Vegan Budapest

I was worried about not being able to seek out the vegan Budapest scene in the short time I had there. My vegan food experience’s in Eastern European hadn’t been great, with many places being heavy on the meat and cheese. However, with tourism on the rise (and budget airlines destinations growing fast), things are getting a lot easier. The Hungarian’s were brilliant at including vegan options throughout the city and I actually found Budapest to be really vegan friendly. Here are some of my favourite eateries to visit as a vegan in Budapest.

Vega City

Vega City oozes is canteen chic at it’s best. This is a two floored vegetarian restaurant in Budapest, where you choose from a ton of self -service options; burgers, salads, hot dishes and loads of fruit smoothies and drinks. The vegan burgers are their speciality, and I fattened it out with a big aubergine salad. Great value for money.

Where: A quick walk down from the main Astoria station, almost exactly opposite the National Museum.

96 Zen Etterem

Another canteen style restaurant, 96 Zen advertise themselves as Thai cuisine but it definitely has a Chinese feel to it. I loved this place. It’s so small that I missed it the first time and walked right past it. With its neon lights and windows covered in food pictures, it doesn’t scream ‘premium’ at first glance. Don’t let that deter you. The guy who runs the place was delighted when we came in, took a lot of time to describe what all the dishes were, and was generally just happy to help. The soy meat, brown rice and curry are my top pics.

Where: Take the blue metro line to Kelvin Ter. The restaurant is just on the corner of one of the exists.

Napfenyes Etterem

This was the only vegan restaurant in Budapest I visited that came with table service. The local vegans seem to like this one, possibly due to them running with so many Hungarian style dishes. The restaurant has a cheaper set menu from day-to-day, or you can also order from the ongoing menu. I let the waitress choose a local dish for me. I wish I’d had room for the hot dog skewers with dipping sauces as well.

Where: This one is quite tough to find, even with Google maps! I found it easiest to get off at Astoria station and head down Kossuth Lajos, towards the bridges. Just before you get to the bridges you come to a pedestrianised walk way on your left. There is a church on this walk way. Walk down there, and there’s a little side street off to your right. Napfenyes is right at the end of that side street.

The Hummus Bar

Why do we not have a Hummus Bar at home? Seriously! This is mostly take away joint, but it does house 3-4 tables. The bar isn’t strictly vegetarian/vegan (they have meat options), but your predominantly looking at a big old menu of chickpeas. I asked if they could alter their menu. I wanted the hummus platter with Aubergine, but I didn’t want egg. I wanted falafel instead. The staff are really helpful and accommodating and I got what I wanted. I could have eaten my weight the hummus here! Don’t miss it!

Where: There’s a good number of The Hummus Bar chains dotted around Budapest. I went to the one closest to the Kelvin Ter metro stop. There’s a street next to this stop light called Karolyi Utca. The bar is up this street. Again, really close to the National museum, and just around the corner from the famous ‘For Sale’ bar.

Travelling Europe and looking for some vegan inspiration? Take a look at my posts about travelling as a vegan in Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland. Happy eating!