budaveg – vegetarian Hungary your vegetarian home in Hungary

Budapest offers a great choice of veggie cafes, restaurants and salad bars serving Italian, Indian and International menus, as well as local dishes, so you’ll have no problems eating out. Below we give you our own views on the best eating places to be found in the centre of town, as well as the best health shops, along with their prices, opening times and locations. Once you’ve tried them, if you wish, you can email us a review and we’ll put it on the site.
Health is a serious issue in Budapest, so numerous health shops stock food items, snacks and cakes to satisfy every need - vegan, anti-candida, gluten-free, diabetic etc.

You can open the budaveg google map to see the location of these eateries.

Remember to get our free e-book, a veggie in Budapest, on vegetarian restaurants, together with a Hungarian word list and useful tips for a vegetarian holiday in Hungary, just write your name and email address in the box on the right, and you’ll get it as an instant download.

So here is a complete list of veggie eateries and some reviews from Budaveg guests at the bottom of the page.

Restaurants

Éden 
run by the 7th day Adventist, a lovely self service lunch bar, delicious and inexpensive. Mainly organic

Address: Ist district Iskola u. 31, at the red metro stop Batthyany ter, behind the market building.
Open: Mondy-Friday 7 am-6pm
Tel.: (1) 3-75-75-75
Web: www.edenetterem.hu

Govinda Vega Sarok
the newest veggie restaurant, It is run by the Hare Krishna, lacto-vegetarian.

Address: 1053, Papnövelde u.1. Located in downtown close to the shopping street, between Ferenciek tere and Kálvin tér. Metro 1 (Blue), Bus nr. 15
Open: Monday-Sunday 12-9 pm
Tel: 1-2677631
Web: www.govinda.hu

Ganges
 They offer delicious vegetarian food, Indian menus, and healthy options.
1064 Budapest Vörösmarty utca 31.
gangesetterem@gmail.com
Telefon: +36.30.5306368; +36.70.6338981
www.ganges.hu
Open M-Saturday 12- 8 pm

Govinda
the Hare Krishna restaurant, serving the usual fare of subji (spiced veg), rice, dal and salads, plus cakes and lovely lassis. Either pay for a set meal or per dish.

Address: Vigyázo Ferenc u 4. Metro: Kossuth tér on red line or 2 tram
Open: Mon-Sat noon-9pm
Lacto-veggie, Non-smoking
www.govinda.hu

Mannatural read our review 
Mainly organic vegan raw food bar. They do food deliveries and planning to organize “cooking” classes. They also offer “all you can eat buffet” lunch for 3000 Hufs and dinner for 5000 hufs on weekdays. Please call or email to reserve for dinner: 06-20-776-9843, info@mannatural.hu, just pop in for lunch.
Address: 1054 Budapest, Garibaldi u. 5 Tel: +36207769843
Open: Mon-Fri 11am -3pm
http://www.mannatural.net/index.php

Govinda Buda read our review 
Mainly organic vegan friendly, lacto vegetarian, Veg dining card accepted.
1023 Budapest Árpád fejedelem útja 33.
a 10 min. walk from Margit Bridge, Buda side
Mon-Friday 7am-6.30pm
http://www.govindabuda.hu
http://www.facebook.com/govindhabuddha

Napfényes Étterem read our review
the name means “sunny restaurant” and this is a fantastic vegan restaurant that offers traditional Hungarian dishes! It is run by a Rudolf Steiner inspired movement, so it is vegan (except for honey) and doesn’t serve alcohol. Many organic options. They have menu in English and German and the prices are very moderate.

Address: Rózsa u 39, District VII Tram: 4/6 at Király utca and walk, or 76 trolley bus.
Open: every day 9am-10pm
Vegan, non smoking, no alcohol, sells health food too
http://www.napfenyesetterem.hu/

Cafés and snack bars

Gorilla Vega Bufe  read our review CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
The newest vegan cafe at Deák Square serving tofu burgers and hot dog, chips, soy milk shakes, fair trade coffee etc
Address:  1061 Budapest Paulay Ede 8.
Open:  Mo – Th : 11.30 – 20.00, Friday: 11.30 – 22.00, Saturday: 15.00 – 22.00
http://gorillavegabufe.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/GORILLA-VEGA-B%C3%9CF%C3%89-vegan-vegetarian-restaurant/127044247370486?sk=wall

Bharata
Bharata Cultural Centre is the new home of Indian culture and cuisine: it offers yoga, ayurvedic medicine, meditation, dance and music courses,  and soon cooking classes! The cafe has special offers at the moment with really friendly prices. All food is lacto vegetarian. There are set menus, special offers for students, lassis and sweets.
Budapest 1074. Almássy tér – Tivadar u. 3.
Open: Monday-Friday:  12:00-8.pm; Saturday 6pm-9pm, Sunday closed
http://bharata.hu/bisztro.html

Keleti Életmód Centrum read our review 
Mainly organic, vegan health food shop, cafe and alternative health centre. A 5-minute walk from budaveg. Sandwiches, cakes and healthy meals at lunchtime, pavement seating in summertime.

Address: Pozsonyi út 16
Open: Monday-Friday 7 am-8 pm
http://www.eletmodcentrum.hu/

Falafel
Self-service salad bar right in the centre of town, perfect for a quick but filling bite on the run. Lots of prepared salads, steamed and raw veggies, as well as falafel with a choice of dressings. Plus soups and desserts, lovely milk shakes.

Address: Paulay Ede u 53, Metro: Opera on yellow line Tram: 4/6 at Oktogon
Open: Mon-Sat 10am-8pm
Ovo-lacto-veggie, although mainly vegan, non-smoking
Menu in Hungarian, but speak English
http://falafel.hu/

Hummus bar  read our review 
Middle Eastern vegan friendly cafes, (but only one is exclusively vegetarian) now at four locations.
English menu, English spoken.
www.hummusbar.hu

Address: Hollán Ernő utca 6. Vegetarian new!
Open: Monday-Friday 10-10pm Saturday Sunday: 12-10 pm
Tel: 06 70 932 8284

Address: Október 6. str. 19 Vegetarian friendly
Open: Monday-Friday 11.30-10pm Saturday Sunday: 12-10 pm
Tel: 3540108

Address: Kecskeméti str. 1 Vegetarian friendly
Open: Monday-Friday 10-10pm Saturday Sunday: 12-10 pm
Tel+36 (70) 932-8284

Address:1054 Budapest, Alkotmány utca 20 Metro Arany János utca (blue) Vegetarian
Open: Monday-Friday 10-10 pm, Saturday-Sunday 12-10 pm
Tel: 302-13-85

Hummus Point
Middle Eastern veggie eatery at two locations. Main dishes, soups, salads, puddings and drinks. English menu, English spoken.
Open: Monday-Friday 10-9 pm Saturday-Sunday 11-8 pm
www.hummuspoint.hu
Address: West End City centre Shopping Mall basement level. Tram nr 4-6 or Blue Metro to Nyugati
Address: Dohány utca, right opposite the Synagogue. Red Metro to Astoria,

Ganga Vega Cafe a friendly small veggie eaterie  in downtown, right opposite Arany Janos Metro stop
Address: Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 25.
Phone:061/705-77-32

No web page yet but on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ganga-Vega-Cafe/128211977237309
open: Mon – Fri: 08:00 – 22:00 Sat:12:00 – 22:00

Lé-bár  read our review 
Mainly organic, vegan buffet  and fresh juice bar next door to the large Bio-ABC health shop opposite the National Museum
Address: Múzeum krt 19. Metro: Kálvin tér (blue) or Astoria (red)
Open: Mon-Fri 10am-6pm
http://www.bioabc.hu/

Napos Oldal
This cafe’s name means ‘sunny side’ and it’s a great place in the middle of town to rest your weary limbs with a herbal tea and cake. They also serve little Hungarian pastries and salads and half the shop is dedicated to health foods

Address: Jókai u. 7. Metro: Nyugati tér on blue line or tram: 4/6 at Nyugati tér or Oktogon
Open: Monday- Friday 10 am till 8 pm, Saturday 10 am till 2 pm.
Tel: 1-3540048
http://www.naposoldal.com/

Nem süti read our review
small sandwich bar, five minutes walk from the budaveg apartment right next to Margit Bridge, offers a nice range of toppings on wholemeal bread or pita, plus juices and soya shake, pavement seating in summertime. Vegetarian with vegan and macrobiotic options.

Address: Jászai Mari tér 4./b (Pozsonyi u). Metro: Nyugati tér on blue line, tram: 4/6 at Jászai Mari tér
Open: Mon-Fri 11am-5pm
Ovo-lacto-veggie
http://www.nemsuti.hu/ 

Bio Cafe Nyugat 
organic vegetarian cafe of the Piszkei organic bakery.They sell their own certified organic bread and pastry, sandwiches, organic tea and coffee.
Address: Bio cafe Nyugati at 1065 Bajcsy-Zs ut 65, right opposite the Nyugati Railway Station.
Open: Mon-Fri 8am-7pm, Saturday 9am-6pm
Tel: +36205621818
Ovo-lacto-veggie
http://biokenyer.hu/hu/bio-cafe/bemutatkozas?tmpl=component&task=preview

Napfényes Cukrászat read our review
A vegan organic sugar free patisserie, part of the Napfényes Ízek restaurant. Cakes, birthday cakes and pastries, they take orders too.
Address: 3rd district Kiskorona utca 8. Tram nr1, Árpád bridge Buda side
http://www.napfenyescukraszat.hu/

Open: Mon-Thr 10am-6pm, Friday 10am-4.30pm, Saturday 10am-2pm
Tel: 06-1-242-3229, 06-20-315-3333
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Health shops
many health shops stock a wide selection of fresh or packaged healthy snacks and cakes, as well as yeast- and gluten-free breads. They are normally called “bio” which is organic in Hungarian. Here are a few of the best for when you need a quick bite:

Lehel market has 3 health food stores, two on the ground floor and one upstairs, plus a gluten free shop upstairs too.
BioABC, Múzeum krt – fresh cakes, pastries, organic fruit and veg.
Napra, Szabolcska Mihály utca  - fresh cakes, pastries, organic fruit and veg.
Bioritmus, Third floor, Mammut2, Moszkva tér – fresh cakes, pastries, organic fruit and veg, but meat as well!
Cibaria, Pozsonyi u – fresh cakes, pastries (close to the budaveg appartment)
Nektár, Ferenc krt – fresh cakes, pastries

Open the budaveg google map to see the location of the apartment, vegetarian restaurants and the sights, you can book the budaveg apartment here and remember to book a guided tour for your holiday! If you have any questions get in touch with us via email or facebook, or ask us a question via formspring, we are always happy to meet and greet the travelling vegetarians!

from our guestbook:

Best places to eat have been Napfényes Ízek, which is easy to get to using Trolley 76, and Keleti, which is in walking distance on Pozsonyi utca, and Éden, close to Batthyányi Tér (M2). All of these have had a good range of Vegan food. Éden also can provide you with food to take away which is great to reheat in the microwave if you don’t feel like cooking later. Alv. + Paul

As far as food goes, we had – without exaggeration – some of the best food of our lives. Éden and Napfényes Ízek were by far our favourites!  Huge portions, reasonable prices (especially at Éden) and very delicious, satisfying  food. We will miss it! Who knew being vegan in Hungary could be so easy? Kati and Jonathan – Ithaca NY, USA

Places to eat:
Napfényes Ízek: wonderful veg hungarian food – the goulash soup is delicious
Punjabi Indian place on Pannonia utca – lots of veggie options
Bio Abc has great stuff!
Allison + David, Brooklyn, USA

If you wanna eat vegan food, the best place, in our opinion, is Napfényes Ízek. By the way we found the list of the Vegan/Veggie restaurants very useful.
Nicola and Marika – Italy

The Duna Park – coffee house? bar? Very stylish Art Deco, anyway – on Victor Hugo at Szent István Park was a special treat: an amzing choice of fabulous cakes. Bobbi and John – Norfolk, UK
We ate at Eden– food good anywhere. Non Veggie Panjab and the Turkish buffet very good, veggie options, cheap and cheerful. Sue, Kathleen, Marge – Bolton, UK

We also really enjoyed the ’Pandzsab Tandoori Indiai’ restaurant located a few blocks away. Kristen and Lynette USA
‘Sunny Tastes’ is great, but so are the other two veggie places (Eden + Vegetarium). Dawn + Davey;
If you don’t like cooking the Napfényes is the place to go – we were really satisfied with their vegetarian and vegan dishes.
Rainer & Andreas Germany

We went to Napfényes Izek for us tea (we’re from Yorkshire!) and the tempeh was gorgeous. HUGE portions and very rich.
We then went to Napos Oldal for tea and cake. They didn’t speak much English, but by doing a fabulous impression of milking a cow, worked out their delicious cakes are vegan. (ps beware they use honey at Napfényes Izek) Sarah + Ian J
It’s great to see Vegetarian (Vegan even) culture spreading throughout Europe. We were surprised (and pleased) to find both Eden & Napfényes Izek were completely vegan restaurants. Our favourites were Napos Oldal for the atmosphere & Napfényes Izek for their generous & wholesome meals .
Whilst the main street in Szentendre was tacky & touristy we found a great little café which claimed to be vegetarian (we avoided the cheese to be safe though). It’s called the Dorothea café.Alex + Katrina

Eden and Napos Oldal were our favourite places to eat – great food, cakes and coffee! Helen, Sarah, Bev, Trev (Bristol)

We ate splendidly here in Budapest. Portion sizes varied widely from place to place – even from dish to dish. One thing that was always constant though: dessert portions were huge! Restaurateurs have their priorities straight here! (Seriously, I’ve rarely seen such large dessert portions in my life!) We were impressed to find organic + vegan food in even the 24 hr. shops. (Also note that the grocery in Lehel has Vegan chocolate covered cherry cordials – bonus!)

For quick meals (lunches) we had success with tofu dishes in Chinese places (Yu Yuan on Andrassy @ 1061 near the Opera was tasty) and falafel joints. – Emilie + Josh
Somerville, MA USA

What do you think, how was your meal?