Country Style Hungarian Restaurant

3.5 round up to 4. It’s as authentic as Toronto gets for Hungarian food. Firstly, the cucumber salad is amazing. We shared the cabbage roll, schnitzel and galoush both with a side of the dumplings. The cabbage roll was my favourite and the schnitzel was fried just right. I expected the galoush to be more tender, melt in your mouth but it was not bad. Service was friendly and alcohol was reasonably priced!

Having been a past customer for over 20 years, I have watched Country Style Hungarian Restaurant go downhill and now it is just pathetic, surviving only due to its past customers and because it’s the only Hungarian restaurant left in the Bathurst-​Bloor area.
One person is graced with a basket of two allotted pieces of tasteless, stale bread. They always served REAL SOURDOUGH bread in the past, but the owner just wants to charge more and give garbage.
The side dishes are now served in TINY TINY bowls, like the beet salad. PATHETIC. Cheap, cheap owner makes portions smaller every year.
The potatoes ARE DEEP FRIED, not grilled, and the portion is now ALSO TINY, like the bread & sides. The meat is ONLY PORK.
$ 18.95 for a couple deep fried pieces of potato and a piece of flattened pork. Absolutely no value. The Goulash is AS TASTELESS AS WATER because it IS watered down to stretch the owner’s dollar farther, as with everything else here.
NOTE RE SALT SHAKERS: They have SALT shakers on the tables with HUGE holes. You literally RUIN your schnitzel and they won’t be replacing it for free either!
To the owner: You should be ashamed, emptying your histrionic patrons’ pockets every day, charging them more every 365 days, while giving them much, much less with each passing year.
The schnitzel breading is the only good thing about this place, which is now just an old, dusty dive with a cheap, lazy, uninspired owner.

damn, i haven’t been to this spot in a miiiiiinute.
although, last time i was there i had a coffee and a tasty pastry. defs gonna hit it up asap.
—updates to come—

Normally we would rate an easy 5/​5, except for today.
Every New Years Day, we drive into Toronto for the best schnitzle around!
This year, the schnitzle was very good. The service was disappointing (to say the very least.)
We ordered breaded mushrooms (as an appetizer.) As we each began our second mushroom, the server presented us with our main! «Oh my gosh», I blurted out, «It’s too soon, we’ve barely started our appetizer!» The server gave an obvious clue as to her reaction; we saw it plain as day on her face! She took our plates back to the kitchen without a single word!
As I ponder the experience, I should have let her leave our food on the table, as it took quite a long time to have her acknowledge us after that.
When we were finally served our schnitzel dinners, (and again the server left the table very quickly) I said to my partner, «Well, I was going to ask for our beets and salad, but I feel like I would really upset her!». My partner agreed, and oh, how I missed that small dish of the tastiest pickle beets, more than you will ever know! To me, (& in years gone past) … each food item is an important part of the schnitzle experience.
We skipped the historically wonderful apple strudel, and instead opted to begin our long trek home.
Our tummies were full, our New Years Day but a disappointing memory.
Oh well, there’s always next year.
Sigh.

So happy places like this still exist in Toronto. Be warned: the serving sizes are huge. I’d recommend sharing. We shared an appetizer of cabbage rolls, then a main of Wiener Schnitzel (with dumplings). The schnitzel comes with perfectly pickled cucumbers. Beer. Strudel for dessert. Perfect meal on a cold night. It was also very busy and lively, which I enjoyed. Cash only but they have an ATM.

I’ve never written a Unilocal review, but the good rating of this restaurant led me so far astray that I felt I needed to. The food here is over priced and poor quality. Everything tastes manufactured, not wholesome or «home-​style.» The bread is so bad it might as well be sliced wonder bread, I’ve tasted better beets out of a Bick’s jar, and the potatoes were dry and over cooked. I’m sure the meat in my schnitzel was cheap and crappy like everything else here. It was like the Hungarian equivalent to McDonalds. Oh, and they take cash ONLY, but they don’t tell you that until you’re finished your meal and ready to pay. There’s no sign about it anywhere. Step up your game guys, if you’re going to charge $ 19 for a meal buy better ingredients, this isn’t a $ 5 meal at Denny’s!

I would never recommend this place… I have a European background… and accustomed to eating cabbage rolls, goulash, paprikash. The food is expensive with cheap cuts of meat… I has a dish served with while slop with no paprika in it over 2 chicken legs… I refused to eat it… Went there once with my father, never again… There are better options… And no I do not eat at McDonalds.

Good food but… Yikes!!! They don’t take credit cards!!! Travel a lot and first restaurant in many years that does not take plastic. Gave 3 stars for that. Threw me for a loop… Went to machine but USA cards do not yet have chips so was not able to get cash. Had USA cash but was told that even though the rate was 1.27 they would not do the exchange. Too bad, all I had was $ 40 USD and the bill was $ 45 Canadian. Gave them the $ 40 because it covered the bill.
This made me very cautious rest of trip but even the fast food restaurants took plastic.

Delicious food! The schnitzel is particularly good. The restaurant only accepts cash payment.

3.5−4. We only had the combo schnitzel platter that came with 2 kinds and all kind of sides. Highly recommended for your first try at this place. Large, crispy tender schnitzel and moist tasty cabbage roll. The only let down was the mush of rice. Maybe its suppose to be like that, I don’t know. The décor is from another era, and service was almost non– existing, but the food really makes up for it. Cash only.

LOVE the food here! I come from a Hungarian background (father is Hungarian and cooks it too) and I have to say this is the BEST Hungarian place left in and around the city! The prices are resonable and the amount of excellent food is amazing! Fresh, Homemade and fast! By far one of our favorite places to go to!
Goulash Soup, Veal Paprika, Cabbage Rolls… all are EXCELLENT! The desserts are homemade, and look amazing but I am always too full to try them.lol.

Love those cabbage rolls with sauer kraut! It’s perfect. Melt in your mouth savoury goodness.
I want some more :)
Schnitzel is as thin as it gets. Crust is crunchy. Flavours are subtle.
Apple strudel is passable. Small portion, apple is like a thick purée/​jam… pastry skin tasted. a bit flour-​like.
Crêpe has a really satisfying texture! It’s delicate and light, yet thick and a bit sticky-​doughy (not paper thin like French kinds). We tried the walnut filing and I wasn’t a fan of the crunchy granulated sugar. Next time I’ll go for something smoother.
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Cute, family cottage-​style décor.
Service was inattentive at times.
Comfy atmosphere with regulars.
Clean and private single room bathrooms with shared sink upstairs.
20 $ for main dishes.

Last of a dying breed. After the revolution in 1956 thousands of Hungarians were accepted as refugees into Canada and a lot of them opened restaurants and delis on Bloor between Bathurst and Spadina.
There must have been 10 of them in the mid-​70s when I started going there. My favourite was the Korona. They had the best [ie biggest] Transylvanian Wooden Platter, aka «heart attack on a cutting board».
Only Country Style has survived, surrounded by endless nondescript sushi bars and vegan joints. The food is authentic and the portions are enormous. I usually go for the Parisian schnitzel and dumplings, although the large goulash soup is also gut-​bustingly satisfying. It’s totally unpretentious, from the rather cheesy «décor» to the «cash only» policy and the dineresque service.
If you want to fill up for the day [and tomorrow], go there for lunch and you’re set. I’ll miss it if/​when they throw in the paprikash.

I’ve been eating quite a bit of schnitzel as of late and I’ve found myself growing disillusioned with the seemingly impossible-​to-​mess-​up item. It seems like most of the time it arrives at the table room temperature with underwhelming and tough meat.
Enter Country Style. In my opinion, these guys serve the best schnitzel in Toronto. It arrived at my table just a few minutes after I ordered it and it was as hot and fresh as one could imagine. Cooked to perfection, the schnitzel boasts a tasty breading and meat that’s almost unbelievably soft and moist. You can cut your pieces with a fork!
We also tried the cucumber salad, which is essentially thinly sliced cucumbers in a sweet, tangy sauce. Very tasty. We closed out the meal with an apricot-​filled crêpe. I assumed it would be some previously-​made crêpe served right out of the fridge but it was actually fresh! The crêpe itself was fantastic with a little bit of crust, while the apricot filling was perfectly tangy and delicious.
Service was excellent, although the restaurant’s cash-​only policy meant I had to head out in the rain to grab money from a bank machine. A minor hiccup in an otherwise flawless dining experience.

I’ve been coming here for a lot longer than I would like to admit. For me, this place is all about the Hungarian Goulash and the cabbage rolls. I’ve never found better but I also don’t go looking for it, this place satisfies me when I get the rare craving. The décor is very dated, old and old style but comfortable. If you like big portions (I don’t) and the comfort of home while dining out then this place will do you fine.

You know, it amazes me that people come to (for example) a Hungarian restaurant and then complain that the meal isn’t served with North American condiments. Really? Are these the same people who go to Japanese restaurants and get mad if there aren’t any McDonald’s cheeseburgers on the menu? To avoid foolish expectations, I’d suggest doing your research beforehand. In this day and age, most people have and iphone/​android and it would take all of what, 3 seconds to search «typical Hungarian meal» in order to know that that’s what they’d be getting. Please don’t apply North American expectations or we’ll be stuck with every restaurant «Americanizing» their food and that would just be sad. Rant over.
This is traditional Hungarian food. The traditional fruity drink made w a red syrup and water is yummo! Have the cucumber salad (tangy and sweet) and if they have the mushroom soup (everything is homemade here), try it. A tasty broth with fresh mushrooms. Light and satisfying. Then get the schnitzel (I like to forego the bread and add mashed potatoes instead). Ask for extra lemon wedges to squeeze it over the light, flavourful meat. So delicately breaded and perfectly browned, you’d swear that you’re having breaded fish. For dessert (you won’t have room but get it anyway) order the walnut crepes. Oh, and did I mention? Our server was excellent, always filling our water glasses, checking to see that everything was okay without being annoyingly hovering. Cash only. Go for a walk around the hood to work off all of that food.

I spontaneously went here with a friend many years ago after a Hot Doc screening. We had never been and went with some huge combo of various fried foods.
If you like fried food, and a lot of it, this combo is for you. After a while I found that it was a bit bland; I think we left half of it behind.
My memory is that the service was good and the décor fine. It is a pretty neat place. And yes, it really stands out among all of the same ol’ sushi places on this part of Bloor.
I don’t recall this being a cheap place.
I would like to try it again but I would go with something more reasonable. As in, just a regular plate. At any rate, it is one of those places you should try on Bloor. Recommended!

As most of the reviews state, this place looks dated. But it doesn’t really matter, I don’t need a modern-​chic Hungarian restaurant. To me Hungarian speaks homestyle, potatoes and making it like mom used to.
For five of us, we ordered the platter which includes three large pieces of schnitzel done two ways. Some good beets and potatoes beneath it. And some salad as well.
That was decent enough for us. The interesting thing is the batter on the schnitzel doesn’t really «stick» to the meat, it kinda comes apart.
I’d say it’s not bad for the price.

Un excellent petit restaurant de tradition hongroise au cas où vous né l’auriez pas compris. C’est un décor assez kitsch, on dirait quelque chose d’importé de la Hongrie d’avant la chute du mur de Berlin. Les photos accrochées au mur doivent dater des années 50, qu’importe vous êtes venus ici manger un bon schnitzel et des pâtes hongroises ! C’est frit, c’est copieux mais c’est excellent par un soir d’automne ou d’hiver. Attention, ici on né paie que comptant, chose devenue rare à Toronto.

Country Style Hungarian Restaurant sure looks out of place in the sea of Japanese, Thai, pubs in the Annex area.
The Unilocal’s photos of Schnitzel are just bizarre! I probably would not have go in solo because no way I am going to eat that Schnitzel all by myself without having a heartburn later.
Walking inside Country Style did give me a feeling I have transferred back to one of those little European cities where chic and cool doesn’t exist. «the way it is» is always the best! Nothing wrong with this old world’s charm as old timers would definitely feel just at home eating here.
I sweet talked Rafi N who is a meat lover to share:
Parisian Schnitzel ($ 18.95)
— Lightly battered and deep fried to golden brown
— Veal was pounded to paper thin and was surprising moist and tender
— with minimum seasonings. dizzled with fresh lemon juice did take some of the deep fried oiliness away
Goulash ($ 5.95)
— Hearty with chucks of vegetables and beef
— flavour too is a little bland. but definitely not salty over loaded with MSG. maybe a pinch of salt will give it more flavour
Services here is homey and slow. how can one rush their grandma?
Prices includes taxes and is Cash Only!

Huge portions.
First found this place after googling «biggest meals in Toronto».
Does not disappoint.
There are a few non-​meat items on the menu– but the big draw here is schnitzel. Weiner, chicken, Parisian, Hunter style, etc etc. Food comes out on big wood plates with knives stuck on it. Three of us shared a special combo for two. Lady says it serves 4. I guess Hungarians eat twice as much as other people.
Cash only — but all prices include tax (#winning). You can be massively full– and satisfied with what you ate for about 20 bucks including tax and tip.
Lots of character.