Heritage and hospitality meet at Adelaide's new-look Hungarian Community Hub

Growing up, Katalin Toth can remember when Adelaide boasted seven Hungarian restaurants and several Hungarian bakeries.

Today, those businesses have largely disappeared. 

“Well, there is one now,” she says with a smile as she stands in the Hungaria Cafe. 

Located on the ground floor of the Hungarian Club of South Australia on Osmond Terrace, the brand new venue is proudly filling that gap. 

After two and a half years of construction, the redeveloped centre recently reopened and is happily welcoming visitors once again. 

The new building replaces the original club, which stood on the site for 60 years and served the local Hungarian community, many of whom arrived after the Soviet invasion in 1956.

Katalin, who serves as club president, estimates that there are currently around 4,000 people of Hungarian ethnicity in the state. 

After spending 23 years as Honorary Consul for Hungary in South Australia, she knows many of them personally. 

But the reopened venue is allowing her to connect with people she's never met before. 

“Because the building is so lovely and fresh, it's revived interest from the community.” 

Next to the cafe is a modern meeting hall equipped with twin screens and projectors, acoustic ceilings and partitions to divide the room. 

The kitchen can serve both spaces, and the upper level houses a boardroom and several offices. 

Katalin has ambitious plans to reposition the centre as a hub of Hungarian culture, with music performances, poetry readings (in English) and a Hungarian film festival in the 200-seat hall. 

Large windows facing onto Osmond Terrace bring plenty of light into the room, “and when you look out at the beautiful trees, you feel like you're part of nature. 

"We're very happy with how it's turned out.” 

But the most visible part of the club is the street-facing Hungaria Cafe, which is decorated with a giant photo of Budapest's iconic Chain Bridge and Parliament House lit up at night. 

The all-day menu features traditional cakes and coffee alongside classic Hungarian dishes like rakott krumpli (layered potatoes with eggs and smoked sausage), lángos (fried dough with various toppings) and gulyás (goulash). 

Everything is prepared by Hungarian chef Attila Toth (no relation to Katalin), and “because Hungarian food is one of the centres of spicy food in Europe,” there's always a jar of traditional  Erős Pista hot sauce for those who want it. 

The cafe is also open for dinner on Friday nights, and regulars will be happy to know that the beloved monthly Goulash nights have also returned. 

“It will be a similar format, with music and two or three different Hungarian stews,” Katalin says. 

“And because it's very well known, we usually have as many non-Hungarians as Hungarians.” 

After two and a half years without a home, the club's reopening is a significant milestone for Adelaide's Hungarian community. 

But it's also a cause of celebration for the residents in the 23 apartments that form part of the mixed-use development above the club.  

“An office downstairs doesn't contribute much to the environment of a residential building, but we have a communal feel that brings people together,” says Katalin. 

“A lot of the tenants come in for coffees and meals, and some of them have joined as associate members.” 

While full membership and voting rights are restricted to those with a strong connection to Hungary, everyone is welcome at the club. 

“We accept everybody, and they're welcome to become associate members if they want,” she explains. 

“We'd love some volunteers, and if people are interested in running community programs, we're open to ideas. 

For a long time this space was underutilised, but now that we've done all the work and it's looking so good, I want to see it used by us and the broader community.” 

Hungaria Cafe is open from 9-3, Tuesday to Saturday, and from 5-9 on Friday nights.

Goulash Nights are usually held on the third Saturday of the month.

Visit today

W: www.hungarianclub.com.au
I: /hungariacafe