When you search for vegan restaurants in Budapest, you will probably find Vegan Garden on any list. From the outside, it looks like a stylish and popular place, so I fear it will be too crowded. However, entering, I feel relieved as the waiter invites me to sit at any of the many available tables. He then brings me a menu with elegant wooden covers.

As I browse the menu, I begin to notice the details of the surroundings: a huge plastic tree in the middle of the room, next to the candy display; in front of me, a wall covered in fake ivy, flanked by two green sofas and a palm tree that looks real from a distance, especially when you have astigmatism but you aren’t wearing your glasses; several pots with plastic plants are levitating from the ceiling, held in the air by macrame hangers; some real plants got lost and ended on the tables. From place to place, several Buddhist carvings are displayed on the wall, matched by same style statuettes on the counters.

But let's leave the decoration aside and move on to the main topic I came here for: the food.

Traditional dishes await you at Vegan Garden

To my surprise, the dishes on the menu trigger no enthusiasm. A beetroot, sweet potato and flambéed pear salad looks inviting, but I'd rather have a main course, so I skip the starters page. On the short list, I selected gnocchi and a stew. I ask for the waiter’s recommendation and he points to the mock chicken stew, unhesitatingly: the vegan version of a traditional Hungarian dish. Again some fake meat to foul the omnivores, I mumble to myself. But let's give it a try! 

First he brings the elderberry lemonade, accompanied by an abundance of fresh basil and freeze-dried raspberries, alongside a compostable cardboard straw. I notice and appreciate the details and try to enjoy the lemonade, while another waiter keeps coming to get the glass. At her second attempt, I let her go with the glass still a quarter full. The service is a bit rushed and attentive for my taste, but I pardon them, since the food comes rather quickly.

Stew with questionable appearance, unexpectedly rich taste

At first glance, nothing extraordinary. An enameled bowl with some potatoes, bathing in a vegetable broth. I regret having chosen it, but only until the first bite. Simple as it is, the dish is actually very tasty. My guess is that those cubed potatoes were lightly browned before ending into the stew and sucking up some flavor from the slow-cooked vegetables. The onions, tomatoes, peppers and garlic are easy to identify. But not so much the rest of the spices, besides the traditional paprika. All in all, very tasty and filling. 

Among all the ingredients, the fake chicken stands out and ensures most of the nourishment sensation. I am tasting small samples of it to figure out what it's made of. In terms of appearance, it is quite close to banana blossom. But when it comes to texture, it borrows the elasticity of textured soy. Because I can't identify the composition, I ask the waiter. The answer is 90% pea protein, the rest - soy, for texture. They prepare the fake chicken themselves and marinate it for at least 12 hours to give it the taste it has. And yes, there's plenty of flavour in that dish. The taste takes me back to my childhood and my mum’s stews, which I used to hate as they had too much onion. 

Along with the stew, I also received a small bowl with pickles, cabbage and two slices of cucumber. I am glad they did not add more, as they are a bit sweet for my taste.

A pretty but a bit too common desert

Finally, here comes the desert and the jar reminds me of my first vegan workshop. It is made of a cocoa cake base, some cream and a slightly synthetic whipped cream. They balanced the texture with the help of crunchy nuts and embellished it with a purple flower. I struggle a lot to finish it, after all that pretty heavy stew.

How was it overall

The experience at the Vegan Garden was pleasant, though not extraordinary. I was really disappointed with the decoration items, satisfied with the food, and slightly unhappy with the service. Only one waiter spoke English well enough and he didn't really like the fact that I insisted on having a fiscal code on the invoice. Which he never managed to provide.