Gundel

The restaurant Gundel (Hungarian Gundel étterem ) is a restaurant in Budapest. It was one in the first half of the 20th century's most exclusive restaurants in Europe and was able to return to this reputation since the 1990s.

Location

Gundel is located in City Park right next to the main entrance of the Budapest Zoo. From Heroes' Square is to reach on foot in 5 minutes.

History

The history of Gundel goes back to Johann Gundel, who left at age 13 his parents' house in the Bavarian town of Ansbach and set off on his relatives to Pest. On the way he met Eduard Sacher, then an apprentice in his father's deli Franz Sacher in Vienna. The two became friends, and Johann began with Franz Sacher an education. After its completion in 1857, Johann Gundel continued his journey to Pest, where he for a time in the tavern of his relatives worked as Piccolo and incidentally visited a waiter school.

Through his skill he was hired as head waiter in Budapest elegant Golden Eagle, later married and earned his first restaurant in 1879, the Vienna beer hall. Then followed: the inn Blumenstockl and the hotel István Főherczeg that soon could compete with the big hotels in Munich and Vienna. 1915 Johann Gundel died at the age of 69 years. His son Karl Gundel ( Gundel Károly ) had taken a precaution since 1910, the business of the Father.

Karl Gundel mastered four foreign languages ​​, had learned the trade from the ground up in domestic companies and then went on tour to Germany, France, England and Switzerland. At 25, he returned to Budapest and took over the restaurant Wampetics in the City Park. From 1920 to 1925 he also leased the restaurant of the Hotel Royal and 1927-1948 the restaurants in Hotel Gellért. With his wife and a total of 13 children, he lived in the upper floor of the Wampetics. Karl Gundel created an extensive menu, including the famous Gundel pancakes with walnut and raisin rum filling and rum chocolate sauce.

From 1910, the reputation of the Gundel family grew. 1937 Karl Gundel was commissioned by the government to organize the banquet for the King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele visit. In 1945, he renamed the restaurant Wampetics in Gundel. 1949, the Gundel Restaurant and Gellert were nationalized. 1956 died Karl Gundel, blind, after several operations.

1980, the Gundel was declared a national monument, but could not go on past glories since the nationalization. Ronald S. Lauder and George Long ( György Láng ), a living in the U.S. Hungarian restaurateur, bought the Gundel 1991 by the state back, " ... due to the restaurant earlier in the size and number of Europe's finest and most distinguished local " with the intention of. So you can find on the new menu specialties from the major cuisines of the world as well as traditional Hungarian dishes. Of 1999, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Gundel of the ten best restaurants in the world, and this is also to personalities who visited the Gundel over time. Here dined among others Albert of Monaco, Jacques Chirac, Queen Elizabeth II, Otto von Habsburg, Hillary Clinton, John Paul II, George Pataki, György Solti and Tony Curtis. In 2000, the one millionth visitor was welcomed.

Interior design and style

The dining room of the restaurant is decorated in turn of the century style. The ceiling adorn grand Art Nouveau lamp shades. The floor is covered with a specially designed light color carpet, which is decorated with variations of Gundel logos with two stylized elephant. In the center of the hall stands a lighted podium, wearing a large porcelain vase with roses. About a third of the room is created increased slightly and mainly includes large tables and can accommodate a long banquet table. In the remaining area is mainly space for smaller tables.

To entertain the guests plays a seven-member gypsy band headed by György Lakatos original gypsy music and Hungarian folk songs, as well as works by Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and Zoltán Kodály. A Gundel collection, which is housed in our own museum, including works of the most famous Hungarian painters, including Mihály Munkácsy, Rezső Burghardt and Lajos Márk. Also, a permanent exhibition of the Museum of Commerce and Catering is housed there.

Another jewel in the Gundel is the white and gold held, built in the rococo style Queen Elisabeth Ballroom with its Venetian chandeliers. Finally, the Gundel offers a wine cellar, where local wines from the South Balaton as well as find international wines.

Menu

The Gundel Restaurant offers a blend of international cuisine and traditional Hungarian cuisine. The card certainly offers opportunities, a la carte dining at moderate prices, for example, while the five-course menu Gundel Sonata with more than 150 euros per person proposes to book.

Controversy over the current level

Since the reopening of the early 1990s there have been attempts to build on the legendary reputation of the first half of the century. To what extent this has been achieved, however, is controversial. Predominates in general praise for the restaurant, expresses the restaurant critic Richard Vines with regard to the enormous prices criticism of cuisine and service, while also explicitly praised the atmosphere.