Hortobagy Restaurant
Excellent Hungarian / European cuisine at moderate prices.

We had always gone as a group, anywhere from 8-14 people, approximately 5 times.

Service sometimes can be annoying and/or slow. Several examples:

1) Asking for something such as water and having to wait, then reminding them that the water hasn't arrived yet 10 minutes later, and being told that they are busy.

2) Waiters always seem to ask for cash on tips, rather than allowing you to just put it on a Visa. For large parties, this can be highly inconvenient, and as a result, will just tip with cash readily available, not necessarily what should be the 'proper' amount, plus it tends to tick people off.

3) Finally, have to keep calling up for a menu to be faxed over - kept getting one excuse after another, then told the fax was broken (on the 4th call). Another time, was told to call back because the person that answered the phone didn't speak English.

If there were other Hungarian restaurants reasonably close by, we would probably opt to try them out, rather than keep going to Hortobagy, even if the food is good.    [08 Dec 2003 16:40:38]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Wood Platter, Goulash, Weinerschnitzel

     ­Anonymous   

One of my favorite restaurants in the SFV
I had nothing but good dining experiences at Hortobagy's the two evenings I dined there recently. The food was excellent and the service outstanding, particularly considering that there was only one waitress working the entire room the first time I was there.

I enjoyed the stuffed cabbage on my first visit and the Morello cherry soup followed by Chicken Paprikas on my second. Each dish was perfectly prepared and utterly scrumptious. The Paprikas came with a heaping bowl of homemade spaetzel that I could only eat about one third of -- not because it weren't excellent, but simply because there was so much of it!

I had Hungarian red wine (Egri) both nights and enjoyed a glass of Tokaj with my coffee on my second visit. There were no reservations about accepting my credit card either time, and the waitress who had served me the first time I was there was sweet enough to stop by my table as she was going off shift on my second visit just to say she hoped I had enjoyed my meal and would come back very soon.

I consider the food served here to be roughly as good as the food at Rivoli or Oliveto's, two Bay Area restaurants I frequent. The service was exceptional and I found the quiet friendly atmosphere very pleasant.    [06 Jun 2004 23:35:33]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: chilled cherry soup, stuffed cabbage

     ­Elizabeth Walters