Napfényes Restaurant and Confectionery — Restaurant in Budapest

I went here for lunch one day (August 2024 - belated review oops) to try out some of their plant based Hungarian cakes (francia kremes and dobos torte) and Szejtánbrassói/Seitan Brasov roast.

As it was my birthday, I shamelessly mentioned it to the cashier, who gave me a discount for the cakes. What I didn't know was, to dine at this restaurant, is you order first and pay at the same counter. Should have done that.

I loved the cakes - this is the place to have a good introduction into Hungarian desserts but plant based. Good amount of layers and texture for both cakes. Smooth and creamy fillings. The kremes was bottomed with a sheet of puff pastry, thick layer and amount of custard, cream, topped with glazed puff pastry. The sheets of puff pastry were quite delicate in contrast to the thick layer of custard. The glazed top did provide an extra support to its delicateness. When I bite into this cake, I was first introduced into the glazed sweet yet steady structure puff pastry before indulging into the rich and very smooth and creamy custard. While the dobos torte was a sponge cake layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with caramel. The slice was about 2.5-3 inches in width. I found this cake was layered evenly with even amount of thickness of the buttercream and spongecake. I found the sponge and buttercream tasted good, good amount of sweetness, decadent, smooth and soft to eat into.

Now the Brasov roast.... The seitan was decent; it was soft and a slight chewiness. Taste-wise, I think Brasov roast is a dish I wouldn’t generally think of strongly eating again? I found the taste was just ok and “strong” at some points. Not sure how to describe it but the taste when some ingredients didn’t even out/balance well. Like too much broth or maybe the seitan just soak it in? The pickles did add as somewhat a palate cleanser.

The menu has labels for dishes that have gluten, soya, mustard, nuts, sesame seeds, peanuts, spicy, for example. However for the menu I received (physical), there was no page on what the other icon entails. There is a daily offer for lunch times (11:30am-5pm), only available during the weekdays and changes weekly.

Service was ok. It did take awhile for my food to come though even thought the restaurant...

Highly NOT recommend the is place in person, but some items are nice for takeout.

We ordered our food at 20:00. They brought everything at once at 20:50 and then smiled and rudely told us they’re closing in 10 minutes. Our table was full of food.

It was really uncomfortable to bring my visiting friends from abroad to a restaurant where we are not informed ahead of time that the food we order takes 50 minutes to prepare and then we will have 10 minutes to eat it.

They ruined the mood at the table, my guests felt rushed to quickly eat everything, and the staff kept coming to our table every minute to check if we’ve finished. Couldn’t have been more unprofessional.

But they were:

We were 5 people, ordered 5 main dishes which we wanted to share so asked for 5 plates. In response we were told “they don’t do sharing” and that we “need to order 5 of each dish” if everyone wants to try a dish. I asked 2 different staff for it and both ridiculed us for asking for 5 plates.

I have never in my entire life been to a restaurant where I have already ordered a full table of food, yet they don’t want to provide plates for it. 🥲

In the end, after asking them 3 times (within the 10 minute eating window we were given) they finally agreed angrily and brought us 5 bowls.

Very unnecessarily rude behaviour from the staff, incredibly unprofessional and they managed to turned a high profile vegan food experience into a very childish and uncomfortable experience for us.

The food itself is okay, the bean goulash and the somlói are great. Platter for 2 feels too unhealthy, and the quinoa risotto was very salty. Our drinks looked so sad: the “lemonades” were just syrup water in an ikea glass with 0 fruit or anything else. Very strange for a restaurant rated so highly.

Overall, I would say if you really want a bean goulash get takeout or arrive here 3 hours before so maybe you will have time to enjoy it. And also make sure to bring a bowl with you if you want your loved one...

Wow, this place exceeded my expectations. I've been a vegetarian for more than 14 years and I've been living in Budapest for about three. I always had troubles finding good vegetarian / vegan food too eat here until I discovered this place. The restaurant is located near the city center, but it's a bit hidden, so you'll have to search for it. It's a huge place, neatly organised, with a confectionery in the front and the tables in the back. It's best if you book a table in advance because the place gets pretty crowded. The menu is truly diverse, with vegetable soups, pasta, pizza, cooked meals (like Seitan a la Brașov) and yummy desserts. They also add the chef's choice every day and change it every other three days. It's usually something thematic like Mexican or Asian courses. They also serve raw dishes, but I haven't tried them yet. As drinks go, they have a selection of fresh natural juice, lemonades, smoothies and cocktails that won't disappoint you. If there's nothing in the dessert section to appeal to you, then you can always order from the front confectionary - they have a tone of different cakes like mille feuille, peanut cake, fruit cake and so on. They're all scrumptious by the way 😊. The service is fast and the waiters are very attentive, professional and nice. The place is really clean and the bathrooms are spotless. The prices aren't high at all, especially for that part of the city. The first time we went there we were shocked because we had two courses, dessert and drinks and it was all just 9000 HUF for two people. The service fee is not included so make sure to leave a tip if you enjoyed the meal. Overall, this place is a must-try for every vegetarian / vegan and, why not, for people with regular dietary needs too. You won't be disappointed if you give this...