Whiskey Galore

The sörözô is described in bi-lingual terms on a sign above the door. This should please all the purists who prefer hostelries to be Magyarized as much as possible. However as the theme of this venue is Scotland and the menu is Hungarian-International, it seems appropriate to have both languages.

My only quibble was of a linguistic nature. When they translate Ôreg Skót as Old Scotch, do they realize that Scotch should only be used when referring to the drink, and Scot or Scotsman/woman for the person? Perhaps they do.

Anyway, I interrogated two esteemed Scotsmen of this parish, and both said they did not mind at all when people mix up Scotch with Scots. So there you go, I’m just a sorry Sassenach suffering from grammatical pedantry.

Having cleared this up with my associates from north of the border, I took my friend Celia, a Glaswegian, along to verify authenticity. The Ôreg Skót is two small rooms on cellar level, with a well-stocked bar at the front and a back room that I fear could become very smoky. However on a weekday at 6pm we had the place to ourselves and the air was clear

The pub is new and clean, renovated from one of the afore-mentioned dingy sörözôs. The walls are pine green and the wood is all shiny chestnut. Tasteful prints on the wall depicted Scottish queens and castles, although I noticed one drawing of Glastonbury Abbey, which is not in Scotland unless they invaded and shifted the borders since my last visit home.

An ancient typewriter and, strangely, a rusty cheese grater are among some of the decorations but, luckily, there’s not too much of the Ecseri flea market tat clogging up the diminutive premises.

Adorning each table are little mats in a tartan from a clan I’m afraid I can’t name and the extremely kind and friendly waiter wears an apron with a similar reddish check. I counted 54 cocktails including one that blends vodka with peppermint cordial and sounds very intriguing - probably good as a winter warmer. I sipped from a bottle of export Guinness (Ft520) while Celia had a glass of Heineken (Ft220).

A selection of food is available for very reasonable prices. Mozzarella, tomato and basil salad (Ft650), cream of corn soup (Ft290), Sicilian spaghetti (Ft750) and steak in green peppercorn sauce (Ft1,650) are just some of the items on offer. More are listed on a daily menu on each table.

Being a Scottish pub, naturally there is a choice of 20 whiskies and whiskeys; that is to say Scotch and then the Irish and American malt brands.

Despite all my drivel I must admit I know absolutely nothing about the drink, but my late father had an appreciation and enthusiasm for both life and whisky, and I was touched to see some of his preferences available: Teachers at Ft250 for 2cl and Johnnie Walker for the same. Other significant names on offer were Jack Daniels at Ft390 for 2cl and 12-year-old Ballantines for the same price and measure.

The whisky theme wafted me back to the Budapest of 10 years ago, when Scotch was the most outrageously expensive thing you could order, only available to those on a serious mission to impress or with an expense account straight from the mafia.

Now it appears to be affordable by all, which must be a good thing. However, since whisky and whiskey are available all over town these days, I wonder if Ôreg Skót might not include some more obscure brands on its list, to tempt visitors into the back streets of the district. My father’s other favorite, a Christmas present if he was lucky, was The Famous Grouse and I personally only found one brand I could get down which is Laphroiag from the island of Islay with hints of smoked kippers. If the Ôreg Skót could proffer a few oddities, it would help to lure customers into what is a very pleasant but otherwise relatively nondescript hole in the wall. Either that or say they’ve spotted Nessie bobbing about in the Bottomless Lake (Fenéketlen tó) just along the road.

Ôreg Skót sörözô /Old Scotch

XI. Bercsényi utca 3

Tram 47, 49, 19, 18 to Bertalan Lajos utca

Tel: 209-2864

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