Is the Gerlóczy Kávéház Good Enough for the Top33? We Sure Hope So!
In addition to leaving a gaping hole in Hungary's high-end dining scene, the sudden closure of Segal left an opening in our "Top 33" list of our favorite Budapest restaurants. Faced with a similar void last week, we didn't bat an eyelash, as we had been just waiting for a reason to promote the delightful Balettcipő to the T33. This time, we're not so sure.
Here's the deal. We like the Gerlóczy Kávéház, which opened a few years back in what we believe were the former premises of a long-gone café/restaurant of the same name. At least in terms of looks and ambience, it may be the closest thing Budapest has to a proper Parisian café. (And actually doubled as one when Steven Spielberg took over Budapest for the filming of "Munich" back in 2005.)
And the food, while not really drop-dead gorgeous, is usually fine enough to match the setting. (Above and below are a few random shots taken during various visits that for some reason never resulted in a proper write-up.) In addition to often excellent takes on traditional Hungarian favorites, they offer numerous café-style international dishes (such as the dill and shrimp crêpe, Ft 1,450/€5.50, pictured above) as well as a rotating cast of daily and weekly specials. The prices are reasonable - at least in Budapest terms - and there is often live music at night.
The hitch is that almost everyone we know who knows the Gerlóczy has had a run-in with a surly or inattentive waiter, or has had to wait too long to get served. Interestingly, among the many comments on the Caboodle.hu directory page for the restaurant are a few that seem to be from someone representing the management, promising to rectify the situation. We're not sure whether there has been much improvement on this front, as we've only been by a few times in the last couple of months. But now that we're putting the T33's reputation on the line, rest assured, we'll be watching - like a hawk.
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Overnight at Gerlóczy! We are happily inform you we have opened 15 rooms de lux above the floors of Gerlóczy Café & Restaurant!
The rooms are beautifully equipped with all amenities, and also with Free WiFi and cabel access.
All rooms are 85EUR/ night + 10EUR / night / person. Taxes and a la carte breakfast are included.
For further information please visit www.gerloczy.hu
We look forward receive your opinion and remarks!
The service in the restaurant is still atrocious. It is slow, and ranges from the completely charmless to the downright rude. Maybe some waiters are exceptions, but why can't I never encounter any of those?
Was here again the other evening with a friend. I ordered house
paté for starter: 1150Ft. Drinks, bread arrived. The paté was
excellent and quite generous, so I ordered more bread. When
the waiter came with the bill, he also brought the machine: I had
to ask him twice for just a minute so that we may consider the
bill. I soon saw why he had been so eager we pay. Both the
initial portion (unordered) of bread for the paté and the
following were charged 400Ft each. For two tiny slices of butter I
was charged 200Ft. An unexpected 1200Ft on a bill of c.
6000Ft. When asked, the waiter explained it was homemade
bread (do any self-respecting restaurants *not* make their own
bread?) and that was the reason for the charge. It was also clear,
when asked about the paté, that it doesn't come with anything! I
mentioned on a previous occasion I was sure that the bread was
not charged with the paté, however the waiter assured me that
that could not have happened.
How ridiculous. Just charge 1550/1750Ft for the starter then
instead of this mess.
The service is as slow as ever, with four waiters hovering in the
doorway, one male stroking another woman's hair and
commenting on how sexy it is: we could have walked off with
the table and they wouldn't have noticed. At one stage when I
asked for the waiter he said "yes please" and stood there for a
few seconds, before finally deciding I wasn't going to shout and
moved.
I don't think they regard the job as work, nor care that they
are...
... that they are the face of the restaurant, and as such, let it down
badly. The chefs, as ever, are doing an excellent job and the
musicians ensure the atmosphere is lovely. I wonder if they know
that the waiters' surly attitude is ruining their work?
That's a pretty damning indictment, and it may cost them their spot on the T33.
Totally agree with the comments about rude and indifferent waiters
based on our last experience. A waiter's job is to help a customer
understand what's on offer and not make them feel like an idiot
because they can't decide between irsai oliver or chardonnay.
I used to really enjoy the Gerloczy when it first opened, now the
whole experience: food, atmosphere, wait staff seem no more than
'eh', imho. The pate we had was good, true, but pasta, salad,
gazpacho and starters were overpriced and just OK. Sorry to see it
fall from being a good, solid restaurant to an overpriced hit and
miss.