Gundel Restaurant Budapest - Budapest Gundel Restaurant -

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Gundel Restaurant

Address: 1146 Állatkerti út 2
City: Budapest
Area: District 14.
Phone: +36-1-468-40-40
Fax: +36-1-363-19-17
Opening Hours: Every day 12:00 - 16:00; 18:30 - 24:00
Internet: Free WIFI hotspot

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The restaurant, built in 1894 (until 1910, it was called Wampetics Restaurant). Gundel Károly has taken over in 1910, and turned it into the best place for fine dining in Budapest. The restaurant was the official caterer to the Hungarian Pavilion of the New York World Expo in 1937, helping spread the word about the wonderful Hungarian cuisine. In 1949 it was nationalised and therefore its quality has deteriorated.

Gundel restaurant

In 1991, George Lang and Ronald S. Lauder have bought the restaurant, and reopened it following a complete renovation in 1992. It greeted its one-millionth guest in the year 2000. Today, it is Budapest's best restaurant without question. Its "little sister", the Bagolyvár Restaurant is adjacent to the Gundel building, and is the only restaurant where only ladies work - it's a matter of tradition.

Food

Gundel's menu offers everything from Hungarian goose liver to breast of pheasant. Main courses are paired with complementary side dishes, but can easily run you over $40 USD per plate. Gundel advertizes itself as the best restaurant in Hungary, and their chef has won recognition for his cuisine, so you decide if it's worth it.

Gundel restaurant food
After years of experimentation and extensive testing, they have also developed light versions of Hungarian cuisine, reducing cholesterol and calorie content. Generally speaking, dishes served in the new Gundel are lighter and healthier than they had ever been in the restaurant’s one-hundred-year history.

Luckily, however, those who want to experience Gundel without emptying their wallets on food can enjoy a glass of wine from the cellar. The cellar has historic significance, as it has been renovated from the original cellar that inhabited the restaurant that was a precursor to Gundel.

Atmosphere

Dining can be done in the lavishly decorated interior rooms or on the expansive patio. The bar area is smooth and warm, with dark woods and shiny marble.

Gundel pancake

The question, whether the French crepe, the Austrian Palatschinken or the Hungarian palacsinta was created earlier, has not been decided for ages (though possibly the Roman placenta is their common ancestor - the latter was introduced by the Roman Legions into the countries of the European continent). However the origin of the King of Pancakes, the Gundel palacsinta is quite certain. This delicacy was created by the famous restaurateur Károly Gundel in his exquisite restaurant in the Budapest City Park, at the beginning of the XXth century. The century-old Gundel pancake has a filling enriched with rum, raisin, lemon rind and walnuts, served with a chocolate sauce - somewhat fried in the oven and flambéed upon request.

Chef - Kálmán Kalla

George Lang, the new CO-owner of Gundel, persuaded Kalla to become the executive chef of the renovated restaurant in October 1991. During the period of reconstruction, the chef was able to design every aspect of Kalla Kálmán Chef the kitchen and staff in just the way he wanted, according to his demanding standards. In the course of his career, Kalla has travelled continually, from Jerusalem to Kuala Lumpur, from New York to Karachi; he has prepared food at various gastronomic exhibitions in many countries, winning prizes at every competition.

Wherever he travelled, Kalla adapted regional techniques to his classical training - for example, in Japan he learned the Asian art of cooking vegetables, and in Finland and the Netherlands, he acquired the Scandinavian knowledge of cooking fish properly.

At the same time, Kalla has developed a way to make traditional Hungarian cuisine lighter, while still retaining the delicious flavours for which his native cuisine is renowned.

Kalla has been awarded the prestigious Hungarian Golden Toque award, and is the author of The Forum Gastronomique, published in 1991.

Sunday brunch

Sunday brunches, which change their theme every week, are quite affordable for 5800 HUF (there’s a 50% discount for children under 15, while it’s free under 5)

Pictures and virtual tour

Gundel Restaurant

Click here to see the virtual tour of Gundel restaurant!

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