1/10
Legelő Salad Bar
Legelő on Dob Street is proof that salad can be more than a side dish. The place offers filling salads, which you can custom-mix, eat on the spot or take-away. You can even compile your salad online for delivery. The nutritional details are listed for those counting carbs or calories. The only negative is that the salads here seem slightly overpriced. 1600 forints is a tad too much for a club chicken salad - not to mention the sauce costs another 120 forints. The place is no cheaper if you mix your own salad. The service is sometimes a bit slow but the salads are yummy, so it's worth the wait.
2/10
Konyha
The monthly menu of Madách Square's Konyha always includes three salads, one of which is a vegetarian or vegan option. We found a goat's cheese, orange, raspberry and vinegar chicken breast salad (1500 HUF); a rocket, zucchini, grilled celery and quinoa salad (1850 HUF) and a baby onion, mayonnaise potato salad with smoked trout (1950 HUF) when we visited. The latter could easily be considered a main course - it is soft and delicious. The most exciting part of the quinoa salad is the grilled celery of which we would have loved to have more.
3/10
SAL
SAL here is not a reference to SAL 9000 of Odyssey Two, but a place in downtown Budapest where the salads are loaded with vegetables, the soups are really fruity and the daily special ragout is served with brown rice. You can also buy baguettes, paninis, dried fruits and cakes here. You can mix your own salad here choosing from a nice range of ingredients, but they also make their own ready-to-eat salads for those who don't want to create their own. This option includes a hyper Caesar salad (1310 HUF) and a proper Greek salad (1340 HUF).
SAL (closed)
Address: 1052 Budapest, 9. Galamb Street
4/10
Basil Ica
The dome of St. Stephen's Basilica looks awesome from the window of this small salad bar AND the food is also all right. Salads are measured at a 290 HUF per ingredient and they have jalapeño, feta cheese, coleslaw, mayo corn, potato salad, dried tomato as part of the offering. They also sell quesadillas and panins as well. Some of the super healthy combos are under 1000 forints, and the service is fast.
Address: Budapest 1065, Révay köz 2.
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5/10
Keksz
Though Keksz is not a salad bar, they have huge salads that secure a soft spot in our hearts. For instance, we believe they serve the best Caesar salad in town, in three variations (chicken - 1450 HUF, beef - 1690 HUF, salmon - 1890 HUF), plus you can create your own salad from nearly 30 ingredients. We mixed rocket, dried tomato, cucumber, grilled salmon and walnuts with a basil yoghurt dressing. Keksz's salads start at 1350 HUF, while the custom mix salads are priced per ingredient. Tip: they have a superb terrace, so order a homemade lemonade or a beer and just chill out in the sun.
6/10
Falafel Salad Bar
Falafel is brimming with guests at lunchtime, and it's no surprise - this is one of the most affordable healthy eateries in Budapest. You can choose from various fix menus, one-course dishes or mix your own salad. We always have the large salad with pita (1160 HUF) and have perfected the art of packing the bowl full. It is no easy job, mind you, with the wide range of available ingredients, like fried onions, salad mixes, corn, chickpea salad, rocket, beans, lentils, carrot, broccoli, cucumber, string beans, falafel balls, beetroot, and about 10 sauces (honey-mustard, beetroot hummus, hot sauce, etc). The only drawback is that people always crowd in front of the salad counter, which makes access to certain ingredients difficult - but there are some things in life that are worth the hassle - like the fried onions.
Falafel (closed)
Address: 1065 Budapest, 53. Paulay Ede Street
7/10
Nemsüti
One of the first vegetarian salad and sandwich bars using in-season ingredients opened in 2004 at Jászai Mari Square. Although the place earned its fame with its sandwiches, their salads are also worth a visit. Nemsüti doesn't just offer leaves and dressings - just check out the weekly specials. When we visited there was a spicy basil and sun-dried tomato couscous salad; dried plum grilled beetroot salad with smoked cheese and toasted cashew nuts; and a honey ramson Jerusalem artichoke salad. These cost a uniform 900 HUF, so it's a great choice for the budget-conscience as well.
8/10
Nemo Fish & Chips & Salad Bar
As the name suggests, NEMO is a place for fresh seafood salads. This street food venue in Buda offers several alternatives. They have a fresh salad counter for mixing your own combo (small 790 HUF, large 1090 HUF) to which you can add grilled seafood (shrimps 890 HUF, baby squid 690 HUF). We tried some of the salads from the menu: grilled shrimp salad (2290 HUF) and prawn salad with rocket-chilli mango dressing. They were pretty filling and with a soup it's perfect. Grab one in good weather and take a seat on the terrace. The only drawback at NEMO is the poor ventilation in the basement parlour, which leaves a stuffy smell behind.
9/10
Hard Rock Cafe Budapest
It might seem surprising that we went for a salad to Hard Rock Cafe, which you'd usually associate with steaks, hamburgers, shakes and gigantic American dishes. But we're well aware of their expert salads. Most will be familiar with Hard Rock's atmosphere: the loudspeakers blast stadium rock, there are plenty of foreign languages to be heard, the rooms are dimly lit and music paraphernalia covers the walls. The ingredients of the Cobb salad (3200 HUF) are served as stripes on the plate, and the dressing also arrives separately, so you can even devour it vegetable by vegetable if you want. It's a huge portion of refined flavours. The Grilled Chicken Chop Salad (3400 HUF) is impeccable. The portion is American by design and it is difficult to clear the entire plate.
