Two Vegan Spots to Hit in Budapest, Hungary

As you can probably guess from several of my posts on this blog, such as my review of El Gaucho Steakhouse or my favorite BBQ restaurants to frequent in Ho Chi Minh, I’m a big meat eater. But I have been trying to consume less meat over the years and mix in several days per week where I am cutting back on it, in favor of branching out and trying new vegetarian/vegan foods. 

So, you can only imagine my sheer excitement when I got to Budapest (where I spent over a month) and found several restaurants and cafes that just absolutely nail it and made me not really miss meat that much. 

I’m no expert on vegan food by any means, but I feel like this blog post can serve as a testament to other meat eaters that you could possibly have one of the best burgers of your life, without it having any meat.

Las Vegan’s 

Credit to Las Vegan’s Facebook page.

Hands down, the Magic Mushroom burger at Las Vegan’s is a top five burger I have ever had in my life. This is what kept me coming back. Thank God one of my best friends from back home was visiting Budapest for a week, because he originally ordered the Magic Mushroom, while I clocked in with the Sweet Dream burger (vegan fried cheese, onion jam, green coral lettuce, tomato, eggplant). I of course demanded a bite, and realized that the Magic Mushroom had all the components of what I require for a phenomenal burger. 

That’s not to say the Sweet Dream burger wasn’t great. The Magic Mushroom burger just had it all: a mushroom patty, garlic veganaise, baby spinach, sun-dried tomato, grilled onion, and…wait for it…grilled portobello. This burger is meaty in texture, juicy, a tad sweet (from the sun-dried tomatoes and grilled onion) during bites, and creamy. 

To me, mushrooms have always been the most realistic option for crafting a burger that competes with the likes of my good friend Angus and Chuck. I can’t even count the number of times I came back here, as my apartment was located right in the heart of District 7, and a stone’s throw away from both the Las Vegan’s food truck at Street Food Karavan and Vegan Street Food Garden. This place is the real deal.

Not only were there plenty of burgers to choose from (including the Beyond Meat burger and a few seitan burgers), there were several sides that are musts. A first for me was trying Las Vegan’s nuggets. I’m guessing they are made of soy, as the first few times my stomach was having a bit of trouble digesting it. But as I became a regular and pushed through (like this one time in high school where I kept eating banana bread even though I was allergic to walnuts), these became by go-to side. As I still am a huge vegan noob, I had no idea that nuggets not made of meat could retain such a juicy flavor. 

Mix in several of their accompanying sauces, such as their vegan cheese sauce or hamburger sauce (I’m not exactly sure what it is, but it is orange and my favorite), and this goes toe-to-toe with any Wendy’s nugget I’ve ever had. Las Vegan’s steak potato french fries will also never disappoint. Thick, crispy, and seasoned perfectly. 

If you are at the Karavan Las Vegan’s foodtruck, I feel a beer or cocktail is a must. But if you’re looking to stay sober, I recommend going for one of their apple juices – my favorite is their strawberry apple. 

All in all, Las Vegan’s can play for me any day, and I will 1000% be going back for that Magic Mushroom next time I’m back in Budapest (in February, 2020). It’s actually paining me to write this at 4am, knowing it is so close, yet so far (I’m in Split, Croatia currently). 

Website, Address, & Details: http://lasvegans.eu/ 

• When: Sunday – Wednesday 11:30AM – 11PM, Thursday – Saturday 11:30AM – 1AM (Street Food Karavan)
• Location: Budapest, Kazinczy u. 18, 1075 Hungary

Looking at Las Vegan’s website, their Vegan Street Food Garden foodtruck and Allee Street Food location are both closed until March 1st, 2020. 

Flow Specialty Bar & Bistro

Credit to Flow Specialty Bar & Bistro’s Facebook page.

Flow Specialty Bar and Bistro was recommended to me by a developer buddy of mine who had recently overhauled his entire diet and look. It really was due to clean eating, so I trusted his recommendation. He also works in the same industry as I do (blockchain), and has been known to put in some long-haul work sessions at cafes, so this was another reason to trust his recommendation. 

First off, Flow is absolutely huge and boasts a courtyard terrace where coffee drinkers and vegan mac and cheesers can enjoy. I won’t get into too much about why I loved working out of Flow, as I’ll be tackling that in another post, but this is a freelancer or digital nomad heaven. Outlets, outlets, outlets. And great WiFi. Hands down one of the best cafes in all of Budapest. 

Now, onto the coffee and food.

I feel like I went to bed one day living in a world of 2% milk drinkers, and woke up to now 90% of the population drinking oat milk. I had never tried it before, as I imagined it was what the rich and famous drank out in L.A. while doing rich things. I went for it at Flow Specialty Bar & Bistro right on the historic Andrassy Avenue (Andrássy út) in Budapest (checking out the House of Terror is a must).  

I don’t know exactly why I’m writing so much about oat milk for this section, maybe I just wanted to brag that I finally got to try it only 5 years later than everyone else. It was actually pretty good. I’m still an espresso man at heart (or Vietnamese iced milk coffee when in Saigon), so it felt like a big step venturing out of my comfort zone to order an oat milk latte. I would recommend anyone swinging by Flow Specialty Bar grab an oat milk latte (if you already haven’t), post up with your laptop or a good book, and enjoy one of Budapest’s best cafes. 

I started off safe with my food choices at Flow, first opting for their hummus and falafel plate and babaganoush, then working my way up to their vegan mac and cheese. I’ll say it, if I had to be a vegetarian or vegan, falafel would be the food I primarily consume. 

I didn’t really know what to expect from vegan mac and cheese. I had so many questions. In my book, the creativity behind some vegan food is pretty astonishing, and this blew my mind. The vegan mac’s cheese sauce had a carrot-y taste, which provided some bitter offset to an otherwise “creamy” dish. It worked really well over the elbow macaroni that was cooked perfectly al dente.

While I didn’t try the vegan pancakes, I did awkwardly stand over a table of people that had several plates of them. It was a pretty sizable stack and comes in either a sweet or savory form (one had vegetables in the middle). These are on my list to try next time I’m back. 

The kitchen at Flow is an open one, and I often found myself peering in and having a quick chat with the chefs. They were all extremely polite and friendly, explaining what was in each dish and recommending their favorites. So, if you are looking for a spot with great coffee, quality vegan takes on classic dishes, and an incredibly warm and welcoming staff, you now know where to look.   

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.facebook.com/flowcoffeeandbistro/ 

• When: M-F 7:30AM – 8PM, Saturday & Sunday 9AM – 5PM
• Location: Budapest, Andrássy út 66, 1062 Hungary

Final Thoughts on Vegan Food in Budapest

Consider Big Body thoroughly impressed with the vegan food in Budapest Hungary. Once again, I’m no expert on it by any means, but thoroughly enjoyed each vegan spot I ate at. I know there are plenty of other vegan spots to explore, so I’d love to hear from you in the comments or by direct message about your favorite vegan spots (or restaurants) in Budapest! 

If you haven’t already checked out my article on one of the best avocado toasts I’ve ever had (at London Coffee Society in Budapest), check it out now! 

-Best

Big Body