BBJ: What are the restaurant’s experiences with the takeaway service it introduced during lockdown?
Zoltán Kalocsai: We think that the takeaway service was not the best solution for us, due to the nature of our dishes, although we made takeaway in the last few weeks of lockdown, while the kitchen was preparing for the reopening. During this period, our pastry cooks made special cakes for takeaway, which have been extremely successful, and therefore they are still available in our webshop.
BBJ: What specific measures are in place at the moment to protect customers and colleagues from COVID-19?
ZK: Naturally we keep the official regulations, such as the hand sanitizer at the entrance, and in the guest area, the waiters have to wear a mask. The whole team had been tested for COVID-19 and everybody had negative results.
BBJ: Do you see a change in the composition of international and domestic guests, considering the travel restrictions in place around the globe?
ZK: A significant portion of the guests are Hungarian, but we see a daily increase in foreign reservations. Borkonyha won’t be opened until fall, so all the reservations are taken at Textúra. Naturally, the situation has completely changed but thanks to our Hungarian clientele, we are not complaining.
BBJ: Will there be special programs in August?
ZK: We have running programs. l like having jazz, swing, and relaxing bar music by our friend, Endre Bangó every Wednesday and Saturday during dinnertime. We have "Ákos and Friends" dinner-nights, held four times in July [the last one is held today], which entails a four-course dinner cooked by a guest chef and Ákos Sárközi, our executive chef. We would like to make a new set which will be a surprise for our guests. We also had a "Champagne Evening", a light, summer dinner with a great Champagne selection.
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