Budapest

Being a local, I have plenty of time exploring the vegan options in the city.

Here you can find some of the places I have visited so far. You can click on the name of the places, I put the link under them for you 🙂

 

Gelarto Bistro

Right next to the Basilica you will find this gem. Fresh, colourful and oh so tasty dishes. They have brekkie options, soups, mezzes, sandwiches:

I met Mimi and Marcin last year in Mauritius (my blogpost about the island is here), and when they crossed Hungary, they stopped for a lunch, and I choosed Gelatro, they only had 2 hours in Budapest, so this way we could eat and enjoy the view of the Basilica as well:

 

Madal Cafe

1054 Alkotmány u 4.
1053 Ferenciek tere 3.
1136 Hollán Ernő u 3.

They have several coffeeshops in the city, they are good for coffee with several nutmilk options, vegan sandwiches, vegan croissants, juices and raw vegan cakes. If you just want to grab a coffee and go or you need a place to work, it is ideal. I am writting this blog post in the one which is next to the Parlament. Here you can also have lunch. There are daily options for vegan pasta, even you can ask it gluten free.

 

 

 

“The first Madal Cafe was founded in May 2013 in Budapest as one of the first specialty coffeeshops in the city. Since then we expanded and you can find us now at three locations. Our aim is to give a great coffee experience to our guests and also to establish a small island of peace in the whirl of the city where everybody is welcome. We got our name after the peace philosopher Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007) whose philosophy inspired us and whose childhood nickname was “Madal”.”

 

Vegan Love

1114 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 9.

I was not a burger lover before I went vegan, but now I love them when they are juicy and has a good flavour combination.

They have about 6-8 burgers, hot dogs, even my meatlover friends agreed to be a good ones, salad, doughnut. The place is quite small, so sometimes it is not easy to get a table, but so worth it. They have everything reusable, which is an extra point. Don’t forget to grab a napkin when you eat 😉 My favourite burger is the one with sweet potato. As you can see on the pictures you can ask it without bread as well, it is fullfilling with iceberg salad also as a cover. There is other glutenfree option also.

 

They have an other restaurant where you can grab theis Mexican line with filling dishes. The other restaurant is Magic burger (it is not vegan yet fully, but on the way). They take reducing their waste seriously, almost everything is biodegradable. You can read my interview with them (on Hungarian):

“We were searching for new culinary challenges and this lead us to a new vegan street food menu. It was a far too big hit. A restaurant was born. We would never have thought how much the world opens up when you switch to a plant-based diet. How many new plants, fruit, vegetables, grains and seeds you get to know which didn’t exist for you before. Moreover, you discover food that tastes just like meat when coated, food that tastes just like eggs when mixed with water, or food that tastes just like milk when cooked. Everything has its vegan alternative.”

 

Slow Foodiez

1067 Budapest, Szondi utca 11.

It is a very cosy place in the center, not far from the Nyugati Railway Station. From vegetarian to raw they have it all. A great place for breakfast, there are daily options for lunch and you can eat from a menu also.

What I love having there is vegan omlette with avo sauce and salad and a detox green smoothie. Fresh water is always there unlimited.

 

“When we furnished our three-storeyed restaurant we made sure to develop a comfortable atmosphere that feels like as if you were home. The property is naturally equipped with everything that is needed in a restaurant but once you enter it feels more like you just stepped into a spacious house. Our goal is to create that feeling as much as we put effort in our catering’s immediacy. We would like to stay in a pleasant atmosphere since this is our workplace and we’d like our guests to experience that, too.”

 

Vegazzi

 

Cafe Frei

They have several cafes, just to name a few:

Mammut: Budapest, Margit krt. 89, 1024

Eiffel tér: Budapest, Teréz krt. 55, 1062

Budapest, Váci út 17, 1134

I have big problem with Cafe Frei. Too many options. It’s not like espresso, latte, cappucino in different sizes, but all those flavours, compositions. Once I tried to ask espresso with milk, they were wondering about my plain taste.. 😀 You have to ask which one they make with plantbased milk, but most of them are there for you to enjoy. The one in the picture here is with lichi (Licsi-Pucci).. but also there are coffees such as Walnut frappe-chino, Caribean rum coffee, Shiroibara Japanese rose coffee, Maui almond cappucino, New York Espresso, Armaian orange coffee just to name a few.

 

Great Bistro
Budapest 1054 Bank utca 6.

The owner of this restaurant is a well-known Hungarian food blogger, she has a cook book also. There is breakfast, daily menu for lunch and kind of fine dining for dinner. She loves matching flavours you would think are strange together, but still go hand in hand in perfect harmony. I only have this sh..ty photo from there, but I will go back and take nice ones for you.

A bit better photo:

 

827

1133. Budapest, Zsilip utca 4.

When I made the decesion to go plantbased I had already loved cooking without meat and could make several dishes using the millions of combinations of vegetables. I have never been a big fun of meat even when I was eating it, so when I skipped it I didn’t understood why people wants to eat the same type of dishes but with a replacement. The moment I understood was when my mum decided to give up meat and we went to a vegan restaurant which is famous of their vegan version of traditional Hungarian dishes and she almost cried of joy. She had those dishes for decades and she loved them, and she was just so happy to taste them again.

827 is this kind of restaurant. It is buffet style. You can choose from several dishes, which a really good way of trying different things in one go. If you don’t like it you still don’t have to eat a whole plate. Their ham is their signiture dish. (I didn’t like the cakes, the food is nice, but for me the cakes are not tasty)

 

 

 

Their signiture dish is their ham. I had it for Easter, and I really enjoyed having traditional breakfast which ham, horseradish (here it is raw with some apple and beetroot, inspiried by the Nyers Séf).

They opened a new restaurant, much bigger with the same food at Kálvin tér, which is more in the center. A little bit more expensive, but you don’t have to travel that much:

 

Tökmag

1136 Budapest, Hollán Ernő utca 5.

A small place for sandwiches, burgers, daily soups. In the summer you can sit outside, during winter it is more like a take away, or you can eat standing. I took mine to the Margaret Island which is very near. Sorry for the quality of the pictures.

 

I went to the beach the other day. and grabbed some stuff from Tökmag, they have prepacked dishes and soup-on-the-go:

Flow

Budapest, Andrássy út 66.

It is a new place on the map of Hungarian vegan places. And it is a good one. The owner is into speciality coffee, he is doing it on a master level and now he offers his knowledge here. It is right next to the Terror Háza Museum, so you can plan to visit them after. The place is big, and next to the speciality coffees you can have vegan dishes as well. There is daily menu and you can order ala carte as well.

If you want to choose from 10 different lattes, this is not your place. He choosed the best coffee and the best oat milk, you just have to enjoy it black or white.

My interview with the owner is here (in Hungarian).

I am normally not a big fun of dill, but they had broccoli soup as a daily offer with dill, and it was great, they go together so well!

 

Piknik

Budapest, Pozsonyi út 43, 1137

I love starting the day here. There was a boy and a girl who went on their first date and wanted to do a picnic, but it was not easy to find a place where they can get everything you need for it. So they opened that place. It is vegetarian/vegan. There are great vegan sandwiches, very nice coffee and a raw vegan dessert I really loved. I am very picky with my raw vegan cakes and they reached that level.

Oh, and what you need for a good picnic date? Prosecco! They are prepared 😉

 

 

Anjuna

I normally don’t eat ice cream, I could spend my life without it. But if it comes to Anjuna pops I can not stop under 2. And it is difficult to stop at 2 even. A must try from spring to autumn, it is like eating fruits. Fresh, no nasties, just pure deliciousness.

 

“Everything we make is all natural and plant based. Absolutely no weird stuff, just nutritious pleasure from the highest quality ingredients. We want to include everyone in the Anjuna story, so all our products are gluten-free and vegan! All of it.
Call us hippies, but we do believe in a peaceful and a sustainable world so we don’t use animal products either.
Actually, we give THEM products instead: we create dog-pops, specifically for our four-legged friends. How cool is that? (Very cool, it’s still an ice-pop, we just wanted to be funny and play with the name.)”

 

Fill Good
Budapest 1136 Hollán Ernő u. 3

I am not big fun of bakeries, I don’t really eat such thing, but if I do I do it here. They are vegan, and they have really nice options. Pogácsa is a thing in Hungary, and they have far the best I have ever tried. My favourite is the one with purple cabbage and walnut, on the picture the other one is with sweet potato. They have slices of pizzas and coffee on the go. My interview with the is here (on Hungarian).

 

Istvánffy

1053 Budapest, Királyi Pál utca 20.

1036 Budapest, Lajos utca 36.

They had the first really nice vegan burgers in Budapest. Their first restaurant is on the Buda side and I had to take detours to get there and they have a funny timetable so check it before you go. But now they have an other one which is more in the center. You can choose from different ingredients to put together your burger.

 

Vegan Garden

Budapest, Dob utca 40

They say this is the first vegan food truck garden in the world. They have 6 different food trucks: pizza, burgers, Mexicana, Hungarian style, sweets and ice cream. There is also a bar in the corner to get some drink and coffee.

My interview with one of the owners is here (in Hungarian).

 

Palatinus strand

1007 Budapest, Margitsziget

In Hungary if you go the beach (strand) the vegan options are usually zero. If you are lucky you can get lángos without milk in it, but the toppings are not vegans, just the garlic oil. But this has changed for my delight. At Palatinus there is a buffet where you can get a sandwich with grilled veggies, just ask them to leave the cheese out. If you arrive in time, before they make the avo sauce for the day, they will leave the dairy out for you. This is for the summer as their new feature is to be opened in the winter also, but I haven’ tried that yet.

There is an other place next to it where they had plantbased milk for the coffee also. Yuhu

 

 

Kuglóf
Budapest 1052 Piarista köz 1

As I am now on a mission to find good places for breakfast, we tried Kuglóf as well. Not a vegan place, but they can offer you plantbased milk for the coffee, smoothies, bruscetta, and champagne.

 

 

Matrojska Kroshka

Budapest, Baross u. 6, 1085

The owner of this restaurant had a non vegan restaurant, what she closed last summer as she went vegan and she didn’t want to serve meat and vodka. The menu is not Russian (which I hope will change, I would love to try more food from Russia), but has some elements and really delicious. They keep changing the soups, I had a rhubarb one, they have burgers which I haven’t tried yet and they have an other second dish which was filled pelmeny. All was really nice, but I could eat more for second, but the burgers looks big, so next time I will try them.

 

The second time I went back I had burger. They have lots of variations as you can choose for 3 “meat” and 3 bread. The flavour combinations are really nice in my “meat” I had carrot with cinamon, but next time I go I will ask more sauce in it.

The third time I went there was an invitation to one their tapas evening, and I highly recommend it for you. Just check it on their Facebook page if they have any during your visit to the city. I had time to chat with the owner Natasa, and the chef Gergő. If you follow a clean eating, whole plantbased diet this is your place. No nasties, no fake meats, etc. They use honey in some dishes, so ask that if you want to avoid it. I love trying new combinations, and the tapas evening is perfect for this. When the first dish arrived I was a bit worried that I will be hungry by the end of the evening, but actually I couldn’t even finish the dessert, and was not really hungry till next noon. One of the rare vegan restaurants where you can enjoy a glass of wine with your dinner.

Veganeria

Budapest, Nagymező utca 51

 

A new vegan restaurant not too far from the Parlament. Has a lovely enterior, the staff is nice and they a wide variation of dishes, so really anyone can find what is best for them.

I tried a pizza and sweet canneloni. The topping of the pizza was nice, Stroganoff, but the cheese was too much for my taste, next time I will ask less.

The sweet canneloni was a good choice with the sour cherry filling, which is a very popular fruit in Hungary.

 

Starbucks

There are several cafes in the city, for example:

Mammut: Budapest, Lövőház u. 2-6, 1024

Széna tér: Budapest, Margit krt. 91, 1024

Castle: Budapest, Szentháromság tér 3, 1014

Westend city center: Budapest, Váci út 1-3, 1069

There are several Starbucks in the city to choose from and they have a few vegan options, espeically regarding coffee.

 

Double Shot

Budapest 1137 Pozsonyi út 16

A sweet little cafe with some vegan options, could get a coffee with plantbased milk and a sandwich. Didn’t get a photo of them, but I had a picture of me.

 

Napfényes cooking courses

Restaurant 1: 1053 Budapest, Ferenciek tere 2.

Restaurant 2: 1077 Budapest, Rózsa utca 39. 

Cooking course: Budapest, XIII. kerület, Madarász Viktor u. 47-49.

Napfényes restaurant is one of the oldest vegan restaurants in Budapest, and they have several cooking courses every month which can be a good way of meeting new people, learning some tricks and have a dinner. I attended their vegan sushi making course. Nothing can stop me now at home in the making of sushis. My interview with the “teacher” is here (in Hungarian).

 

“Our establishment prides itself on preparing food from purely vegetable ingredients (without any meat, eggs or dairy products). These ingredients don’t contain the smallest trace of animal protein or alcohol and thus we not only cater to vegetarians, but vegans as well. We strive to make our dishes as healthy as possible. The majority of our ingredients were grown organically. Our daily offers always include some form of grain or cereal. We avoid using any preservatives, additives or coloring agents. Instead of using traditional wheat flour, white sugar, cocoa and bean coffee, we prefer spelt flour, cane sugar, carob and grain coffee. All of our dishes are made with purified water.”

Napfényes has just opened recently a confectionary (Napfényes Cukrászda és Pékség: Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 65.) near Westend City Center / Nyugati Railway Station. They offer breakfast and cakes, with lots of different sandwich options. They don’t have real coffee, just chicorya, keep that in mind if you need your caffein boost in the morning. There are several teas though.

 

Nyers Séf

István is a qualified chef and he has several raw dish courses, retreats, dinners, etc. I attended the one with milks and cheeses. It was in a yoga studio and we could choose between just watching or anticipating as well.

First we made almond milk, which was the basis of several other dishes. Than we made kesu milk with cocoa, it was really creamy. Then we made “mákos guba” which a traditional Hungarian dish and I was wondering how he will replace bread in it. The answer is banana, I was worring at first if the taste of banan will ruin it, but it just blended right into it.

We made a cake with cranberry, a pesto, a smoked cheese sauce, zuchini spagethi and an almond cheese with rose pepper.

After the course we had a lovely dinner together.

 

 

The next workshop I had with Istvan was a special one as there was a TV channel to film with him, so I will be famous as I will attend in it, helping in the making of stuffed cabbage. The raw version is actually better than the original one.

István has tematical evenings, such as this one in the Chocolate Museum:

96 Zen 

Budapest 1053, Kálvin tér 5.

It’s a small Asian vegan restaurant (sorry don’t know exactly where the owner is from).

 

Biodevega

1054 Budapest, Báthory u. 3.

A vegetarian restaurant with vegan options, and all the ingredients are bio. I had this burger as a take away:

 

I went to their cooking class last Sunday and it was a hit. The guest cook was Edit Varsányi, who spent 10 years in India in an ashram and she combines Indian culinary with Hungarian herbs.

 

 

Sushi Sei

Budapest, Bécsi út 58, 1036

It has been my favourite Japanese restaurant in the city before I went vegan. The owner is an old Japanese man, the atmosphere is relaxed, the food is excellent. The waiter did his best to provide me what I would like to eat. He clarified what type of vegan I am (he said there are like 28 types – the flexetarians), but I clarified that I am the “normal” one, no animal products for me. I let him choose. I didn’t regret.

 

“The Japanese restaurant, dating back more than 10 years, awaits gastronomy‑lovers with an authentic menu and unique atmosphere. The elegant restaurant, located not far from Kolosy square in the heart of Óbuda district, combines innovative technology with traditional flavours, and the result: both Hungarian guests and Asian communities living here are awed.

The mission of Sushi Sei is to encourage the local community to get to know Japanese gastronomy. To achieve this goal, the perfect harmony of fresh, good‑quality ingredients and authentic tastes predominates all of our culinary compositions.”

 

Falafel Sziget

I haven’t heard about this place since recently, and it looks a bit unfinnished when you enter, but the food is nice, all the dishes are vegan and they speak English (actually better, than Hungarian 😀 )

 

 

Funky Pho

Budapest, Mozsár u. 7, 1066

I am not an expert of the soup pho, but I have always wanted to visit this place, famous of its soup, and I was very happy that they have vegan version as well. When I arrived I realised not just that they have vegan version, they have a whole vegan menu on the wall. It is a small place, feel like being in Asia. Good for a quick lunch. I had a pho (with lots of yummy cilantro) and a mandu (which is a filled, grilled dumplings):

 

Fruccola

MOM park

Kristóf tér 3. (next to Váci utca)

Arany János utca 32.

They are not vegan, but they have really great and fresh brekkies, brunch and lunch offers. They have several plantbased milk for your coffee, juices, smoothies, vegan English breakfast, sandviches, half of the cakes are vegan… I was kindly informed by a friend, that the English breakfast would never have any green it, but this is the vegan version 😉 if you are not up for something light…

 

Bio Sétány

1024 Budapest, Lövőház utca 2-6.

This is a bio shop, not just for vegan stuff, but you can buy many things if you need. There are several plantbased milks also. They have a fridge with vegan sandwiches and cakes, you can ask. This is one from them (grilled veggies and vegan cheese), made by Napfényes:

 

 

Chinese

There are several around the city (and in most malls), and usually you can get (rice) noodles (ask if they have egg in/on it: Van benne tojás?), potato, szerzetesek eledele (veggie mix I love) and tofu with vegetables. On the photo you can see one portion of rice noodles and half-half of the szerzetesek eledele and tofu. You can have sprouts with them (in the box).

 

Jardín Bár

Budapest, Dob utca 16.

I went out with a friend to try some new coctails and have some fun, and I was lucky enough not only tasting new combinations, but also eating nice dishes as the bar has several vegan options (extra point that they know the difference between vegetarian and vegan). It is a bit expensive (3200 HUF and 4000 HUF a coctail) compared with other bars in the city, but it looks beautful, the service is very kind, the food is good and the coctails are on point.

 

 

Vegan Food Fest

Twice a year (spring and fall) there is a vegan food fest with many restaurants coming with dishes dedicated to the festival only. There are other great stuff like granola, cheeses, chimney cake and soaps, etc. In the evening you can chill with some music. You can check on their Facebook page about the next event. They organise once a month a Vegan Sunday Market as well with great food and other vegan stuff.

 

FNB – Food Not Bombs

Budapest, Auróra u. 11, 1084

It is an alternative way of eating in Budapest. Food Not Bombs is an organisation with groups around the world with the same aim: collecting vegetables from shops and markets before they throw them away and making food for people in need. In Budapest they collect the veggies on Saturday from 2, then they peel and cook from 10 on Sundays. When the dishes are ready by the voluenteers, they eat together as a community, and then they deliver the food for the people on the streets. You can join them to make a difference. My interview with one of the organisers is here (in Hungarian).

 

Púder

Budapest, 1092, Ráday u. 8

It is a ruin bar, they can make the coctails with dairy without it as well, you can see the difference: