The Hungarian Gay Hussar

We've walked by Gay Hussar a few times and finally decided to check it out during dinner one day. Gay Hussar is a very cosy and comfortable Hungarian restaurant that has been around since 1953 so it is pretty well established. Apparently, this is a favourite hangout of the who's who in the political world and they definitely aren't shy in promoting that. Photos and drawings of them line the walls but I think some might feel a wee bit uncomfortable having so many eyes looking down on you when having the meal!

The first thing that caught our eyes were the 2 fresh chillies sitting on the table which I suppose were for eating with the meal. I guess paprika which is heavily used in Hungarian cuisine is made from chillies or peppers so it was appropriate? Didn't see anyone actually eating it though. 

For starters, we were originally planning to get the Chilled Wild Cherry soup which was very traditional Hungarian starter. However, when we asked the waitress what it was like, she said that it tasted like sweet cherry yohurt with lots of vodka. It didn't sound too appealing so we decided on Debreceni Kolbász (Smoked Hungarian Sausage) and Kapros-Gombás Halgaluska (Fish Dumplings with a Creamy Dill and Mushroom Sauce) instead.

Smoked Hungarian Sausage

The sausage didn't like it was smoked but it was pretty tasty especially when eaten with the pickles and horseradish as the flavours worked very well together.

Fish Dumplings with a Creamy Dill and Mushroom Sauce

The Fish Dumplings on the other hand was bland, soft and mashed up so that's something we won't be ordering again. 

Smoked Breast of Goose with Sólet and Red Cabbage

Both main courses we ordered were delicious but the Füstölt Libamell (Smoked Breast of Goose with Sólet and Red Cabbage) was the star of the day. The goose was nicely smoked and the Sólet which is a slow cooked bean stew was so moreish.The red cabbage cuts through the heaviness of the stew so it was a very well balanced dish. I didn't think that the potato basket and hard boiled egg was necessary but that's how it's eaten traditionally.

Venison Goulash with Tarhonya and Red Cabbage

The well seasoned Goulash felt like a hug in a bowl, if that's possible!! One could definitely tell that it was slow cooked as the venison was so tender.


We were stuffed after the mains so we couldn't deal with having a dessert...how very sad!! Will have to leave some space for that the next time we visit Gay Hussar. :)


The Gay Hussar
2 Greek Street
Soho, London 
W1D 4NB