Szabad Bisztró - Új Hely — Restaurant in Budapest

I wanted to tick off as many plant-based versions of Hungarian dishes as I could while in Budapest. This one had hortobágyi. Made plans to head there for lunch one day.

I was also indecisive which dish I wanted to choose - it was either this or the rakott krumpli (Hungarian potato casserole). I could order both but I had dinner plans that I wanted to make room for.

This was my first time trying hortobágyi. It is a rolled savoury crepe-like dish that traditionally consists of meat, seasoned with a paprika sauce, and then with sour cream. For this version, it’s filled with mushrooms. The crepe was not too thick nor had a thin thickness. By now, admittedly, Hungarian food isn’t my top favourite so I found the paprika sauce was decent (I did find myself reaching for black pepper). The mushrooms were seasoned decently. Sour cream was nice. I can’t recall whether there were other places that serve vegan version of this dish - this is a great place to try!

I also ordered hot chocolate with whipped cream. This was good too.

Szabad has two locations. I chose to go this one as it was walking distance from where I was staying. It is a plantbased/vegan restaurant. Has starters, soups, main dishes (including local dishes), burgers, snacks, and desserts. The atmosphere felt like a pub-style dining area. Decent...

Szabad Bisztró is a cozy, basement-level vegan and vegetarian bistro located in Budapest, Hungary. The name “Szabad” means “free” in Hungarian, and it captures the laid-back, welcoming atmosphere of the place.

Here’s what makes it special:

Vegan/Vegetarian Focus: Their menu is mostly vegan, featuring hearty, home-style dishes.

Locally Sourced Drinks: They serve artisanal Hungarian syrups and fresh fruit juices, as highlighted on the chalkboard outside.

Daily Specials: A rotating daily menu (napi menü) offers affordable, fresh meals every weekday.

Quirky Charm: Their slogan—"Ezt a bablevest magamra tetováltatnám!" ("I'd tattoo this bean soup on myself!")—shows their playful tone and commitment to delicious food.

Atmosphere: Tucked into a basement near the Grand Boulevard (Nagykörút), it offers an intimate space often filled with students, creatives, and...

Overall we enjoyed our meal and time spent there, but we didn’t love every dish. Big thanks to the waitress - she was very kind and friendly. However, chef looked like he wasn’t very happy to receive a food order right before 10pm, slammed the bathroom door and stormed out from the restaurant as soon as we got the food on the table. We had a mushroom pate which was brilliant - really tasty. The bean goulash was nice but a bit bland and there was no salt or paprika at the table which is really common to have in Hungary. The hortobagyi no meat pancake was very tasty but again it could be nicer with a little more spicing. I would probably go back in summer to try another dishes and...