The Gundel House
Budapest is not the most cheerful place on a December afternoon. Dark after 4:00 p.m., the city is blanketed by a dismal, gloomy gray mist, which seems to echo the collective cranky mindset of its inhabitants at this dejecting time of the year. Amidst the shadows of dead-tree-strewn City Park, one monument towers out, the Gundel Restaurant, the shiny crown jewel of Hungary’s food scene. At its swanky bar I am greeted by Sommelier Mihály Fabok, who walks me through how he pairs wines to dishes, highlighting examples of both harmony (smoked fish paired with smoke-y white wine kept in cured Barrique oak barrels) and contrast (tart, funky blue cheeses matched with delicate, honey-sweet Tokaji).
