Gluten Free Budapest Guide 2022

Gluten Free Budapest

Beautiful Budapest has to be one of my favourite cities and gluten free Budapest is an added gem to discover. Wide horizons, the gently flowing Danube river, incredible history and excellent food make it quite a destination, and the perfect choice for a weekend break.

On my third and most recent visit to Budapest I found plenty of gluten free options, although I don’t have much photo evidence as I was leading a hen party and couldn’t be distracted too much from the task at hand – keeping the bride-to-be happy!

Luckily, my lovely follower Lucy used my guide on her recent trip to Budapest and kindly gave me permission to use a few of her photos. Thank you, Lucy!

In this guide I’ve done a little round up about how you we spent our weekend in Budapest, and have listed lots of delicious gluten free food options along the way. Budapest has a few fully gluten free eateries now, so there are plenty of safe options to enjoy.

Gluten Free Budapest

We stayed at the Sofitel Budapest Chain Bridge Hotel – a fab hotel (the comfiest bed EVER) and they had a huge arrange of gluten free friendly options for breakfast, plus gluten free bread available. It has a really central location too and we got a good deal online.

As for restaurants, cafes and bakeries, well there is quite a selection to choose from!

Fully Gluten Free Eateries in Budapest

There are now loads of fully gluten free bakeries and restaurants in Budapest, which have opened since I last visited. The following have been recommended to me by coeliac followers of my Instagram account:

Confectionary NoGlu is a 100% gluten free bakery that one of my coeliac followers recommended to me as a wonderful spot for gluten free baked goods and traditional Hungarian treats.
Free! – with two branches in the city Free! is fully gluten free and offers gluten free baked goods and lite bites. Their fresh baked gluten free bread in particular gets great reviews.
Tibidabo Gluten Free Bakery – they are also big on coffee at this fully gluten free bakery, so it could be the perfect pit stop during a busy day of exploring! From the looks of their Instagram they have lots of gluten free fresh bread, pastries and cakes. Yum!
Coli Bisztro is a 100% gluten free bakery, cafe and shop in the centre, tucked away inside a shopping centre. A casual spot for lunch (they do some good looking pizza, which can also be lactose free) or to stock up on gluten free products.
Kata Restaurant – a fully gluten free and lactose free restaurant, you can see some of their food pictured below. They focus on using local suppliers and seasonal ingredients.
Bohémtanya Gluténmentes Vendéglő – a fully gluten and lactose free, traditional Hungarian restaurant.
Drumf Bistro – a fully gluten free, lactose free and sugar free restaurant.
Manioka – a fully gluten free bakery, perfect for grabbing a breakfast or lunch snack on the go.
Maja Bistro – gluten free and lactose free cafe.
Szederinda Glutenmentes – fully gluten free cafe away from the centre.
Divine – please double check but I think the cakes here are fully gluten free and sugar free.
FreeFrom a Konyha – a fully gluten free fast food restaurant, serving up burgers and wraps. Reviews are pretty mixed for this place, but mainly due to reports of poor service.

Gluten free bakery – photo credit: Lucy Clay

Kata Restaurant – photo credit: Lucy Clay

Gluten Free Friendly Restaurants and Cafes in Budapest

And in case that glut of fully gluten free eateries isn’t enough for you, here are some other gluten free friendly spots:

Hilda – gluten free options are clearly marked on the menu here and it looks like a good brunch spot to me.
McDonalds – yes that’s right, they have gluten free buns available at McDonalds in Budapest. They are prepared in a seperate area to avoid any cross contamination risk.
Pata Negra – a tapas restaurant that can prepare gluten free dishes safely upon request.
Muvesz Cukraszda – this has been recommended by a coeliac follower, as a lovely spot that serves some gluten free cakes opposite the opera house, including gluten free sacher torte.
TG Osteria – an Italian restaurant for when you’ve overdone it on the paprika (it’s on EVERYTHING). They have an allergens menu available and I ate gluten free with no problems.
Koleves Vendeglo – we ate at this restaurant and I would recommend it for gluten free diners. The food was delicious, and great for vegetarians and coeliacs alike, as all their dishes were marked GF where appropriate. We ate steak, venison stew and roast lamb amongst other things. Washed down with house wine and a selection of Palinka, the national spirit of choice…it burns! Staff were friendly and value-wise it was extremely reasonable, coming to around 7000 HUF each (£14) for two courses, the odd dessert, half a bottle of wine each and a palinka each. Our waiter spoke perfect English and was very patient in teaching us some Hungarian essentials. As an aside, there is a cool ruin pub across the road from Koleves, but more on the joys of ruin pubs in my “things to do” section below.

Things to Do (And What to Eat Along the Way)

Walking Tours, Ruin Pubs and Huge Gluten Free Dishes

Budapest is a lovely city to wander around. We wandered from the parliament building, along the river bank, to the chain bridge, then we continued up the hill to the Mattias Church and Fisherman’s bastion. Wonderful views, you really can’t miss this place on a trip to Budapest. Had gluten free hot chocolate and mulled wine at the top for 400-600 HUF (£1 – £1.50) while we admired the panorama.

After you’ve taken it all in, walk down the hill to the edge of the river and look out for Belga Söröző. This café specializing in Belgian beers, HOWEVER, they also do huge portions of hearty, delicious food. My husband and I visited twice on our last trip. They were really helpful regarding my need for gluten free and I strongly recommend the pork knuckle if you are a meat eater – delicious.

That evening we had a big dinner at “home”. From our AirBnB base, on the Pest side of the river, it was just a short stroll over to the CBA supermarket close to Andrassy Ut/Arany Janos Utca junction and they had everything we needed. I was able to find plenty of gluten free food.

We had signed up for a Ruin Pub tour that evening, which I would highly recommend. It’s hard to describe to ruin pubs of Budapest, other than to say East London would LOVE to have bars like this and you cannot visit Budapest without checking at least one or two of them out. They are essentially very quirky bars (often with very low drinks prices), many in huge converted ruined houses, spanning various rooms and floors full or interesting installations and other curiosities – from skeletons playing cards on the ceiling to flying rabbits.

We did an organized tour (as sometimes the bars can be a bit tricky to find), which I would recommend as it was really reasonable and our guides Alexa and Lily were fab. Be sure to check out Lokal for some swing dancing, Szimpla Kert and its irrepressible character and Instant (which turns into a nightclub and is HUGE – 23 rooms, 6 bars, 4 dance floors).

Szechenyi Baths and Long Gluten Free Lunches

On our final day we visited the Szechenyi Baths (beautiful outdoor spa, highlight recommended) and then sampled the delights of Robinson Etterem for lunch. Situated in the middle of the park, it has a really picturesque setting and they could happily accommodate my gluten free coeliac needs.