After visiting Vienna and Prague in the same trip, I’ve come to think of Prague as Vienna’s slightly more rebellious and slightly cooler cousin. It’s a little rougher, a little edgier, a little less staid. I loved it.

I also loved its food. Based on my experience, there weren’t quite as many vegan options, nor was the food as consistently good as it was in Vienna. But there are some stand-outs, and there are many more places I haven’t tried.

Etnosvět

This vegetarian eatery is a great, affordable option. Although it does have a set restaurant menu at certain times, we visited mid-morning on a weekday and were limited to the brunch buffet, a pay-by-weight bonanza with quite a few vegan options. I really appreciated the mix of heavier foods, like a rich seitan dish, and lighter options, like raw salads and slaws. The combination was the perfect antidote to a rough-around-the-edges morning after a late night out in Prague.

Although there is a written chalkboard menu by the buffet, you can ask the staff what’s vegan just to be sure — I found it a little tricky to decipher which menu item corresponded with which actual food. I kept my meal relatively simple: a cold noodle salad, a heavier seitan dish, a grain salad, a light slaw, and some slices of jicama for crunch. Other than the surprisingly bland noodles, everything was tasty and filling. I definitely recommend stopping by for a quick varied meal!

Moment

Easily my favorite restaurant in Prague! This surprisingly spacious bistro seems to be a popular spot — we visited three times, and other than during a morning visit, it was packed. Located in Praha 2, it’s a little bit of a hike from the city center, but is totally worth it. I recommend staying close by (like we did) to make for easy visits. ;)

Everything on the menu is vegan, and there are lots of tempting options. On our first visit — immediately after settling in to our AirBnB — Steven and I both chose burgers. He had the smoky tofu burger, while I selected a more generic-seeming veggie burger. But generic it was not — it was made with peanut butter, which was an unexpected and welcome surprise.

Our second visit was less than 24 hours later, this time with Ian and Pragathi in tow. We started off our first full day in Prague with brunch at Moment, and what a filling brunch it was. I selected an amazing omelette, studded with potatoes and mushrooms, and I was blown away.

So filling and so savory delicious! My only complaint? It was a little salty. Ian had a similar comment about his scrambled tofu, while Pragathi’s gorgeous pancakes were a super-sweet delight. Steven chose the seitan bagel, which was disarmingly simple: a bagel, some ginormous slabs of seitan, vegan cheese, and some veg and sauce.

Steven sampled my omelette at breakfast and liked it so much that he ordered it for dinner when we returned a few days later. Alas, it was a second-rate version, nowhere near as aesthetically handsome or as tasty. We hypothesized that only the breakfast cooks could do it justice, so be warned — breakfast for dinner at Moment is not wholly advised. I opted for the smoky tofu burger instead, a much better dinner choice. For dessert, Pragathi and I shared a chocolate cake with strawberry frosting — beautiful, but a little underwhelming. The frosting was very greasy. But that was really my only complaint with Moment — I’d say it’s a must-visit on your trip to Prague!

Plevel

Ah, Plevel. This was one of my most anticipated restaurants, but I never made it there for dinner. On our first night in Prague, the four of us were desperate for a meal. We walked to one place, only to be told it was reservation-only. Our tummies rumbling louder, we walked to Plevel, only to be told the kitchen was closed. We finally succumbed to a Thai restaurant that could make dishes without the fish sauce, but I was itching to return to Plevel.

Well, I did return a few days later — but only for dessert. Steven and I had eaten dinner at Loving Hut* and had had the worst restaurant meals of our lives.  With our stomachs upset from frankly disgusting food, we followed Ian and Pragathi to Plevel, where those two lucky ducks got to enjoy beautiful dinners. I opted for a pot of green tea and an apple cake, simple food that would settle my stomach. Both were great, but I wished I’d been hungry for a full dinner!

Vegan’s Prague
(formerly LoVeg)

The restaurant on a hill! We saw the Vegan’s Prague sign from afar while visiting Vyšehrad, Prague’s historical fort located above the city center. Can you spot it in the photo below?

After a morning traipsing around the fort, we decided to head over for lunch. We were quite excited for this restaurant since we knew they offer vegan versions of traditional Czech dishes. I ordered a traditional potato goulash, Steven selected the svíčková with smoked tempeh, and both Ian and Pragathi chose the Old Bohemian feast, a mish-mash of various traditional dishes and dips.

Despite our dishes’ impressive appearances, we were all a little underwhelmed with our meals. My goulash was surprisingly bland, as was the svíčková (traditional Czech bread dumplings served with gravy and meat, or tempeh in this case). If I recall correctly, none of the elements in the Old Bohemian feast were standouts either.

On the bright side, the restaurant itself is beautiful. It’s a bit of a climb up a few flights of steep stairs to reach, but inside it’s classy and comfortable, with an upper level reachable by a spiral staircase.  And the prices are right — Prague is inexpensive in general, and the favorable exchange rate helps keep costs down. You can get a big lunch for ~$7. If you’re in the area and need to fill your belly, go ahead and give this place a try — but don’t expect to be blown away.

Other options

Needless to say, I didn’t manage to visit every vegan eatery in Prague — we only visited for a few days. Here are a few I never got around to trying. I’m saving these for my return trip to the Czech Republic! (Of course, this is not an exhaustive list.)

• Country Life: Small chain of grocery stores featuring organic and healthy food with some vegan options; there’s a small deli/restaurant attached to the store in Praha 6
• Lehka Hlava: Super popular but small vegetarian restaurant — be sure to make a reservation ahead of time
• Momo Cafe: Coffee shop and bakery with delicious-looking pastries and some light meals
• MyRaw Café: Raw vegan eatery with a rotating daily menu and lots of beautiful raw desserts; also has an extensive drink menu (including coffee, tea, alternative hot drinks, and alcohol)
• Radost FX:  Vegetarian restaurant with lots of vegan options in many styles (Italian, Mexican, burgers, Asian, pizza, etc.); offers a popular vegan brunch on weekends

General tips

• Many of these restaurants are cash-only, so be sure to have a substantial stash of Czech koruna with you. If you’re able to use a card, consider a debit or credit card without foreign transaction fees (see recommendations for said cards here and here) so you don’t get dinged a small fee every time you use it.
• If you’re in need of a quick bite, don’t overlook simple bakeries. While waiting at the Florenc metro/bus station for our bus to Pilsen, we found a bakery stand with ingredients clearly labelled. We were able to snack on some beautifully fresh breads to tide us over till we got to Pilsen.
• As part of the EU, the Czech Republic labels 14 common allergens on both commercially packaged foods and restaurant menus. Since milk and eggs are included in that list, vegans can use those labels as a clue to whether a given item is vegan-friendly. It’s not a perfect system (honey could easily slip by unmarked), but it’s a good way to identify potentially vegan items and rule out options that are clearly unsuitable.

Google map of vegan options

If you’re planning a trip to Prague, I have a little treat for you! I’ve created a Google map you can use with lots of vegan-friendly eateries plotted out. You can find it here. If you’re like me and disable cell data while you’re abroad, note that you can download the map to your Google Maps app so you can still access it while you’re on the go.

If you’ve got updates to my map (closures, new places, whatever!), just leave me a comment and I’ll update it. Vegan travelers gotta help each other out!

*A note on Loving Hut

I’ve eaten at quite a few Loving Huts, and I hadn’t had a bad experience until eating at the one on Plzeňská 8/300, Motol, in Praha 5. I ordered schnitzel, curious to see Prague’s take on vegan schnitzel. And it. was. horrible. So gross. Oily as heck, with very little flavor, it sat in my stomach like an anvil. On the side was mashed potatoes served with some kind of thick soy sauce as gravy. Maybe that’s a local thing, but it did NOT agree with me. I’m not one to waste food, but I couldn’t finish this meal at all. Steven couldn’t finish his burger, either — it was tasteless, with way more mayo than any human needs.

I’ve heard good things about Loving Huts in Prague, but this one was just a total waste of money. Maybe we ordered poorly, but the menu didn’t feature as many Asian-inspired dishes as Loving Huts usually do, and I wanted to try that schnitzel. What a mistake!

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