For many years now, gastronomy in Hungary has been enjoying a new heyday. Many years have passed in which the remnants of the period of regime change have been processed. On the old foundations a fully conscious catering has grown up!
There have been setbacks in recent years, such as the pandemic, and now the economic crisis, but even this has not been able to break the trend. What is important to highlight is that the capital-centricity is now being broken, and restaurants of serious quality have sprung up. Gusto is one such restaurant. With Bálint Szakálint, owner of Gusto 13 Bistro and Delicate we talked to the manager of.
Photo by Gusto 13 Bistro and Delicate
The restaurant has been around for a long time. Tell us a little about the past and what it currently represents?
The restaurant itself has been open since 1965. It started life as a stadium restaurant and stadium bar, but in reality it has always been a catering establishment. It was briefly a bakery, but reopened as a Chianti restaurant in 2002. The other half of the building is now a school canteen. The current ownership has been running it since 2009. Then, year by year, they improved and went in a fine dining direction. quite well known it was a restaurant.
Photo by Gusto 13 Bistro and Delicate
How was it possible to keep high-end gastronomy alive in the countryside, especially in those days?
In my opinion, it is quite difficult. Fine dining is basically the highest level of catering, and it's a difficult genre. That's exactly why we've relaxed on that and moved into the bistro line. In 2017 we changed our profile to Gustová. I joined the Gusto team in 2018 and I did my best to continue the evolution into a bistro, and our food offerings in 100% reflected that. Gusto 13 Bistro the way. If I want to label it somewhere - although I don't like the term - we started to take a fine bistro line. We can innovate in technology, presentation and flavours.
Photo by Gusto 13 Bistro and Delicate
How did you manage to do this?
It was really about being an option for everyone. So for the person in a suit, for the backpacker, for the tourist in a rucksack, for the person with the family after a trip to the zoo... We have to work within these limits to create our menu and our offer.
How can you bring all this together, with the high quality you represent?
When editing the menu, you can see pizza, pasta, risotto, and there is also a traditional section. This has been just because because we import a lot of raw materials from Italy. But there is no lack of classics on the menu, like the fried dishes. There are also main courses that come in portions large enough to accommodate larger diners. Such is the case with our BBQ ribs, which we can't take off the menu, having become a signature dish in recent years.
Photo by Gusto 13 Bistro and Delicate
We are going through a difficult period. How do you see the guest base recovering?
We are - I admit - in a lucky position. We have a lot of regulars, precisely because the whole restaurant is family, elegant and friendly, a real hospitality with a smile. So when we were able to open between two closures, or now that we are able to work longer hours, we have had customers come back immediately, and I would say that we have had an increase in our clientele. The fact that we kept our team together, that we didn't turn anyone away even in the most difficult times, made a big difference. We were able to open with a positional advantage, with a well-knit brigade, and to continue our work. Our restaurant seats forty people and our terrace, which is very important now during the season, also seats forty, so there is plenty for our colleagues to work on.
Photo by Gusto 13 Bistro and Delicate
Let's talk a little about the difficulties. There are two basic problems nowadays - one is raw materials, the other is labour.
As I said - although there is obviously turnover - we have a permanent team. The other thing is, the raw material is relatively solved for us. On the one hand, we have an Italian line, where we go every six weeks to buy mainly dry goods - flour, oil - but of course we also bring ham, of course. We roast our own coffee outside. On the other hand, we have fixed suppliers here, which is essential for a normal secure operation. One of them is MATUSZ-Vad. I think everyone needs a stable supplier who is always available and can produce quality in the long term. We complement this with producers and farmers in the area. Working with local suppliers is important to us!
Photo by Gusto 13 Bistro and Delicate
Hospitality was mainly Budapest-centric. But nowadays, there are more and more rural restaurants like yours that are providing quality in other regions...
- Yes, this centrality has been greatly reversed by the pandemic. I think it's more Budapest that's in trouble now, unfortunately, and the countryside can function perfectly well. Especially our region is very good, as Lake Balaton is 10 kilometres away and Veszprém is developing well anyway. And next year the city will be the European Capital of Culture. This makes our operations even more relevant.
Photo by Gusto 13 Bistro and Delicate
What are your plans for the future?
- As always, we need to expand because we have an increasing number of guests. Of course, this is cause and effect, and the economics of this have to be taken into account. Maybe what I would like to do in the long term is to keep the team together and go forward with them. This is a well-functioning team, which I think is the greatest asset in today's world!#
