Galuschka Bistro & Garden

A new restaurant opened in the town of Tokaj in March, which is great news, as Tokaj wine region still isn’t considered an ideal destination for wine tourists when it comes to lodging and dining options. The new spot offers a nice Tokaj wine list, where the wines are grouped by village. A total of 19 wineries from the towns of Mád, Rátka, Tarcal, Erdőbénye, Sárospatak, Tokaj, Bodrogkeresztúr, and Tolcsva are featured on the list.

Since the opening in March, the eatery has received 169 reviews on google with an average of 4.9 points – so far so good. No wonder, the location is ideal: Galuschka is situated in the centre of Tokaj, in a charming garden, in a beautifully restored building from the 19th century. The website features mouth-watering, elaborated plates made of local and seasonal ingredients. “Our dishes feature seasonal and local ingredients, and the plates carry not only taste but also a story. The classics of Hungarian cuisine are reborn in a new approach, making the experience both familiar and exciting.”

6-wine flights are available to taste

The menu lists those traditional dishes as they are called, like potato cream soup, fish soup, smoked rainbow trout. Gergely Somogyi wine expert and owner of Tokaj Today appreciates the wording of the menu as well: “The menu features Hungarian classics, which are even called by their good old original names – a welcome step away from the habit of rechristening familiar dishes as something unrecognisable and the list-of-ingredients type of naming schemes that often plague menu cards in Hungary these days.”
The chef is Bence Várkonyi, with experiences from Michelin-starred and recommended restaurants (though these places are not listed, and with google we only found the restaurant of Andrássy Kúria, where Bence Várkonyi worked as chef before his recent position).
The restaurant offers three wine tastings, which is undoubtedly an idea to welcome. Wine travellers will have the chance to taste 6 wines from different wineries, to get a deeper insight of the region. Besides “Sweet Dreams” and “The Dry Side of Tokaj” the third tasting offers wines of Tokaj Oremus and its parent winery, the iconic Spanish Vega Sicilia. Also, a wide selection of wines is available from these two estates on the wine list, including four vintages of Unico.

From McDonalds to fine dining

We cannot avoid mentioning the owner, who is Sándor Scheer, the 16th richest person of Hungary (Forbes Hungary, 2025). In 2021 he was “only” the 30th richest one, but within four years his wealth grew 4 times bigger. Obviously, he was close to the previous, Orbán-led government, without that this fabulous growth would not have been possible. He also received 1.1 billion HUF for Galuschka, which is 60% of the whole cost of the establishment. One of the many business ventures belonging to Scheer is the company running all the McDonalds restaurants in Hungary. The 2024 profit was a record one: 8.8 billion HUF – yes, we spent more than ever on hamburgers that year. At least he created something really valuable with Galuschka, and let us hope that the restaurant will survive in real market circumstances as well.
More about Galuschka Bistro & Garden

3 dishes with wine recommendations from the menu

Pan-seared pike perch with asparagus, ramsons and butter sauce
Wine recommendation: Holdvölgy Vision 2021

Holdvölgy ‘meaning ‘Moon Valley’ is a state-of-the-art winery with outstanding, world standard wines. They are an exception in Tokaj naming all their wines with a concept instead of the usual Tokaji Furmint and alike. Vision is a dry blend from three classified, renowned vineyards: Holdvölgy, Nyulászó and Becsek. And why Vision? “Our Vision wine demonstrates that, in our view, a dry Furmint can be produced successfully and remain exciting every year if we blend it—in proportions that vary subtly and thoughtfully according to the characteristics of each vintage—with the pleasantness of Hárslevelű and the spiciness of Kabar.”
Holdvölgy offers award winning wine experience in the cellar labirinth under the ground. A must-do activity in Tokaj!
More about Holdvölgy

Pancake with homemade, spiced apricot jam
Wine recommendation: Zsirai Fordítás 2021

Zsirai Winery is owned by two sisters, Petra and Kata, they do a great job showing the young face of Tokaj along with the inherited traditions. ‘Fordítás’ is a barely known style of Tokaj, nowadays only a handful of winemakers make it. ‘Fordítás’ is made of the second maceration af the aszú berries. It has the structure and character of a 4 ‘puttonyos’ Tokaji Aszú. However, it is lighter than an Aszú. Besides the fruitiness it has firm acidity in perfect balance with the residual sugar. The wine is not available in many places, so it is a special opportunity to taste it.
The cover photo above features a single vineyard Hárslevelű from Középhegy vineyard by Zsirai Winery. Középhegy is a “cru” placed on the map by the Zsirai girls.
Zsirai Winery offers cosy rooms in a charming guests house, plus they have some rooms within the winery building as well!
More about Zsirai Winery

Cheese selection from Zemplén county with fruit chutney, bread chips and roasted nuts
Wine recommendation: Barta Furmint Pezsgő 2020 (traditional method sparkling wine)

The grape for this sparkling comes from the prestigious Öreg Király vineyard (meaning ‘Old King’) and that it is made with the traditional method, of 100% Furmint, with at least 3 years of ageing on the lees. The sparkling has just been selected the best sparkling wine of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Barta Winery offers stunning accommodation as well in a mansion from the 17th century, with lavishly renovated large rooms. Unmissable!
More about Barta Winery