Next to the organic store Bio ABC, on Múzeum körút, is a basic looking but great little vegan and largely organic self-service restaurant and juice bar.
Open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on weekdays, fare includes daily changing combinations of wholegrains, seasonal fresh vegetables, potatoes, tofu, herbs and spices and more. The daily lunch menu, priced at 850 HUF, usually includes a choice of főzelék (a cross between a soup and a stew), or a grain like bulgur or barley, combined with vegetables. These come with salad, tofu and a meat-free fasírt (a savoury patty), and make for a substantial meal.
Individual items include things like chick-pea loaded bulgur, vegetable stuffed pancakes, salads and soups. Raw, blended greens and thick fruit smoothies are also available, as well as a smoothie containing the natural, sweet substance sea-buckthorn (homoktövis), which is extremely high in vitamin C and other essential nutrients.
Wash your healthy feast down with a freshly pressed fruit or vegetable juice, or a vitamin packed combination of both, and follow it with something from the rows of sin-free desserts at the counter. Fruit and seed packed cakes, strudels and other healthful treats are all made using spelt flour, where flour is used. Many are indicated as sugar free, or, when they contain sugar, the kind is indicated.
A selection of raw food is also on offer, prepared using drying techniques in the on-site kitchen. Raw soups, like avocado and carrot, are also an option, as are servings of sprouted seeds, like buckwheat and sunflower. The rest of the food is heat treated as little as possible, to maintain nutrient levels.
The small group of regular, friendly front of house staff are flanked by chef Csaba, a vegetarian with an extensive knowledge of nutrition and a respect for fresh, wholesome ingredients, which really shows in the food.
It’s a small place, and it’s popular, so don’t expect to head in without needing to queue at lunch times. But once you’ve got your seasonal goodness, head to one of the high chairs to join other happy munchers at the brightly colored counters, decorated fittingly with images of citrus fruits.
As a vegetarian, Lé Bár’s one of the best spots to head for wholesome food prepared by a nutritionally knowledgeable chef who really knows what he’s doing. It’s not simply health food, it’s good food, and ideal if you’re looking for a fairly priced meal prepared using high quality, healthy ingredients. The only downside is the non too eco-friendly use of plastic plates, bowls and cutlery.
Lé Bár
1053 Budapest, Múzeum körút 19.
Open: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.