With tempting options catering to vegans and those with allergies, gluten sensitivity, lactose intolerance, or diabetes, these places all dish up cool confections to provide treats for every gastro lifestyle, pampering the taste buds of every ice-cream enthusiast.

Artigiana Gelati

With a strong commitment to provide nothing less than the highest quality, Artigiana Gelati – near Városmajor Park and Széll Kálmán Square on the city’s Buda side – persistently keeps up with various culinary requirements. Recognizing that many of their guests are affected by certain food allergies or sensitivities, they offer a line of dairy- and sugar-free ice creams all made of natural ingredients, such as soy milk and rice milk to cater to everyone, including those with vegan or lactose-free diets. The same goes for the cones, as some of them are milk and egg-free. The full focus of the place is on the customer itself, and the frozen delicacies are always served with a wide smile.

Flavors to try: vanilla (vegan), watermelon (vegan)
Address: Budapest 1122, Csaba u. 8

Álomsüti

These cherished confectioneries certainly live up to the name Álomsüti (“dream cake” in Hungarian), offering scoops of delicious frosty seduction with reduced carbs. We can be tempted for anything without worrying about our sugar intake, because they use birch sugar and fructose for sweeteners. The fruit-based ice creams are dairy-free for vegans and the lactose intolerant, and all creamy delicacies are made without gluten. Despite being diabetes friendly, the icy confections are surprisingly rich in flavor – probably the best of them all is Mozart, the all-time favorite of loyal customers, tasting remarkably like Austria’s Mozart bonbons. Naturally, all cones are sugar-free, and available both in lactose- and gluten-free versions.

Flavors to try: Mozart (sugar- and gluten-free), apricot (sugar- and lactose-free)
Address: Budapest 1136, Balzac u. 27; Budapest 1036, Lajos u. 51

Fragola

With the intense taste of ripe fruits and splendidly smooth creaminess, Fragola duly earned its reputation for their unique flavors and healthy ingredients. Their chilled desserts are sweetened with glucose, or they contain no sugar at all, and all fruity delights are suitable for anyone with lactose intolerance. The summertime sweets consist of 60% seasonal or frozen fruits absolutely free from artificial flavors, having nothing in common with their powder-base ancestors. Fragola has been expanding by popular demand in recent years, and it’s represented now all around town, currently offering seven shops for a perfect escape when the thermometer soars.

Flavors to try: raspberry (lactose-free), sour cherry (lactose- and sugar-free)

On multiple locations

Gelarto Rosa

Watching the ice cream be carefully crafted into cones to resemble rose petals at Gelarto Rosa – just a stone’s throw away from St. Stephen’s Basilica – is like experiencing art in the making. While the sorbets are lactose-free and incredibly fruity, the flower-shaped wonders are free from artificial coloring and preservatives, all prepared with a special homemade base. The Italian-style ice-cream parlor also keeps up with the latest health trends, with birch sugar often used in their icy treats. Their artful confections turned out to be so successful that they opened a second location just a few steps down the road from the original shop.

Flavors to try: raspberry (lactose-free, with birch sugar), kiwi-banana (lactose-free, with birch sugar)

Addresss: 1052 Budapest, Szent István tér 3.

Levendula Artisan Ice

This rapidly expanding chain just said no to all additives and preservatives, and they mastered the production of a wide range of ice-cream flavors using only natural ingredients of outstanding quality. Among their frozen delights, an assortment of lactose-, gluten-, and egg-free specialties is on offer, and in case sugar is a concern, we can opt for the stevia-sweetened flavors. From scoop to cone, gluten-sensitive guests can fully indulge in the frosty pleasures, getting a ball of glacial goodness in gluten-free cornets. When it comes to ingredient supplies, they go right to the source to get the finest pistachios from Bronte, or the best-quality lemons from Syracuse in Sicily, and in addition to all that, the ice creams are made with famous Hungarian Szentkirályi mineral water.

Flavors to try: dark chocolate with lavender (lactose- and gluten-free), blueberry with chili (lactose- and gluten-free)

On multiple locations

Napfényes Restaurant and Confectionery

With a limited selection of six flavors, a small ice-cream counter completes the menu of this vegan restaurant, offering entirely natural dairy- and egg-free frozen delicacies. Conventional white sugar is a definite no-can-do at this vegan haven, and it’s replaced by healthier cane sugar and birch sugar to reach the ice creams’ desired sweetness. They don’t use any addictive ingredients such as coffee and cacao, which comes down to a healthy and creamy carob-made ice cream instead of ordinary chocolate-flavored confections. After all, the spelt-flour cones and the soy-free frosty delights are just the icing on the cake. Before anyone thinks that vegan desserts can’t be exciting, the assortment includes many innovative flavors, all prepared in a controlled environment by Napfényes Confectionery.

Flavors to try: rice (vegan), zserbó with apricot marmalade, walnut and carob pieces (vegan)

On multiple locations

Published on XpatLoop.com with the permission of We Love Budapest