The gourmet's guide to Europe

The Restaurant Muller is the dependance of the Club of the Gentry. I never mastered the name ot the street in which it is situated. Its Restaurant rooms high and white, lighted by hang- Muller ing lamps, have, in crimson curtains and other details, something of the Hungarian national character. • A very fine gipsy band, said to be the best band of its kind in Buda-Pesth, plays in this restaurant, and it is a revelation to hear how the Czardas sound when played by such musicians. The cookery is French. This was the dinner given me at the restaurant by an Englishman who knows his Buda-Pesth well ; but the Sangleron was the only dish out of the beaten track. It was, however, an excellently cooked dinner. Creme Parmentier. Rouget Grille, Vin Rouge. Boeuf Garni. Sangleron Raifort. Poulet Roti. Salade Entremets. Dessert. 342 ^he Gourmet's Guide to Europe A correspondent from Hungary tells me that this restaurant must have changed its name, for he was unable to find it. The great white restaurant opposite the Opera House, Drechsler’s, is an excellent house at which to Drechsler’s, essay Hungarian dishes, and I ate there Andrassystrasse a very well cooked Paprika huhn. It is as well, however, to have a companion who speaks Hungarian if one dines away from the hotels or the two club restaurants. The Gambrinus Restaurant in the Outer Ring, a great room with white and gold columns, was another restaurant at which I essayed the national dishes with successful results. A military band played, the room was crowded, and beer seemed the beverage of the house. On the menu of the restaurant of the Hotel Hungaria, a restaurant much patronised by the Hun- garians, one of the dishes is always Gulyas. At the restaurant of the Bristol there is generally a choice of Hungarian dishes. Theatres begin early at Buda-Pesth, and therefore afternoon tea becomes an important meal, and theatre- goers generally sup after the play is over. There is a cafe at the corner of every street, all always full in the Kug-ler’s, late afternoon; but Kugler’s, the fashion- Giselaplatz able pastry cook, is the smart tea-drinking establishment. In the big room is a long counter with on it many different kinds of sandwiches, sweets, cakes, and a dozen different kinds of wine. In this room and in the smaller one little tables are set very close together, and at them sit beautiful ladies and generals in full uniform and all the gilded youth of Buda-Pesth. Little waitresses scurry about with ices, and cups and glasses and plates of cake. The theatres themselves do a considerable catering business, for in the foyer there is always a buffet where Hungary 343 all kinds of eatables and drinkables are dispensed during the entr’actes. Even in the great red and yellow marble Opera House a long table occupies the centre of the foyer, and the audience falls to very heartily at sandwiches, and sardines, caviare, sweets, lemonade, and beer between the acts. On the Island of St. Margaret there are several popular restaurants and brasseries. The Clubs of Buda-Pesth The most gorgeous, most tasteful, most beautiful club I know is the Park Club in the Park of Buda- Pesth. It is a “cock and hen club,” and the ladies go there in the summer every afternoon and sit on the terrace, and on race days watch the , ’ • c r\ Park Club people returning from the races. On