On the 21st of October 1982, Pierrot opened with two employees and an extremely limited menu - by today's standards - due to the building's location. The space was small, and at that time the cellar was not part of the café, so there was no storage capacity. They had to adapt the selection to what they could produce themselves in the small space.
They made their own crab cocktail in a big cup, made their own parfaits and filled the crêpes with them, which they decorated with beautiful sauces and whipped cream. The crêpierrot, for example, was filled with fresh fruit salad and topped with a small parasol decoration.
Everything was very well put together by Ilona, everything had an individual style.
A huge favourite on the menu was the imported beer - it was always what we could get. Ilona also talked a lot about her secret Campari purchases: if she heard that a few bottles arrived in the country, she would get in the car and run to the shop to get them.
Ilona always had an eye for quality, and to this day she believes that quality is something you have to pay for. Even before they left, they bought foreign appliances - the coffee machine, the dishwasher.
The 'authorities' were not left out either: as early as 1983, they brought foreign delegations to Pierrot's in a big black Mercedes to boast that this was how private initiative was being put into practice in Hungary.
