Splendid scenery and cuisine mingles on Budapest’s Corso terrace

Surrounded by healthy potted plants (including herbs used in the kitchen) and mist-spraying fans to ensure a constant cool breeze, the sprawling patio of the InterContinental Budapest’s Corso restaurant is now one of the city’s most appealing spots for dining, drinking, lounging, and people-watching. Guests can take a seat on comfy outdoor sofas laden with plush pillows – an ideal perch for sipping cool cocktails while gazing at Buda’s skyline – or sit on wicker chairs at awning-shaded tables, creating a serene ambience of natural-wood furniture and diversely lush greenery.With this pleasant setting occupying a segment of the Danube Promenade close to the Chain Bridge, the renewed Corso terrace is proving to be a popular dining destination among locals and visitors alike this summer, but not only for its panoramic charm. With the recent arrival of Hungarian chef Gergő Gullner to head the Corso kitchen, the menu now focuses on seasonal regional cuisine prepared with modern panache and international cooking influences – fostered by Gergő’s extensive experience of working in high-class eateries on multiple continents, from New York to Dubai to Moscow and beyond.

While Gergő’s worldly career has taken him far, in many ways this new job in his native Budapest is a real homecoming – today the Corso restaurant belongs to the city’s prestigious InterContinental Budapest, but decades ago this modern waterfront hospitality palace was called the Forum Hotel, and when Gergő was a child, both his father (also a chef) and his mother were employed here; he recalls playing in the picture-window curtains of the restaurant where he is now in charge. After following his father’s footsteps into a culinary career with a prep-cooking job here in Budapest as a teenager, Gergő took an opportunity to work at a Hungarian restaurant in Vancouver at only 17 years old, beginning a long journey of international employment.

While working in Vancouver, Gergő started making his own Dobos torte – which earned the praise of noted Hungarian-American food writer George Lang, giving the young chef a considerable career boost. After returning to Budapest to work at Gundel, Gergő was selected to cook Hungarian cuisine with the Gundel team at the United Nations on multiple occasions, exposing him to exotic cooking techniques from around the world. This experience served him well after moving on to work for the Zurich Marriott, and later progressing to Dubai, where he was employed by major luxury resorts and one of the city’s finest seafood restaurants. From there he again returned to Budapest – this time working for the Corinthia and Four Seasons hotels, and later Kiosk restaurant – before being employed for almost two years at a fine Moscow eatery, and eventually returning to Budapest in recent months, back to the restaurant where it all began.

All of this international culinary experience gave Gergő broad expertise in the many types of gastronomical artistry found worldwide, but nonetheless he believes that the most important role of every dish is to highlight natural flavors in ways so that the ingredients complement each other simply and effectively, and this approach serves him well in creating fresh versions of the Hungarian dishes that he presents at Corso, all prepared with graceful visual flair. Additionally, Gergő is pleased that the quality of Hungarian-produced raw materials is now of a much higher standard than it used to be and is available fairly consistently, allowing him to fill the Corso menu with seasonal dishes that truly showcase regional tastes.

This summer, Gergő’s starters include an unconventionally constructed tuna Niçoise salad with green beans and candied tomatoes (a light and zesty starter ideal for warm weather) and a cold Andalusian tomato soup with codfish, avocado, sour cream, and caviar; when the orange fish eggs burst in the mouth and intermingle with the piquant tomato essence, the combined effect is perfectly tangy and refreshingly delicious.

Seasonal main courses include roasted duck with Transylvanian-style polenta infused with apricots and pine seeds, served with a sauce of elderflower, duck jus, and chanterelle mushrooms – truly a savory blend of regional flavors that combine to provide a sweetly earthy taste, especially while biting into the succulent duck meat.

Also showcasing local ingredients, another favorite of this summer is the grilled free-range chicken with squash pottage and dill sauce, served with Hungarian Mangalica-pork chips and breaded squash. Creatively presented with the squash pottage provided within a hollowed-out tomato, the dish is delightfully harmonized as the mouthwatering Mangalica provides a pleasantly salty bite to balance the light chicken, while the fried squash gives the entire entrée an agreeably crunchy texture.

And always remembering the fateful Dobos torte that launched his career, Gergő also serves incredible desserts made with regional materials, like the creamy panna cotta with basil sorbet, passion fruit, strawberry, and orange flambé, or the Tihany lavender-and-chocolate millefeuille with raspberry sorbet, in which the aromatic purple flower harmonizes with the crispy cocoa pastry to create a splendidly summery feeling on the palate.

In addition to being a great destination for breezy lunches or romantic dinner dates, the Corso terrace is also a cool spot for alfresco dining during special culinary events. Every Sunday throughout the year between noon and 3pm, Corso’s “Lazy Sunday Brunches” welcome the entire family to feast on a huge buffet of seasonal delights and meaty treats along with a huge range of salads and sweets. Furthermore, on the night of August 20th – Hungary’s national holiday celebrating the country’s founding king, Saint Stephen – a special dinner celebration is happening here, with the annual fireworks display over the Danube brightening up the night above; reservations are being accepted now.
Address:
1052 Budapest, Apáczai Csere János utca 12-14.
Telephone:

+36 1 327 6392
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