For 105 years for the Guests

Call of the restaurant’s founder:
Dear Sirs,
It is my honour to inform you that I will open a wine and beer house named „MÁTYÁS PINCE” at the address of, Budapest, IV. kerület, Eskű tér 6. (at the corner of Duna utcza and Kéményseprő-utcza) on Saturday, on the 30th of the current month. I was the business manager of „SHOLTZBITTRICH” beer house owned by („Schmutziger” ’Piszkos”) for several years and therefore I hope I can satisfy any kinds of needs with my experiences acquired there in my own business… I request numerous visits,

Yours sincerely,
Baldauf Mátyás

The founder of the well-known beer pub of the capital, Mátyás Pince (Mathias Cave) was Borostyánkői (Baldauf) Mátyás that was born in Borostyánkő in Vas County on the 10th January 1873. He was born to poor farmers and he started to try his fortune in the world at the age of 13. The first stop on his way was Fridrich hotel and restaurant in Felsőlövő. He learnt the basis of his trade there, namely, the trades of a waiter and butcher but soon he felt that Felsőlövő was too small to him, he wanted to know and experience more and he went to Graz then to Vienna. After busy years of working he started on his way again and he did not stop until he reached the Hungarian capital. His wish of childhood was fulfilled by that because he always felt he could find the work and the means of living suitable to his abilities and knowledge there.

In 1896 he worked in Zöldfa (“Green Tree” in Krisztinaváros then in the „Kis Piszkos” restaurant (“Little Dirty”) in Sebestyén utca in the city and he had rented this latter one since 1900. In that year he married his busy-working colleague, Antunovits Terézia (born in Érd on the 11th October 1879). They worked already together with fresh enthusiasm and strength and they worked until they became independent. On the Kéményseprő utca front of the new tenement palace Esküdttéri they opened Mátyás Pince on the 30th January 1904 that he christened after his own name! –With his wife, Tercsi mother that had enjoyed public honour and public love and with four employees they started to work in the new business where 20 tables could be counted. Both the consumption and the work performance at that time were characterised by the fact that they measured 9 hectolitres of beer on the day of opening. A terrace belonged to the beer house as well where they operated 22 tables after a while in the same quality from 11 in the morning to 12 at night, accompanied by gipsy music. Ten years later– in 1914 – the neighbouring house was built the rooms planned already for the purpose of a restaurant were joined to the beer and wine house (this is the Festival Room of today) and Mátyás Pince became an important beer pub and restaurant of the capital working with a staff of 30 from the capital.

Then the kitchen was displaced into the Cave, near the Festival Room. The clientele was composed of the middle class, public servants and university students. The generation of various table companies can be dated to that time. The most famous of them was the company of „bell ringers” where shepherds belonged. The company of „cocks” was the company of „amphibians” because the old drank beer in the morning then the young, the „cocks” drank beer in the afternoon. The table company of „There is place” could be proud of the most members they number was exactly 104. The interesting thing about this company was that they were sitting around the table 3-4-5 times more than the number of seats and they were drinking beer all the day long. The table of the „bell ringers” can still be seen in the restaurant. Such table companies transferred they habits from generation to generation . Baldauf Mátyás rented the restaurant for several thousands of seats of the colony of the State Hungarian Railways from 1909 for three years and he acquired a lot of working-class guests for his main business for example the members of Acélhang Dalárda (“Steel Voice Singers”). His professionalism, his wife’s engaging kindness, the accuracy and attentiveness of the service, the good cuisine and the quality of his beer that almost became a notion made his name known even abroad.

„Well, the Baldauf’s started in a way that the quite young man married Strézsi. Then the Dreher’s built a huge palace in Esküdt tér in the cave of which Mátyás Pince was established. They were barmen at that time, they were both infinitely hard-working. The man dealt with purchases and drinks in the kitchen, Strézsi dealt with the guests. Of course, Strézsi had some sort of charm because everyone loved her very much. They fulfilled their tasks very studiously until after that they acquired some wealth with which they made an offer to the Dreher beer brewery to buy the business because they only had a private brewery. After a while the Drehers could see how decent people they were – because it was not the Dreher’s interest to have several businesses, they undertook warranty for them at MOGTÁR. In this way they were granted a loan by MOGTÁR by which they could buy the palace. Then they became the owners of the house as Mátyás Pince. This fact did not change their personality, however. They worked so studiously and with charm, moreover, they stood their children as if they had been quite alien children and they worked in this way. The extent of correctness of their business policy can be seen from the fact that their children became the first, the very first professionals. The girl carried forward her mother’s charm and the boy carried over everything he could see from his father at home.” (The memories of Patat Lajos Bp., January 1967, Hungarian Trade and Catering Museum (Magyar Kereskedelmi és Vendéglátóipari Múzeum), inventory number: 466-70)

The First World War put him into military service. His wife managed the business with success even besides raising their 9 children and under the conditions that became more difficult. In 1927 they purchased the house by enlarging the business at the 25th anniversary of the foundation (Jubilee Room) and they celebrated the jubilee on the 30th January 1929. Baldauf Mátyás could declare the house as its own where he worked together with a staff of 50 but he worked with the same enthusiasm together with his wife as on the day of opening. At their family table twenty-four people including the grand-children were seated at that time. They celebrated the Jubilee in an original way. They made the magic of the old, happy times of peace with the menu and prices that were valid 25 years before. This idea was so successful and echoed so much that, although year 1929 was the start of the economic decline, the turnover of Mátyás Pince increased by 20% and not only the domestic newspapers but also foreign newspapers wrote positively on them, moreover, the anniversary was remembered in some American newspapers as well. In 1934 he Magyarized his name from Baldauf to Borostyánkői. He started the further development of the operation of Mátyás Pince. In 1937 he modernised the house based on the plans of Dávid Károly architect and decorated it with the wall and glass paintings of Haranghy Jenő but he could not finish this work because of his illness and his death on the 6th October 1937. By listening to the opinion of the two professionals a new age started because the Mátyás name in the name of the cave preserves the memory of our great Hungarian king. The old furnishing of the restaurant was replaced by carved Renaissance and Old Hungarian-style tables, chairs and cabinets. The staff number was higher than 80 . The present form of the business was created in 1937. This was the last transformation when they added new rooms. The glazed windows were replaced by colour mosaic glass. Wall paintings were painted on the walls.

In these years the turnover of the business was around 1 million pengő. The daily turnover could be estimated around 2-3 thousand pengő. The yearly average beer turnover was around 3-4 thousand hectolitres. They measured 3-4 hundreds of hectolitres of wine. Popular foods and specialities had been in the menu since the day of opening: smoked pork leg, smoked tongue, moderate-price stew, sauce Frankfurter – einspenner – Frankfurter – one-horse, which meant half a Frankfurter with sauce, cheeses, and fish foods. The intellectual atmosphere of the business has always been democratic.

His widow and out of his nine children, Mátyás (born in Budapest on the 18th February 1906), and Imre (born in Budapest on the 1st October 1913) managed further the business. Imre went to school into the Fasori Evangélikus Gimnázium (Evangelist Secondary Grammar School) and he passed the final examination there. Then he studied with success at the catering trainee school then he worked as a trainee in his parents’ business, Mátyás Pince. In 1935-36 he developed his professional and language knowledge in Hotel Surböck in the Austrian Mariazell and he worked in all the work phases of the hotel, the restaurant and the kitchen. In addition to German language, he learnt Italian and later English and French languages then he passed the master examination of catering professionals. From 1937 he managed the restaurant with his elder brother, Mátyás then from 1944 to 1945 went to military service. He received a permit to open an independent restaurant named „Kis Matyi” (“Small Mathias”) at the address of Budapest József krt. 65 in 1948 upon the nationalisation. The Bank Centre seized the business in 1951 when he was translocated. Until the 12th August 1953 he was translocated to Fajzat wilderness near Gyöngyöstarján where he earned his living by occasional forest work. After the release of the translocation he lived in Érd in and he found the job of an assistant waiter in Palace Hotel then he was employed by Kőbánya Factory Catering Company where he first worked as a waiter then in the positions of a buffet manager and shop manager. He deceased on the 16th June 1997 as a retired but he even worked as a book-keeper when he was retired.

Borostyánkői Mátyás, Junior,(born in Budapest on the 18th February 1906) he acquired the diploma of an assistant shop-keeper at the Catering Vocational School. In 1925 he worked as a trainee in Pörtschach Park Hotel then in 1928 in Auerbachs Keller in Leipzig. From 1937 to 1949 he managed Mátyás Pince with his younger brother, Imre. After the nationalisation he worked for Astoria Hotel from 1950 as a purchaser for 25 years. He retired from here at the age of 70. He deceased on the 9th September 1998.

The turnover of the business did not decline at the time of the Second World War either. In inflation times, the turnover was little. Purchases were difficult, raw materials could not be purchased at the appropriate price. The reduction of the turnover entailed the termination of the labour relations of a part of the staff then it was reduced in 1944 and in 1945 from 80 to 40 employees. During the period of the battle the business was kept closed and transformed into a bomb-shelter. Fire was started seven times in the restaurant, the floor was burnt completely. 80% of the furniture and assets were devastated. In Budapest on the first day after the liberation, the owner cleaned out the business on the 13th February and it worked as a people’s kitchen. At that time goods could be acquired only after granting thus simple foods were given and only against vouchers. The restoration of the business, filling it up with intangible assets took almost half a year. The staff number had to be increased in parallel with the increase of the turnover. The turnover of the restaurant developed slowly in parallel with the country’s development. The choice of goods widened at the market and the choice of foods could be increased.

The “second” palmy days of Mátyás Pince started from the 18th May 1947. Then the beer festival was held in Budapest and Mátyás Pince won the first place at that competition. On the memorable day 30,5 hectolitres of beer were sold. All the guests received a true Frankfurter with sauce after every 5 jugs of beer. The old menu was restored in the restaurant on that day.

These are the foods that have been mentioned in the menu since the start of the operation of the restaurant. The summer of 1948 became a special period in the life of the business. In that summer the building of Szabadság Bridge (Liberty Bridge) was finished. The Council of the 5th District ordered festival lunch for 1200 guests from Mátyás Pince. They could solve this task that is to say the problem of laying the table in a way that all Kéményseprő utca was closed and the tables were laid to the workers. They requested the market hall sellers to help with serving and preparation because of the small staff number. The leaders of the district council, Gerő Imre and Nagy Ferenc participated at the social gathering. After the shiny years the business could feel the economic changes and troubles very seriously. In 1949 they wanted to close it up and transform the restaurant into a furniture store. This plan was soon rejected it would not have been a consequential step regarding the success of the business that it had achieved so far.

The restaurant was nationalized on the 29th December 1949. Vili Sándor received the position of the shop manager. Unfortunately, he was not a professional, he was a simple baker assistant. He could not cope with starting the business, he did not know the career of the restaurant before he was unable to carry on the line that attracted the guests in the good old days. He almost completely lost the clientele of the business. In 1950 Pap Endre became the position-holder of the business manager. He succeeded in finding, solving the problems that his predecessor could not. He learnt his catering knowledge beside his father and his father made boneless fish foods to be loved in Pest. Pap Endre brought such special foods into Mátyás Pince. He, in co-operation with the employees, arranged the business, they filled up the current assets because the restaurant hardly had plates, glasses and cutlery. The furnishing of the kitchen had to be supplemented in 50%. The staff number was increased from 30 to 50. The beer-pub character of the business ceased from that renewal. Its Hungarian-style ornaments, cave atmosphere made it suitable for developing into a characteristic Hungarian-style fish restaurant. Fish foods were the most important in the menu but old specialities also received place there in addition to them. They were necessary in order to avoid the loss of the old clientele. The clientele of the business soon got used to the transformation. The cave could be started in order to reach its third palmy days. It was unnecessary to wait for long for the planned results. After the extensive developments, which characterised the whole Hungarian catering industry at that time, the intensive development phase was more important. The business turnover reached the old values in 1952 however, there were a few failures in the quality. In that year the reconstruction of the restaurant was realised in a way that they tried to establish an atmosphere that could bring up the age of Mathias King. The styles of the wall paintings were renaissance and old Hungarian. The furniture in renaissance style was fully preserved.

The building itself was declared protected which caused a draw-back because the surface area and transformation of the business were impossible. The Hungarian character was further developed among the furnishing as well. Within the food choice of the restaurant the specialities of the Hungarian cuisine were the most important. The famous Déki-Lakatos dynasty contributed to the image of the restaurant by their gipsy music for several decades. The increase in the quality level of the restaurant did not cause any falls in the turnover of the business it was also proven by the coming times. By the improvement of the quality level and the establishment of the special atmosphere the domestic and foreign fame of the business was founded. The problems that emerged at the time of nationalisation in Mátyás Pince, could be found all over the catering industry in that period. In a lot of businesses it was impossible to find a management that could be professional and this bore a huge risk. Several businesses had to be closed up for a while. Although the failure of a lot of old businesses was also increased by the opening of new catering facilities. In the race of the competition a lot of businesses were unable to keep up. The increase and development of tourism resulted in a huge change in Hungarian catering industry. The extensive development of companies was started again. Such movement could be observed mainly in hotel industry. In all the larger towns hotels were started the room numbers proved to be little compared to the needs. This process was characteristic for Lake Balaton and its surroundings. By the start of tourism the turnover of Mátyás Pince increased greatly as well. The increase of the turnover was so large that it necessitated the enlargement of the kitchen. The surface area of the kitchen had to be enlarged because work was impossible in the old little kitchen for such a huge turnover. The business received the first old refrigerators at that time. There were huge changes in the objects of kitchen furnishing, too. The old, heavy, tinned copper dishes were replaced by light, aluminium dishes. This enlargement was realised in the 1959’s and 1960’s.

The sales improvement and development of the restaurant started after that. The restaurant received modern furnishing (plate heaters, polished glasses, serving tools). A new service system was introduced in the restaurant. By that change success could be achieved among both the domestic and foreign guests. The foreign guests left home already with the address of the business. The last transformation of the business took place in 1964. Upon the construction of Elisabeth Bridge, Március 15. tér was filled up, the business was supplemented by the hall at that time. In the restaurant parts there was no transformation everything remained in its old form. A few years later the Magyarization of the Hall started, they wanted to place pictures, old objects but they also planned to reconstruct the walls but the realisation failed for reasons that could not be explained. Unfortunately, the hall does not match the harmony of the business, it is very different from the old Hungarian-style and Renaissance-style rooms. The turnover of the business was more than 10 million HUF in 1964. The capacity was fully utilised. The kitchen could not serve the large turnover of the business and the enlargement of the kitchen would have been necessary but it was impossible to realise it. Therefore, they were compelled to decide on the modernisation of the kitchen. They replaced the old machines by new modern machines and everything depended on the agility and incentives of the staff. This is also proven by the fact that they stepped over the turnover of 24 million HUF in 1974- under the same circumstances. They did not increase the staff number and they did not install new machines either because of little space. The wall paintings were devastated they became unrecognisable during the times. The students of the College for Fine Arts restored them in 1969-70 under the guidance of Bozó Gyula painter. In 1971 based on the plans and execution of Bozó Gyula the beer drinking room received wall paintings. The topics of the pictures were taken from the outstanding events of the life of Mathias King. The wall paintings matched the Renaissance atmosphere of the business in harmony. The proudness of the restaurant is the glass mosaic picture that was represented in a stamp of a nominal value of HUF 5. In 1971 the Swedish-American air conditioning machines were installed which made the stay in the cave more comfortable. The business of Old Hungarian and Renaissance styles received high renown within the foreign catering industry as well. This was shown by the fact that several businesses were opened in a style similar to the style of Mátyás Pince in several European big cities. The first business that had been exported was built in Berlin. It was opened with mutual co-operation, largely with Hungarian staff.

Address: Restaurant Mathias Keller
Berlin D.D.R.
Karl Marx Allee 91.
This business was followed by another one in Munich soon. The success did not fail here either. The Hungarian-style foods, drinks, mainly the wines, soon became popular. Last but not least the gipsy music was attractive to the guests. In 1971 a business similar to Mátyás Pince was opened in Vienna. In the business at the end of January every year the “ice breaking Mathias day” was held. Only the usual clientele was allowed to visit the yearly anniversaries. Those days and anniversaries were spent in nice, intimate atmosphere. The composition of the menu of the restaurant changed to a large extent but one or two of the old, special foods are always shown in the menu all the time, the needs of the guests are paid attention to.