The Gay Hussar

I have not been to the Gay Hussar for 7-8 years , and having read the reviews I can say I was a bit concerned that all of my great memories having been there many times in the past, may be spoilt.

We went on a weekday lunchtime and fortunately it was just as I remember. Do not believe any of the bad reviews.

The portions are as hearty and " home cooked" as ever. I was with my Hungarian aunt and uncle and they take some pleasing (!) but we all left vowing to return in a few weeks.

Lunch menu for £22 per head is unbeatable.

If you want somewhere more lively then go to Jamie's latest fad restaurant. If you want great food, well cooked, in a traditional, and historic setting go to the Gay Hussar.
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Karoly
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, October 17, 2011

On booking the stern booking staff seemed only concerned with what time we would leave the resturant. He then said we had to leave in 120 minutes of our arrival. My main did not come with the rest of the groups meal. We all had to wait adtditional 20 mins to tuck in, by this time their food was growing cold. The staff were blunt, rude unfriendly unwelcoming, awful decor, very cold ambience. the restaurant was tiny, we were shoved in the corner and hurried out. they refused to serve us dessert as they stated our "time was up". appalling customer service. They even refused a group of people away even though half the resturant was empty. The food was filling fresh with big portions but THE SERVICE WAS ABSOLUTELY APPALLING..WOULD NOT RETURN EVEN IF THE MEAL WAS FREE. AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE
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mary ford
5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 10
Sunday, August 28, 2011

Not good at all

very small portions for the money no atmosphere at all.

We went in august 2011 on a tuesday night it was very quiet night now we know

why. The wine was very expensive as well would not recommend to anybody The Gay Hussar.
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anne burton
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Thursday, August 25, 2011

Despite a lot of bad reviews on the internet about the Gay Hussar we tried the restaurant anyway. Big mistake. The portions were tiny. The goulash soup consisted of 3 pices of potato and 2 pieces of meat for over £6. The Wiener Schnitzel was mainly breadcrumbs, it was hard to find the meat in it. Again overpriced at £16. We had to wait 90 minutes for our main course to arrive. And having been in the restaurant so long I had to use the rest rooms. The door didn't lock and the towel holder fell apart the moment I took out a paper towel.

Don't go there. You will be disappointed! Maybe it was a great meeting place one day but it's certainly not any more!
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Thursday, August 04, 2011

I popped in for a lunch with a friend of mine, we had a wonderful restaurant experience. Very attentive, friendly service and delicious food. Great experience from the moment we entered the place, we were extremely well looked after.The decor and table set up was clean and traditional. We enjoyed our meal in a refined atmosphere with the added charm of classical hungarian music. We would return gladly next time.
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, July 29, 2011

The irony of this place is that most of the group left hungry. The ambience is something akin to a wake. The decor, where do you start? The only colour was in the doilies stapled to the wall, which were last seen in a charity shop in Skegness, along with the ageing political autobiographies which stare down at you throughout. Onto the food, and the Hungarian hors d’oeuvres were worse than Iceland’s own frozen specialities, despite their association with Kerry Katona. Most of the mains were returned barely eaten, for reasons from “it tasted like leather” to “it was basically a Hungarian fry-up but stodgier and flavourless”. We topped off the meal with the Hungarian liquor Unicum, which was the highlight despite tasting like stomach bile. Walking out the restaurant made me feel like Nicholas Lyndhurst in Goodnight Sweetheart, as I walked out of the 1940’s and back into the modern day. Not recommended.
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2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Friday, February 25, 2011

First mistake, misunderstanding what ‘traditional Hungarian food’ really means on the online reviews. What we learnt, Hungary is truly shocking at food. Second mistake, staying for longer than 5 minutes after justifying to ourselves it will be an experience and broaden our horizons. What we learnt, not all experiences make your life better. Third mistake, asking the waitress for a recommendation. What we learnt, the waitress has obviously never eaten at her own restaurant. Fourth mistake, ordering Hungarian wine. What we learnt, Hungarian wine perfectly compliments Hungarian food. Final mistake, after not being able to finish the starter or main course opting for Unicum as a liqueur. What we learnt, its actually worse than it sounds and it was worryingly fizzy, however it’s easily the best thing we ordered! In summary, would I go back? No. Would I recommend it to anyone even if they were from Hungary and hadn’t eaten in 3 days? No. Do I understand why Mo Mowlams autobiography was used as decor and she stared at me for the whole meal? No. Have I ever felt the need to write a review before? No. Am I confident said Unicum was less than 10 years old? No. Will I remember the lessons learnt from this experience? Yes.
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Graeme
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Friday, February 25, 2011

There’s nothing gay about the Gay Hussar. Eastern European it definitely is. You feel the oppression as soon as you walk through the door. The manager greeting us couldn’t look more miserable if she’d tried harder. Where’s the music? The ambiance? The happy customers? The hors d’oeuvres to start were incredible in a bad way. How can you get cucumber wrong? No matter, I was sure I was safe with a veal schnitzel for main....WRONG! The schnitzel had more resemblance to an old leather handbag and so incredibly dry I’m sure the waiter must have thought I ordered a side dish of cotton mouth. Seems the people I was eating with felt the same about their Hungarian delights. Most of it went back to the kitchen! Undeterred, we sampled a Hungarian liquor called Unicum to round off the night (none of us felt brave enough to sample the sweet cheese pancakes on the dessert menu). Has anyone ever had a liquor that’s slightly fizzy before? We questioned how long it had been on the shelf and were assured that the restaurant sells oodles of these a week. Really? People really come back for the aftertaste of stomach acid in their mouth? I’m amazed this place is still in business but it seemed to be busy when we left so clearly there’s no accounting for taste. After complaining to the manager, we were grudgingly given 20% off our food but it came with a lot of huffing and puffing. I’ve never felt compelled to write a bad review before but this was just horrendous. My advice? Give this place a wide berth and spend your money on Burger King instead.
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Louise Lamb
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Friday, February 25, 2011

If you are familiar with real Hungarian cuisine you will be very disappointed with the Gay Hussar. Most of the dishes are poor copies of the real homemade Hungarian fare and to be honest I would feel embarrassed to bring somebody to this eatery and proclaim it as being real Hungarian restaurant.

The quality of the dishes is poor and the taste leaves allot to be desired. When I went there the other evening they had run out of Galuska (dumplings made of flour, eggs and water) that would be like a fish and chip shop running out of chips. The lame excuse from the waitress was that they had run out of eggs and they could not buy them locally as only very special organic eggs would be acceptable!! The Gulyas soup was over spiced, the gypsy pork medallions were over cooked without a hint of garlic or taste and the shredded liver was like rubber. Finally my partner decided to try and brighten up a miserable experience by ordering the Somloi Galuska, this tasty rum flavoured sponge bathing in lashings of chocolate sauce, raisins with fresh whipped cream on-top had been turned into a piece of stale dry cake with a few drops of chocolate sauce dripped over it.

The chef has apparently been there for 22 years, I think this guy has done more to destroy the identity of Hungarian food than anybody else. At £80 for two for such a disaster I would recommend that this place is avoided like the plague. Unfortunately, if you want to experience real Hungarian cuisine you have to travel to Hungary!
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John Simpson
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Monday, November 15, 2010

If you never tried a Hungarian Restaurant or even if you have, I can really recommend the Gay Hussars in Greek Street, looks like a dingy little place from the outside and the inside as well if I’m honest, been there for years apparently!! But the food and service are excellent, the Restaurant Manager is extremely knowledgeable and will guide you through the dishes with a fair bit of tongue in cheek wit!! I had a fish dumpling starter and the vegetarian goulash main course, both were delicious and a pleasant change from the standard Italian, Indian or Chinese fare you find on every corner. If you are looking for something different, get off to Greek Street and take pleasure in the delicious Hungarian fare on offer!!
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Salvatore Fernandez
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, September 15, 2010