How to Eat Vegan in Szeged, Hungary
Hungarian Dóra’s Vegan Story
I got lots of help from Laura and from others, but I did not know a single vegan in Szeged Hungary… First I felt really sorry for myself, but then my very introverted self realised that there were some things I just had to deal with alone, so finally I took a deep breath and started exploring how vegan-friendly Szeged was (or wasn’t). Now, four and a half months later, I have my new favourite places, I’m pretty confident when it comes to shopping or eating out, and I’m very excited to know that I still have some places to explore 🙂
Vegan Restaurants Szeged
#1. Green Fusion
Open: M-F, 11:30-15:00
Green Fusion is the number one place for me, and for many reasons. First of all it’s 100% vegan, so it gives me the feeling of security when it comes to choosing what to eat. It’s located a little bit outside of the city centre, but that’s perfect for me as this way it’s closer to my workplace 🙂 It’s a small place creating a friendly environment and a strong sense of belonging (in December they had a vegan picnic where people could meet up, exchange recipes and get to know each other – just how cool is that?). The staff are super kind and it really feels like going home.
Every day there is a soup, a few types of main courses (e.g. patties, stews, baked pasta, sides) and an optional dessert (e.g. muffins or dessert cups). The staff speak amazing English and they are very active on their Facebook account (i.e. sharing recipes, menus, etc.). They are also very eco-friendly (e.g. they try avoiding using plastic). Everything I have tried here was super good, which is a big thing for me as I don’t really like exotic/foreign spices, or at least I wasn’t to experimentative when it came to trying them before 🙂 The only thing I could wish for is longer opening hours. This is a very good place for having lunch, but it would be great just being able to go there any time throughout the day.
#2. Fittanyuka Menü & Sütibár
Open: M-F, 8:00-18:00; Sat., 9:00-15:00
Fittanyuka is the perfect place for me, because it’s even closer to my workplace than Green Fusion is 🙂 No, just kidding, that’s a good reason, but it has many other positives as well. The obvious thing is that it’s vegan. They have a daily offer for lunch on weekdays, and also a great variety of a’ la carte dishes (including pancakes, tortillas, burgers, patties, salads, fried veggies, pastas, etc.). They also offer many kinds of cakes, cookies, pies, puddings, shakes, fruit juices and so on, so it’s not only a lunch place, but actually serves you all day long (I like to grab a home-made oat biscuit for breakfast here on my way to work. Well at least if I’m not running late 🙂
They make beautiful cakes on order (they did my birthday cake this year and it was delicious!) and around the holidays you can buy all kinds of specialities there (e.g. vegan bejgli – a traditional Hungarian roll – at Christmas). The place is very family-friendly, which is sometimes a negative for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love kids, I really do, but sometimes I enjoy my lunch more if nobody is screaming around me 😀 Okay, maybe I should just delete this.. 🙂
Anyway, the staff is very helpful here, besides Hungarian they have an English menu as well and they take non-vegans into consideration: twice a week (I think it’s Tuesdays and Thursdays) they also provide a non-vegan alternative for their daily offer, which I think is great if you have non-vegan friends as well, because this way you have a place that fits everyone. I’ve eaten here many times as a vegan (and also as a non-vegan earlier) and was always very content, they serve a great variety of food and the portions are huge.
#3. Streetfood Zero
Open: M-Sat., 11:00-21:30
Streetfood Zero is a place offering street food (you would have never guessed it, right?) in the middle of the city. The only downside of the place is that you have to take away your order, but I guess that might not be that surprising given that it’s a street food place. It’s lucky that it has many nice touristy places all around with benches and fountains and pigeons cornering you, demanding your leftover… So it definitely has a certain atmosphere. Why I love this place is because they make great pizza 🙂 And I just love pizza! I think this place is not 100% vegan, but determined to serve people with all sorts of food allergies, so who cares? All that matters is that they have good vegan pizza (they even offer plant-based cheese to go with it), pancakes, burgers, tortillas, etc., so basically your regular street food, and also for a fair price. The staff are very cheerful and patient, which is good for beginners like me 🙂 I’ve only had pizza here so far, but it was good 🙂
#4. Taj Mahal
Open: M-S, 11:00-22:00
Taj Mahal is an Indian restaurant and it’s ideal if you are looking for a great hiding place for a date for example 🙂 It’s not 100% vegan, but has many vegetarian/vegan options on the menu (e.g. veggie soups, fried veggies, vegetable stews, etc.) which is again ideal if you are going out with some non-vegan friends. The staff are nice ( = they smile a lot), but they don’t seem to speak that much Hungarian. They have both an English and a Hungarian menu, which is very helpful. For me the biggest downside of the place was that all of the dishes were Indian, which is not surprising, but not my favourite as well (I know it’s just my personal preference, but still).
#5. Őrangyal Gasztroház Vegetariánus Étterem
Open: M-Sat., 11:00-15:00
I’ve never been to Őrangyal, but many of my friends have and they say it’s a good place, so I have it on my list. It’s a vegetarian place, but they have many vegan options on their menu as well and they are happy to prepare each meal as a vegan version. Looking at their menu online they offer a great variety of dishes including traditional Hungarian dishes and international cuisine. One of my friends said that the staff are very nice, so I’m looking forward to visiting this place. On Saturdays they offer a buffet table. Again, it’s only a place for lunch.
#6. Zöldlevelecske Salátabár
Open: M-F, 11:00-22:00
Zöldlevelecske is a salad bar, and it’s very handy on those long days when you just want to go home after work, pick up the phone and let others handle the rest of it. Zöldlevelecske is not 100% vegan, but very vegan friendly. You can order a great variety of salads, soups, fresh fruit/veggie juices and desserts from here and it’s very easy to find vegan options among the dishes or make some changes to make them vegan-compatible (e.g. replace roasted ham with roasted tofu or cheese with nuts).
Again, this is great as it fits the needs of the whole family, even if not everyone is vegan. For me it’s a great place to order some food from, but I love them so much that sometimes it would be good if they had a place where I can sit in instead of only offering take-aways. They are also not open on weekends, but at least their opening hours are quite long during weekdays. The staff are very helpful and kind, and they are very environmentally friendly (e.g. using bamboo forks instead of plastic), which is a huge plus for me. They offer a great variety of tastes (e.g. traditional Hungarian, Italian, French, etc.) and are very flexible. Also, their delivery is super fast, which is good if you are hungry 🙂
#7. Vegan Pizza Guru Szeged
#8. Shopping as a Vegan in Szeged, Hungary
Wrap Up: Vegan in Szeged, Hungary
Actually I think that I’ve done a pretty good job exploring, trying, experimenting, asserting, etc. 😉 but luckily this is not the end of the story. Recently I’ve found out that a new vegan restaurants Szeged and juice bar was opening to vegan Szeged (yay) called Vegazzo Vegan Bistro and Juice Bar. They are planning on opening at the end of January/beginning of February, so I’m very excited to try 🙂 (Address: Szeged, Mérey utca 6/a)
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