Eatdrink #81 January_February 2020

18 | January/February 2020
Aranka Csárda is a family-run Hungarian
restaurant on Longwoods Road, beside
Millar Berry Farms, just outside of
Lambeth. The Komaromi family take pride in
ownership and serve authentic, quality food. The
decor and colour scheme are meant to reflect
the ambience of an authentic Hungarian csárda
(traditionally a tavern on the outskirts of town).
Renovations on the former premises of George’s
Family Restaurant, which more recently had
housed Yia Yia’s Grille, commenced in the summer
of 2016, and Aranka Csárda officially opened
for business in November 2016. Recently the
restaurant survived six months of unrelenting
road construction.
Aranka, a popular traditional Hungarian name
derived from the Hungarian “arany” meaning
“gold”, translates to Goldie in English. It is the
name of Zoltan’s wife, who is known for her
cooking skills. In 1993, during the civil war, Zoltan
and Aranka, with two six-month-old twin boys
and a three-year-old daughter, left the town
of Ada in the former Yugoslavia (now in the
province of Vojvodina, Serbia) and immigrated
to Canada. Zoltan spent some time working
with the Hungarian Independent Film and Video
Association of Budapest, owning and operating Zoli
Video Productions after he arrived in Canada.
The casual white-linen dining room has
banquette seating as well as tables and chairs.
There is lots of natural light and the artifacts and
stoneware adorning the walls and windowsills
have been donated by the local Hungarian
community.
Chef Eva Szilagy is a Budapest native and it
is undoubtedly paprika that characterizes her
cuisine. Traditional recipes have their heart and
soul in the Hungarian classics. The cuisine uses
a lot of onions and sour cream, and butter is the
base for many of the homemade recipes.
Meats are sourced twice a week from the
Tribizan family-owned Mount Brydges Abattoir,
located 15 minutes outside London. The family
is known for quality fresh and smoked meats,
especially the sausages. Zolton says, due to the
abattoir owners’ Slovenian background, they
were able to introduce Hungarian Ribs on the
menu. These ribs require a special cut with lots of
eatdrink.ca |@eatdrinkmag
Hungarian Tradition & Authenticity at Aranka Csárda
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1 Owner Zoltan Komaromi and Chef Eva Szilagy
2 Just outside Lambeth, the restaurant offers ample
free parking
3 The casual white-linen dining room offers
comfortable seating and lots of natural light
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