Recently, I spent some time in Budapest, and gathered plenty of information about where you can find the best vegetarian or vegan meals while you are there. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but is based on my own experiences – and I did a lot of research both beforehand and while we were there in order to find the best possible options throughout the week. There is a lot to cover here, so I will get started right away…
Falafel – Veggie Burger
This review focuses on a little café/restaurant in Budapest called Falafel, which serves vegetarian and vegan food only with a salad bar format. You can also order certain items from the kitchen, such as the veggie burger or “vega burger” as it is referred to on the menu. It comes hot to your plate after about a five minute wait, during which time you can find a seat upstairs. There is very limited space at this venue, so be sure to avoid peak times if you want to be certain of getting a table. The burger itself comes in a medium soft white bun, which is floury, with a slightly harder upper crust adding some texture. It is quite a nice bun, in fact, though very simple in taste and texture. It came with fresh salad in generous amounts – two huge tomatoes, lettuce, caramelised onions, and more. The top and the bottom of the bun are coated with light creamy houmous – just enough for you to taste it, and not enough to overpower the rest of the flavour. The sweetness of the onions is a great combination here, and it goes really well with the burger itself. It’s a nice thick patty which is very satisfying in shape and size, and the taste and texture of it is very similar to a falafel. I suspect they have simply used their falafel mix to make a much bigger lump than normal and then pushed it into the right size! Whatever they’re doing, it certainly works. The cost was just 990 ft, which at that time was less than £3. It’s a pretty good deal for a burger this big! It tasted really good as well, although the only downside was that it did not come with any extras. You literally get a burger on a plate, and nothing else! If you do still feel hungry afterwards (we didn’t – it is very filling) you can always pop back downstairs and get a small amount of the salad for not much extra.
The main criticism that I would give is that it was quite dry – I think it really needed a sauce of some kind, perhaps tzatziki or thousand island dressing. The problem is that the houmous just isn’t moist enough to counteract the dryness of the bread and the burger put together, so there is a little something missing there. The texture was fantastic, however, and the rest of the burger was well put together with tastes that fitted and did not have to wrestle with one another for attention too much.