10 amazing vegan and vegetarian places in Budapest

Eating healthy food and all kind of diet trends have become quite popular nowadays. It’s hard to keep track of the new dietary trends, but most of us have probably heard about two of the most popular ones – vegetarianism and veganism. Listed below are some of the best vegetarian and vegan spots of Budapest, which include restaurants, cafés, salad bars and even confectioneries for people with a mayor sweet-tooth.

Many people don’t know the difference between vegetarianism and veganism, which definitions can be quite a sensitive topic for the followers of these trends. A vegetarian is someone who doesn’t eat meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, or the flesh of any other animal), while a vegan is someone who doesn’t eat meat, fish and any animal product (egg, dairy). Vegans follow an exclusively plant-based diet. However, distinctions can be made between several categories of veganism.

Napfényes Restaurant – 1077 Budapest, Rózsa Street 39.

In the most popular alternative restaurant of the city every meal is made from plant-based ingredients (meat-, egg- and dairy-free) that don’t contain animal protein or alcohol. Besides vegetarians, vegans will also find something delicious on the menu for sure. This is also a place where pizza lovers won’t draw a blank: the restaurant makes incredible spelt pizzas with versatile toppings.

Govinda Vegetarian Restaurant and Salad Bar – 1051 Budapest, Vigyázó Ferenc Street 4.

You should definitely visit Govinda Restaurant if you desire lacto-vegetarian delicacies and traditional Indian flavours, because they prepare all meals using clean, fresh ingredients, mostly grains, plant-parts and dairy products. The preparation methods and recipes follow the ancient Indian, Vedic tradition, so the dishes are juicy, filling, and non-fattening. They welcome guests with Indian dhals, sabjis, special sauces and more.

Nemsüti – 1137 Budapest, Jásza Mari Square 4/B. / 1054 Budapest, Hold Street 9.

If you’d prefer a good sandwich meal instead of a big dinner, then visit the Nemsüti (“Non-cookie”) sandwich bar, where the repertoire is based around sandwiches, salads, sandwich creams and freshly squeezed juices. You can order hot, cold, whole grain, pita sandwiches with paprika cream, aubergine cream, spinach cream, hummus, and other seasonal creams. They always get the ingredients from the best places, as the menu is adjusted to seasonal vegetables and fruits.

Napos oldal – 1066 Budapest, Jókai Street 7.

The restaurant found in the city centre claims to have the best breaded seitan of Budapest, but you can also indulge in sugar-free desserts. Furthermore, if you want to connect a romantic date with a breakfast, then you can choose from a wide variety of sandwiches, salads, freshly squeezed beetroot-carrot-apple juice, vegan café latte, and other great morning starters. Napos oldal (“Sunny side”) also has a bio shop, where you can stock up on reform ingredients, so that you can make your favourite meals at home.

Fruccola – 1054 Budapest, Kristóf Square 3. / 1051 Budapest, Arany János Street 32.

Fruccola is a real green zone in the gastro field of Budapest: you can put together filling salads from fresh ingredients in their salad bar section, or enjoy freshly squeezed juices, bio elixirs and coffees. This spot has become one of the favourite breakfast places of city dwellers, because the environmentally friendly restaurant has something to offer tó everyone. This is not an exclusively vegan or vegetarian place, they also have a few meat options, which is a great way to bring together the followers of different diets.

Vegan Love – 1114 Budapest, Bartók Béla Road 9.

The biggest myth surrounding veganism is probably that the followers of the trend have to give up their guilty pleasure meals, like burgers or gyros. This is what Vegan Love wants to refute with its amazing burgers, which can be quite addictive. Among others, they have creations like BBQ tofu burgers in spelt, pumpkin-seed buns with smoked tofu steak; sweet potato burger with roasted zucchini, beetroot-radish cream and salad; curry lentil burger, quinoa burgers, vegan chili dogs and million variations of these meals.

Naspolya Nassolda – 1061 Budapest, Káldy Gyula Street 7.

“Sweetness is guaranteed by mostly dried fruits in our desserts, we don’t use artificial sugars or chemically ‘freed’ milk, flour. Instead of trying to hunt these, we rather focus on finding tasty, good quality fruit producers” says Naspolya Nassolda’s (“Medlar Snackery”) profession of faith. They prepare their delicacies in a special workshop without tempering, so that they are not only delicious, but also rich in vitamins, nutrients and enzymes. The menu contains cakes, pies, cookies, different snacks and special almond milk that is freshly made every morning.

Édes Élet – 1136 Budapest, Pannónia Street 3.

The confectionery found in the 13^th district prepares its gluten-, sugar-, dairy- and egg-free sweets exclusively, using plant-based ingredients, but they claim that their desserts are true to the traditions. Édes Élet (“Sweet Life”) replaces flour with sesame seed, coconut and rice flour, uses xylitol instead of sugar and coconut, rice or almond milk instead of ‘normal’ ingredients. The favourite desserts of their guests are the vanilla-chocolate cake, raspberry-walnut cake and the black forest cake.

Napfényes Restaurant and Confectionary – 1053 Budapest, Ferenciek Square 2.

The followers of healthy lifestyle, the lovers of traditional flavours, or people with diabetes will all find their hopes here, because delicacies are made from solely plant-based ingredients. They are probably most known for their homemade ice cream, which can even be consumed by people who have food allergies, as the scone is made from spelt flour.

Zsolnay Café – 1067 Budapest, Teréz Boulevard 43.

The café found in the Radisson Blu Béke Hotel****superior comes out with a new dessert menu every year. They welcome dessert lovers with three different flavours and shape formats in 2017. The three new cakes – the magical Cassiopeia, the renewed Béke dessert and the newest Zsolnay- Lúdláb cake – tell three different stories. The desserts are wheat flour- and lactose-free, and are made without the use of added sugar.

Photos: www.facebook.com/NapfényesÉtterem, NapfényesCukrászat, Nemsüti, VegánÉdesÉletCukrászat, Govinda Étterem, NaposOldalVegetáriánusÉtterem, Fruccola, VeganLove, NaspolyaNassolda, ZsolnayKávéház

Copy editor: bm

Source: Daily News Hungary