Quick Vegan Guide: Budapest

Budapest is both heaven and hell for vegans.  But with some knowledge it is easily heaven.  

Meat and meat by products are often present in food in Hungary.  Not only is a lot of meat served, lard is often used.  That is a problem if you are just following others around or sticking to the most touristy areas.  

But if you do a little research and look a little closer you will soon come to realize that Budapest is vegan heaven.  There are numerous vegan restaurants, many only blocks away from major tourist attractions, but usually hidden and off the main streets.  Not to mention off the main streets food in Budapest is quite inexpensive.  

• While visiting the Buda side of Budapest head into the real neighborhoods of Buda to discover the cafeteria style Edeni Vegan with its friendly staff and tasty food.  
• While visiting attractions on Andrássy út or if you are looking for a nice freshly prepared candle lit romantic lunch or dinner head over to Kozmosz Etterem (on the same street as the Liszt Museum and very near the House of Terror).
• While visiting the Hungarian National Museum cross the street to get to the popular cafeteria style vegan restaurant Vega City.    
• While visiting attractions in Pest head a little bit north (walking or take the M3) to the tasty cafeteria style Ganga Vega.  You will also find plenty of places with hummus in Pest.  

These are only a few of the vegan restaurant options.  There are also a number of vegetarian restaurants as well.  New vegan and vegetarian restaurants open all the time in Budapest (and sadly some close too).  

To get snacks and food for breakfast (when many restaurants are not open), I recommend heading over to the Great Market Hall.  At the Great Market Hall numerous merchants sell fresh fruit, vegetables, pickles, and all kinds of other items.  There is also an Aldi's in the basement of the Great Market Hall.  There are also numerous grocery stores and food markets.  However, packaged food can be a challenge for those who only speak English as ingredients are rarely listed in English.  Most ingredients seemed to be listed in Hungarian, but sometimes (such as at Aldi's) you also see ingredients listed in German or Russian.  

As such, for vegans I would not recommend going with a tourist group.  Same even goes for vegetarians, those who are kosher, or those who are halel.  Budapest is easy to get around and a low-crime city.  Going on your own (or with a group that specifically meets your dietary needs) will allow you to get the food you need.