Just fondue it at the Grand Café Budapest on Thursday evenings

Not too long ago, there was a place in Budapest called La Fondue, specializing in serving hot cheese and a variety of delicacies for dipping into it. However, when the restaurant closed, the city was left without any fondue places – even though the Swiss dish is not only delicious, but also entertaining to eat while sharing it with pleasant company. Fortunately, we can once again enjoy fondue in the Magyar metropolis every Thursday night, along with the globally popular gooey raclette cheese wheels.

At the beginning of winter, there was a video of raclette circulating on a popular website. The internet sighed as one at the sight of the hot, stringy wheel of cheese being scraped to provide gooey delight. As a result, many people tried to master the art of melting cheese at home, and inevitably researched fondue as well. However, the making of these cheesy delicacies require a lot of effort: we have to look for the best cheeses, get an ideal recipe, take care not to burn the expensive ingredients, and scrub the sticky residue off the dishes after the meal.

Photo: Hartyányi Norbert - We Love Budapest

Fortunately, we discovered a much more convenient option here, although it’s available on Thursday evenings only, in the Grand Café Budapest at Oktogon. One member of the young couple running the place is a French citizen, loves the culture of fondue, and was asked one too many times about what happened to La Fondue. Therefore, as the result of some peer pressure, they figured out a way to occasionally prepare these cheese dishes: La Fondue Evenings are held every Thursday between 7pm and 11pm. Within this time period, guests may arrive for cheesy specialties at any time; the service is very friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. A fondue dish for two costs 3,900 forints per person, and includes bread cubes and a huge portion of simmering cheese. The recipe originates from Jeremy Cayron, the former executive chef of the Paris Budapest restaurant, and was created with characteristic French cheeses and white wine. In addition to bread cubes, we can also order potato (550 HUF) and cucumber (450 HUF) for the set. Just make sure to stir the mixture properly in order to achieve the ideal consistency.

What we liked even better was the raclette, also served here on Thursday nights. Its greatness lies in its simplicity; the soft, melting cheese is served on a plate, and only our lactose-sick stomachs can put an end to feasting on this beautiful dish:

for 4,400 forints, we can eat unlimited quantities of raclette – a new portion is served as soon as we run out. We recommend pairing the heavy, greasy cheese with light white wine or fröccs, in order to avoid filling your stomach too quickly. Finally, we tasted a hot, moldy cheese served in a round box, which was just as delicious as the previous ones.

However, if you feel like cheese can’t possibly fill your stomach to the brim, Grand Café has you covered: they also serve sweets from Desszert.Neked. All in all, if you don’t mind being cheesy, head over to Oktogon on a Thursday evening and dip to your heart’s content.