Budapest is an awesome city to visit, as not only does it have an abundance of delicious, reasonably priced vegan food; it also has lots of unique things to do. I’ve compiled this city guide of all of the food, attraction & accommodation highlights of our trip to save you guys time when planning your visit. I hope you have an awesome time in Budapest!
WHAT TO EAT ▹▸▹
GREAT BISTRO BUDAPEST
Great Bistro Budapest came with very high recommendations from my lovely instagram audience, so we were very excited to discover that it was located just a short walk away from our hotel. It’s a fully vegan restaurant with cute decor and delicious food which definitely lived up to and even exceeded our high expectations (evidenced by the fact that we visited three times during our trip)!
The chickpea omelette with tofu bacon was both of our favourite dish. In addition to the perfectly crisped tofu bacon, the flavourful omelette was brimming with salad, vegan cheese and a delicious creamy sauce.
Accross our various visits, we also ate a tofu bacon sandwich, pancakes, tomato pasta and risotto, all of which were delicious. But what really stole the show for me was the traditional hungarian dessert (I ate it twice in one day!!) I’m not sure exactly what the ingredients are, but it tasted like chocolate and traditional custard and had the most delicious pieces of sponge cake in the bottom.
HUMMUS BAR
Hummus Bar was another of our favourite eateries that we also happened to visit 3 times during our stay, twice to eat in and once to take away as it was so close to our hotel.
They serve delicious falafel, hummus and tahini in very generous portion sizes. Unfortunately the vegan options aren’t labelled on the menu, so I’ve contacted Hummus Bar on Facebook to ask for a full list of vegan options and will hopefully be able to share that with you all here soon. In the meantime, be sure to ask the staff which dishes are suitable for vegans on your visit.
VEGA CITY
Vega City is a great 100% vegan, buffet style restaurant. They offer a huge selection of food and the warm meal menu changes week by week, keeping things fresh and exciting.
As the food is so reasonably priced and everything looked delicious, Matt and I ordered quite a few dishes between us to try. Matt’s favourite was the carrot kofta, whilst mine was the cashew cheese in breadcrumbs. We both also loved the battered seitan so much that we didn’t want to share, so had to order some extra!
GOVINDAS
Govindas is a pure vegetarian restaurant serving authentic indian cuisine, with lots of vegan options. The staff were really helpful and pointed out which dishes were vegan-friendly. The creamy pasta dish was both of our favourite and we also loved the mini battered veggies.
WHAT TO DO ▹▸▹
SZECHENYI THERMAL BATHS
One of the coolest things about Budapest is that that it sits on thermal springs meaning there are lots of outdoor thermal baths you can visit. From all of the research we (and when I say we, I mean Matt) did before our trip, Szechenyi Baths seemed to be the most popular. There are 18 pools, both inside and outside, of varying temperatures from ice cold to hot. Our favourite was definitely the beautiful outdoor hot pool, with the water temperature at 28 degrees, whilst the air temperature was only 10 degrees!
Szechenyi Baths also has the biggest sauna I’ve ever been in, as well as massage facilities if you feel like treating yourself to the ultimate pamper day.
Top tip: bring flip flops, as when you get out of the baths your feet will feel super cold walking on the paving!
CLIMB TO THE TOP OF GELLÉRT HILL
We climbed to the top of Gellért Hill which gives an amazing view of the city. Depending on your fitness levels, it is a little bit of a tricky climb but it is definitely worth it for the panoramic city view you get at the top.
RUIN BARS
Ruin Bars are a super cool concept found in the old Jewish Quarter in Budapest. They are built in the ruins of abandoned buildings and are filled with weird and wonderful eclectic furniture and decorations. Szimpla Kert is the original ruin bar and has two levels with various drink stations and lots of different rooms and unique features to explore.
Szimpla Kert is located just around the corner from Karaván, a street food court which includes vegan burger van Las Vegan’s. Unfortunately Karaván was closed on our visit but it has very high reviews, so I’m sure grabbing a vegan burger would make the perfect end to an evening at Szimpla Kert.
WHERE TO STAY ▹▸▹
We stayed at Prestige Hotel Budapest which was absolutely stunning. The lobby sits in the place of the former courtyard with the beautiful balconies of the inside rooms surrounding it creating an extremely breathtaking aesthetic.
It was also ideally located amongst lots of vegan and vegan-friendly eateries, with Govindas opposite and both Hummus Bar and Great Bistro Budapest just a short walk away.
The hotel has an underground spa which is the perfect setting to relax in after a busy day of exploring the city. Located next to the gym, the spa has a chill out area, a sauna and the coolest hot tub I’ve ever been in (we’re talking 4 different jet controls, changeable flashing lights and a mini water fountain)!
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I hope you all found this guide helpful and if you have any questions / recommendations of your own, please feel free to leave them down below.
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