Long gone are the days when those who follow alternative diets had hard times finding restaurants in Budapest that offer high-quality meals suitable for varied lifestyles; luckily now there is no shortage of hangouts that focus on catering to those with a specific or diverse dietary needs, whether it’s a food allergy, diabetes, or meat-free eating. Serving gluten-free pastries, organic burgers, and hearty vegan meals, many new places popped up citywide during this past year to offer delicious destinations for guests on special diets, and now we present eight of these health-conscious locales.
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Cikória (Closed)
This new lifestyle bar pleases those traversing the area of Buda’s Móricz Zsigmond Square by offering diverse dishes suitable for special diets, especially for gluten-sensitive customers, since all of the treats found at this unpretentious eatery are gluten-free. The restaurant sells assorted pastries, including classic Hungarian sweets, like Somlói galuska (“Somló sponge cake” in English) or Gerbeaud cake, and the menu is complete with sandwiches and a daily-changing selection of soups and main courses. For those who pop in here, we especially recommend ordering a chicory coffee that is rich in minerals and lacks caffeine.
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Csillaghegyi megálló
Since summer, a newly opened breakfast spot has been filling a niche at the Csillaghegy station of Budapest’s H5 suburban railway line, proffering breakfasts for guests with diverse food intolerances, including gluten-free, lactose-free, and sugar-free treats; they also sell organic breads, ready-made sandwiches, and homestyle spreads, like tuna pâté or aromatic aubergine cream. The sweet breakfast options include tasty dessert treats, with one of the eatery’s specialties being the tapioca pudding that's served with a layer of apricot jam. However, this haven for daily commuters also sells traditional pastries, fruit juices, and a sweet cacao drink made with 70% dark chocolate.
Address: Budapest 1038, Vasút sor 1
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3/8
Fill Good
Only natural ingredients are used at Fill Good, the first-ever bakery in Budapest that sells a range of delicate vegan pastries, where the soy yogurt comes from a bio farm, and cane sugar ensures the sweet flavor of the treats. The selection includes sweet and savory meals, like rolls filled with dark chocolate, cacao, and banana, along with rustic Italian pizzas with potato and rosemary topping, or pretzels. This charming additive-free eatery on Hollán Ernő Street opens at 8:30am, making this an ideal spot for buying healthy breakfast both for those who don’t consume meals of animal origin and anyone else just looking for tasty treats.
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Great Bistro (Closed)
Just a few meters away from downtown Pest’s Arany János Street metro station, a bright bistro specializes in a selection of vegan meals by offering breakfast, lunch, sweets, and sandwiches for those who avoid food of animal origin, or for anyone who is open to edible novelties. Breakfast is served in the restaurant beginning at 7am, and features a range of morning boosters such as the tofu “bacon” sandwich, the chickpea omelet with vegetables and “cheese”, or pancakes. Lunch is available to order starting at 11:30am, and the daily-changing selection oftentimes includes reimagined Hungarian classics, while most of the ingredients used here come from organic sources.
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Holy Cow by Panificio il Basilico (Closed)
Locally produced organic ingredients are used in unusual forms to offer alternatives to ordinary burgers at this underground eatery located in District XIII. Instead of the classic buns, the meat, veggies, and sauces are served inside cocoa milk loaves, brioche bread, or piglet-shaped buns to create unusual flavor combinations and a mouthwatering visual experience for health-conscious burger aficionados. The place’s eponymous handheld treat arrives in a cocoa milk loaf filled with a fried egg, bacon, a juicy beef patty, and a special sauce made from kola nuts. Besides burgers, the place also sells new-wave hot-dog specialties and delicious sweets for dessert, but all of this comes in an unexpectedly unpretentious ambience; in the evening hours Holy Cow emits a vibe that feels like we are hanging out in a side-street dive bar.
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Manióka
Gluten-free pastries are safe and tasty at Manióka, a bakery offering sweet and savory treats for those with gluten intolerance. Found in the heart of Budapest’s reviving Ráday Street, the shop’s selection includes a variety of breads, croissants, and milk loaves that are made with tapioca flour mixed with flours derived from other gluten-free plants, while some of the products are suitable even for customers with additional food allergies, like lactose or yeast intolerance. Whether you suffer from an actual food sensitivity or you just chose to leave gluten behind to promote a healthy lifestyle, it’s certainly worth dropping by here if you’re nearby.
Address: Budapest 1092, Ráday utca 15
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7/8
Szimply
Hidden in Röser Udvar between Astoria and Deák Square, a bright nook welcomes guests with healthy breakfast meals served all day long. While the menu changes every month at Szimply, it always includes scrumptious and savory treats filled with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, while they also cater for guests with diverse dietary needs, including vegetarians, vegans, and customers with gluten intolerance. Those who pop by can take a seat amid minimalist settings, but during the warmer months guests can hang out alfresco in the cobbled courtyard. Thanks to a fusion with the adjacent Kontakt, Szimply doesn’t sell coffee, but assorted java specialties come from the neighboring café.
8/8
Vegan Love
Nothing contains animal products at Vegan Love, a street-food haven on Buda’s Bartók Béla Avenue, offering an assortment of delicious handheld treats for those on a vegan diet. The menu offers six different burgers, including BBQ tofuburger, sweet-potato burger, or lentil burger with curry – when the We Love Budapest crew was there, we tasted a quinoa burger with shiitake mushrooms, made up of a quinoa patty with shiitake mushroom, chive-flavored “cream cheese”, chickpeas, wasabi-flavored coleslaw, mung bean sprouts, and fresh lettuce. However, reimagined burgers are not the only meals served here – guests can order vegan hot dogs, pita sandwiches, or salads at the bar.
