiled eggs in goulash sauce, sausages in broth, or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hellovidek.hu\/gasztro\/2022\/02\/19\/mi-az-a-perec-es-hogy-lett-a-vilag-egyik-legnepszerubb-pekaruja-igy-keszul-a-sos-perec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">salty pretzels<\/a>&nbsp;with draught beer. Gundel\u2019s most famous creations were desserts: the Gundel pancake, the Soml\u00f3i Galuska, and the R\u00e1k\u00f3czi T\u00far\u00f3s. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pancakes weren\u2019t always a Gundel speciality either<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everyone has come across Gundel\u2019s most famous dish: the recipe for the world-famous walnut pancakes originally came from Lola, the wife of the writer S\u00e1ndor M\u00e1rai, which is why it appeared on the menu as \u2018M\u00e1rai pancakes\u2019. During the communist era, however, the name of the \u00e9migr\u00e9 writer was blacklisted, so K\u00e1roly Gundel had to rename the dish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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 \u2013 in other words, it catered for huge crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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\u2019s more, it was considered a real family restaurant, where children ran about in the garden \u2013 including the founder\u2019s 13 children.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gendel, Hungary\u2019s most famous restaurant, is set to reopen within a few weeks.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":13563,"template":"","publikacio":[34],"class_list":["post-13147","sajto","type-sajto","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","publikacio-penzcentrum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gundel.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sajto\/13147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gundel.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sajto"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gundel.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sajto"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gundel.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sajto\/13147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gundel.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gundel.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"publikacio","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gundel.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publikacio?post=13147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}