The Vegan Garden on Dob utca is famous for its vegan food trucks, and readers may remember its recent expansion into a full-fledged vegan market and grocery during the pandemic. Now, the expansion continues, as a new food truck has opened its doors in the Garden, featuring a vegan steak unique to Hungary!
Bálint Kárászy is the mastermind behind the vegan steak, which is available from the new vegan truck in the Vegan Garden, Róza Vegan. He was working in the soup, salad and sandwich bar Róza on Jókai utca, when he decided he really wanted to invent something new and spectacular in the field of vegan gastronomy. His friend, the owner of Las Vegans, invited him over to the Vegan Garden to experiment, and thus the vegan steak was born. The name of the restaurant was chosen to represent his old stomping ground, a nod to past and present.
The new steak is plant-based, in the shape of a traditional steak, crafted from chickpeas and wheat gluten, and enhanced with spices to bring forth incredible smells and taste. Like a traditional steak, it is seared on both sides.
The steak is further inventive thanks to its range of flavours: thinking of both domestic and foreign guests, Bálint says it was important to offer options. The steak is not meant to achieve an authentic taste of meat, but rather to provide a re-thought, pleasant flavour through texture and the blending of spices. “I think those who are vegan do not want to eat something that tastes like meat,” Bálint emphasised.
There are four options to choose from. The first is a Hungarian steak based on red pepper. Next on the menu is the Asian steak – featuring a curry-turmeric blend – then Italian, with plenty of basil, and finally a classic American, flavoured with hints of barbecue. The vegan steaks are dipped in agave and soy before being the chosen marinade, and baked for two minutes each. We tasted the Italian vegan steak with fries and coleslaw (2,290 HUF), and homemade green pesto with basil. Sweet potatoes can be substituted for regular fries, and couscous with vegetables or bulgur should soon be added to the menu as well.
Along with the steaks, five types of cream soup are on offer, as well as cakes for dessert, brought from a small bakery each day. Bálint works alone behind the kitchen counter, but the wait time remains short, nonetheless. The soups are created in special soup machines, with a constant temperature setting. This is important because the vegetables cook for 15 minutes with this special process, to retain their colour and vitamins in the cream soups.
Bálint says he tested this method of soup cooking for five years, creating each soup in two-litre batches. This way, the creamy texture from the vegetables stays fresh, unlike in large-scale cooking where additional thickeners are necessary to keep up appearances. Indeed, the green-pea cream soup with onion chips was as green as fresh peas themselves, and the carrot soup with cashew nuts and dried cranberries, and wild mushroom soup with pistachio (all 1,390 HUF) did not disappoint, either.
Coming soon to the menu is a vegan grilled-steak salad, to offer something a little greener and fresher than the typical side of fries and coleslaw combo. Special dressings will also be created to accompany the salads, such as lavender vinegar, says Bálint.
Other plans by Bálint include turning the establishment into a franchise, setting up Róza Vegans around Budapest and even to larger rural cities. Of course, they could even sell food at festivals, home turf for food trucks. For now, they're staying in Budapest though, where home delivery via Wolt will start in mid-July, alongside the launch of the grilled-steak salads.
As well as unusual flavours and innovative new recipes, Róza Vegan does its part to be sustainable and good for the body. The food is without added sugars or flavour enhancers, and the cutlery, boxes and napkins all break down quickly, so they can be recycled. Dietary restrictions are also kept in mind, as the soups are all lactose- and gluten-free.
Róza Vegan stands out as being innovative and delicious, with its signature vegan steak and accompanying cream soups and sides. Everyone looking to experience something outside the simple salt-and-pepper seasoning will find a truly delicious bite here, no matter what they order.
Róza Vegan
District VII. Dob utca 40
Open: Tue-Wed 11am-11pm, Thur-Sat 11am-midnight
