Bratislava, Slovakia's charming capital city is not only home to medieval towers, smart cafe-lined squares and grandiose town houses. To our delight and surprise, it's also home to plenty of cool cafes and restaurants serving a feast of tasty vegetarian treats.
In this post, we've highlighted 8 of our favourite veggie-friendly places in Bratislava to get something to eat and drink.
Our favourite veggie-friendly places to eat in Bratislava
Each of the four cafes and restaurants listed below have a great selection of vegetarian food for you to try on your next visit to the Slovakian capital.
Funki Punki: for creative, freshly-made crepes
Klariská 327/12, 811 03 Bratislava
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Funki by name, funky by nature. Despite the small size, this casual eatery packs a punch in terms of both character and tastiness. Freshly-made crepes are the speciality, with lots of variations to suit taste and dietary requirements. On the sweet menu, traditional favourites such as Nutella sit alongside more unusual choices like Chestnut purée with Kiwi. As for savoury varieties, how about Lentils with Indian Spices or perhaps Bryndza (traditional Slovak cheese made from sheep’s milk) with spring onions. Despite being only one block away from the main tourist area, this place still feels local and the low prices reflect this.
Vegetarian, gluten-free & lactose-free options available
RE:FRESH: for local food with a Vegan twist
Ventúrska 267/5, 811 01 Staré Mesto
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Situated on Bratislava’s main pedestrian street, with a restaurant on the ground floor and a music club in the basement, this is typically the sort of place we’d normally avoid. However, drawn in by a reasonably priced vegan offering, we found ourselves pleasantly surprised. The menu is split into two main section; Around the World featuring burgers and rice bowls, and Local featuring potato dumplings and deep-fried smoked cheese. The food is certainly not fine dining, but it’s honest, filling and tasty and seemingly very popular amongst visiting and local vegans. There are meat options for omnivores and smoking is permitted in the back room, so avoid if you don’t smoke.
Lots of vegan options available, many dietary requirements catered for
Mr Cakes (Pán Cakes): for breakfast pancakes aplenty
Suché mýto 4, 811 03 Staré Mesto
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Another popular pancake eatery a short walk from Bratislava city centre. There’s a large sweet range, served on wheat batter and a smaller savoury range served on buckwheat. We popped in for breakfast and tried the tiramisu and fresh strawberry varieties, both of which were filling and tasty. There are a small selection of breakfast specials served until 11am, though you can ignore these like we did and order whatever you like. Service was speedy and welcoming and prices were very reasonable.
Vegetarian and gluten/lactose-free options available
Foodstock: for tasty Japanese-inspired fusion
Klobučnícka 485/6, 811 01 Bratislava
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A laid-back and modern restaurant with a minimalist interior and a matching minimalist menu of veggie and vegan food. We ordered a warming, savoury bowl of ramen and a delicious set of homemade gyoza each. You can watch the gyoza being made using a complicated-looking contraption on the counter, which incidentally is where you order before taking a seat. If satisfying Japanese-inspired food isn’t your thing, they also serve falafel in a selection of flavours and homemade bread.
100% vegetarian with some vegan options
Our favourite places to drink in Bratislava
The following cafes and bars may not necessarily be great for vegetarian food, but we still recommend them as great places to stop for a drink.
FiVE Points: for super-cool roasts
Panská 23, 811 01 Bratislava
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A cool & comfortable artisan coffee house with a gorgeous interior of polished wood and faux antique light bulbs. Smart and modern, though not pretentious like many coffee shops of a similar ilk. Of course, americanos and lattes are plentiful, though we’d encourage you to try one of their more unusual drinks. We tried an Inverted Ice Cappucino during our visit, where the coffee is cleverly served sitting on top of a layer of milk. If you’re in a hurry, you can order and drink your coffee at the bar Italian-style to receive a substantial discount. Breakfasts, cakes, sandwiches and even alcohol are also available throughout the day.
Vegetarian options available
KC Dunaj (Danube Cultural Centre): for cultural & youthful night's out
Nedbalova 435/3, 811 01 Bratislava
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A cultural and social venue for Bratislava’s millenials and hipsters housed in a former communist-era department store. A somewhat dilapidated and graffiti-strewn stairwell leads to the 4th floor where you’ll find the bar, an outdoor terrace and a series of rooms that host all kinds of social events throughout the week. Live music, themed parties, film screenings and talks are all on the events programme. On our visit, a language learning event was taking place. Drinks are local and inexpensive and there’s a general friendly vibe that reminded us of Budapest’s ruin pubs. It’s reportedly very busy at weekends, so perhaps consider visiting mid-week.
Dobre&Dobré: for classic bohemian coffee & cake
Nedbalova 485/13, 811 01 Bratislava
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A classic cafe with a bohemian Parisian styling and a social inclusion programme at its heart. This non-profit cafe, run by and for the benefit of a charity organisation called Vagus, employs homeless people as waiting staff in order to help them get back on their feet. Any profits go back into Vagus so that it can continue to provide services for homeless people. The cafe serves hot and cold drinks and a selection of traditional cakes and pastries by day and serves alcohol in the evenings.
Dunajský Pivovar: for drinks on the Danube
Tyršovo nábrežie, 851 01 Bratislava-Petržalka
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A large highly-rated hotel and 500 seat restaurant boat permanently moored to the banks of the Danube offering beer brewed on-board and fantastic views of Bratislava Old Town. Jade and I popped aboard on a whim and found a warm welcome, polite service and great beer. Whilst a meat-heavy food menu is available, staff don’t mind if all you want is a drink and a pretzel. If it’s a warm day, we recommend sitting out on the narrow terrace facing the Old Town so that you can soak it all in and hear the waters of the Danube flowing past.
We hope you've found our post on the best veggie-friendly places to eat & drink in Bratislava useful. Bratislava is full of cool places to wine and dine and most of them offer veggie and vegan options, so when you're in the Slovak capital, make sure you find your own favourite places.
Discover more: Bratislava, Slovakia: 14 Awesome Things to See & Do
Our sincere thanks to our destination partner, the Bratislava Tourist Board for helping us make the most of our visit.
We hope you find our suggestions useful. Let us know if you visited any of them. If you have your own suggestions, get in touch too! Drop your comments into the box below and share your stories.
Thanks for this! Any recommendations on trying traditional slovakian foods as a vegan?
Hi Brian! RE:FRESH at Ventúrska 267/5 has a great vegan offering of traditional Slovakian meals (see above). You might be able to find more places using Happy Cow.