Although there may be many choices in the Southwest Florida area when it comes to food, Hungarian Kitchen should be at the top of your list of places to visit. Even if you’ve never tried Hungarian food or have ever even heard of it, this is your opportunity to get real Magyar cuisine by a real Hungarian! Everything from the soup to the placsinta (Hungarian style dessert crepes) you will be wowed by the flavors and authenticity!
A Rare Jewel
There are very few Hungarian restaurants hiding in the shadows in the United States. Though the food is famous for its smoked paprika flavors, sausages and goulash soup, it’s hard to believe that there aren’t more Hungarian “kitchens” around. And why is Hungarian Kitchen called just that? In Hungarian, ‘kitchen’ and ‘cuisine’ are synonymous with one another. The same is true in Italian as well. Therefore, the name seemed obvious to Eszter, owner and operator of the this delightfully simple and obscure restaurant tucked away in the corner of an outdoor strip mall in North Fort Myers, Florida.
The Owner
The genesis of this humble, little establishment started at the end of the 1990s, when Eszter came to the U.S. with her husband at the behest of her uncle who was already living stateside. Originally from the small city of Nagykanizsa, less than an hour from the well-known tourist destination of Lake Balaton, Eszter and her husband came to Naples with a hope and desire to start in a new life in a new place.
At first, they began a business in which they cleaned private luxury homes. But because the cost of buying a house in Naples was too high, they decided to move to North Fort Myers as it was less expensive to purchase a home there.
Since they regarded themselves as both being excellent cooks, they decided to start a restaurant, and believed people would enjoy their traditional cusine from the homeland. With everything on offer being made from scratch, and due to the fact that Eszter is usually the only one on staff at the restaurant, there’s little to no question, she’s busy.
And while the restaurant may seem a bit stark, the food’s flavorful punch makes up for the plain and lack of real décor in the restaurant.
The food? Well, that’s what we’re all here for, isn’t it?
Hungarian food is a very unique and particularly special type of cuisine. At least for me. Not only did I grow up eating it, but I lived in Hungary for over a decade enjoying the real stuff at people’s homes, at restaurants and slowly learning to make it the traditional (and sometimes not-so traditional) way.
Some of these famous and perhaps not as well-known dishes that Hungarian Kitchen proudly has on offer include, stuffed cabbage, fried chicken, lapcsanka, and Chicken Paprikas. These are just some of the delicacies you can try here, and without question, there’s nothing that you will try that you won’t like.
For me, the most authentic tasting dishes that I tried while visiting Hungarian Kitchen (two nights in a row, during my stay in Florida for a week), were the chicken soup, a.k.a. hus leves, and the beef stew, otherwise known as marha porkolt.
The specialty of the house is their stuffed cabbage, in Hungarian, toltot kaposzta, which also seems to be their most popular dish as well, though Eszter humbly suggests that most of their items on the menu are quite popular.
And though it may very well seem that a small hole-in-the-wall such as this would not have a great of a following as it does, Hungarian Kitchen has been flourishing so much, Eszter has had to close the restaurant during morning and early afternoon to keep the traffic to more of a minimum.
Earlier in the year, she’d run herself ragged being practically the only person there to handle the kitchen, the customers’ orders and their payments. But now with shorter hours though with a still steady stream of dinner guests, the exhaustion is beginning to ween, even if ever so slightly.
Even with its small size and capacity, it’s surprising to learn that Eszter has held wedding receptions, and even recently was the venue for a 50th wedding anniversary celebration. She even holds senior group events from time to time, and her regular customer base? It’s just as seamless as her newcomers.
While she and her husband may not have plans to open any other restaurants in the near future, as this one has been enough of an undertaking since its inception in January of 2019, some of us can hope they will indeed extend to more than just the one location. Food this good should not be kept secret.
Though the restaurant doesn’t splurge on big things like background music, or fancy cutlery or very much in the way of ambiance or style the food makes up for a lot of what may be lacking. And of course, Eszter’s jovial demeanor and overall gregarious personality add a lot of flavor to an already delectable spot to dine.
So what are you waiting for? You know you want to try some amazing, and very authentic Hungarian food in one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. Hurry in to Hungarian Kitchen and show some love to the Magyar Koynha (Hungarian Kitchen). Just make sure that when you do, you let them know that Lisa sent you!
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