Report Abuse

Beautiful Environment

5 Posted on 06 / 09 / 2013

The beautifully decked sister ship to the ultra wonderful Clear Head and a little easier to find just off the Old Town Square. Similar dishes are served and they have some good value daily specials. Simply a wonderful interior setting for a meal at any time but gorgeous at night when you can chill out for a couple of hours or so. The food here could potentially convert those meat eaters who want to cut out or reduce their intake.

Pros: great setting, food, atmosphere

Report Abuse

Nice decor but surprisingly few vegan options

3 Posted on 06 / 07 / 2013

The restaurant's on two floors and we were recommended to go downstairs as there was room. It was nice downstairs with a beautiful water fountain, but as there were three of us, we had to sit on a larger table and were told we might have to shuffle around if it got busier. Not too welcoming.

The menu was interesting, it looked varied but in fact very few dishes were vegan or veganisable, so I was quite disappointed. The labelling was good, though. The drink selection was also strange, e.g. with a couple of odd flavours of green tea but no plain green tea.

Overall, it was a nice enough place, but I'm not sure I'd go back.

Pros: Non-smoking, Good quality food, Good value
Cons: Not much for vegans, Often parties need to share tables

Report Abuse

Maitrea

5 Posted on 05 / 28 / 2013

Much like Clear Head but a brighter, larger, more modern design. Friendly staff, great food, and reasonably priced.

The location is closer to the center of town than Clear Head. Menu options included Mexican, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Czech cuisine. Vegan and raw options. Raw cheesecake was delicious. We enjoyed everything we ordered and would definitely go back.

Maitrea and Clear Head are both must visit locations for vegetarian travelers in Prague.

Report Abuse

Friendl atmosphere, delicious meal

5 Posted on 05 / 27 / 2013

I just went there today because of the recommendations from HappyCow. It's not that hard to find actually. The place has a really nice atmosphere and the waiter spoke English very well, which made me happy. Unfortunately there's really only one vegan main dish, but if go there for the first time it doesn't really matter. My meal was HUGE. And not only because I wasn't very hungry. I almost didn't finish it (which would be no problem, because the bag up your leftovers for free). I also had one of the fresh juices, which was a really good choice!
The also offer several entries and salads that are vegan, which should also make up a complete meal if you combine them.
The prices were ok, I had to pay 220 (roughly 9€) for my meal & drink.
Also the food came really fast!
If you plab to go there for dinner, make a reservation first! I got there without one but since I was there quite early (around 6:30 pm), I was offered one of the tables that was reserved for later.
Updated from previous review on Friday May 17, 2013

Pros: nice atmosphere, prices still ok, great fresh juices
Cons: only few vegan dishes

Report Abuse

What an amazing place to discover in Prague!

5 Posted on 04 / 02 / 2013

I was so happy when I came here for the first time on my trip to Prague - so happy, in fact, that I came twice more!

The food was delicious and there was a great range of it, and I loved the birch sap drink! I brought my host here for a meal and it had a lovely range of food and a nice setting; great for a special occasion or just a quality meal out.

Pros: Excellent food, Friendly staff, Good range of options

Report Abuse

maitrea

2 Posted on 02 / 26 / 2013

I went there three times. First time food was just ok bit dry and service didn't bother with us a lot. Then I thought I will give it another shot so we went there again and it was good. Food was very nice but slow service. Third time I asked my friend to join us for a dinner and it was a mistake. I asked for Czech speciality called svickova and it to avoid harsh words it looked very unappetizing. I had really hard time to take a first bite. After few minutes I took the chance and tried it and it tasted awful. My partner tried it too and agreed to send it back to kitchen. Then things get worse when we asked service to take the plate and told serving girl it was uneatable (we did not ask to give us anything else). As this was xmas dinner we did not want to spoil our time with friend. Then we got all of sudden a reply from waitress "I do not think so". This was rude, out of hand and unprofessional. There was definitely no room for her opinion. She did not even ask why we said it was uneatable. We did not even hear back sorry from that girl.

Report Abuse

Amazing - a crime not to dine here

5 Posted on 11 / 29 / 2012

Fantastic experience.

We came here for dinner on a saturday night and ordered the Gypsy Salad, Bohemian Plate and Sushi along with wine and selection of juices/drinks and were really delighted with the experience.

The staff were really friendly and helpful when ordering dishes. The ambience of the restaurant is awesome, with soothing colours, water features, curved arches and buddhas throughout the restaurant. The wines were delicious, as were the fresh juices.

Most importantly, the food was world class. The gypsy salad (tempeh, cubed potatoes and onions sautéed in a tasty sauce, on a bed of spinach and grated carrot) was absolutely delicious - probably the tastiest tempeh we've tasted in our the life. The sushi came in two varieties - stir fried vegetables and tofu - and was brilliant. And the bohemian plate (beetroot cakes, polenta, smoked tofu and red cabbage sauerkraut) provided a delightful array of flavours in every mouthful and provides vegetarians/vegans with a very helpful insight into czech cuisine. Portion sizes were excellent too, though we were too full to be able to try dessert.

It would be a crime for a veg*n to come to prague and not to come here for dinner.

Just make sure you come here early on in your trip so you can come back and try some of the other dishes. My partner and I came here for dinner only on our last night - so very disappointed that we didn't have space in our stomaches to try some of the other czech specialities like the goulash.

Pros: Friendly Staff, Great Ambience, Great Food
Cons: None

Report Abuse

One of the best in Prague

5 Posted on 10 / 30 / 2012

I can definitely recommend this restaurant, they have (almost) the same menu as Lehka Hlava (Clear Head) and the same food quality and nice staff.

The design of this restaurant is simply stunning (don't forget to explore lower floor).

If you are in Prague, it would be a great mistake to miss this restaurant.

Pros: food quality, great restaurant environment, nice staff
Cons: need to make a reservation

Report Abuse

The Best!

5 Posted on 10 / 06 / 2012

Great atmosphere, mega nice food, good size portions and lovely people!!!! a very pleasant experience! reasonable prices.

Report Abuse

A nice peaceful place in Prague center

5 Posted on 07 / 11 / 2012

In our recent trip to Prague, we decided to try this restaurant based on reviews on this site. We weren't disappointed. Actually it was very good and the staff was very kind. At first the menu was a bit confusing because of all the symbols for vegetarian, vegan, wheat free and even without garlic or onions. I felt that nobody was left aside... It even was written that meal was free for monks!

The decoration is exquisite, very beautiful, don't forget to look at the stairs and visit the toilets, every little space is a gem. So, it was very good, beautiful, peaceful and inclusive. If you like more hustle and bustle, you might like to try Lehka Hlava not very far away and with a similar menu. We personally prefer Maitra atmosphere.

Pros: excellent food, friendly staff, beautiful premises

Report Abuse

A disappointment

2 Posted on 06 / 01 / 2012

My recent encounters with Maitrea were very disappointing. On two occasions when I went in without a reservation, I was treated very poorly. Even when I tried to make a reservation a couple days in advance, I was also snubbed. I was nothing but friendly and polite but got arrogant, dismissive treatment in return. On the third try, they had availability but were less than friendly upon seating me. On to the meal; I placed my order first, then my two companions. when they were done, the waiter then asked me what I wanted. I thought he meant to drink because I hadn't ordered a drink. I said I didn't want anything to drink and he said "no, to eat". I politely said that I had already told him what I wanted and then repeated my order. He hadn't written anything down the first time around so I thought he would write it down the second time, (upon realizing that he didn't remember the whole order two minutes after it was given) but he didn't the second time either. a few minutes later I got my meal and my daughter got hers. But the third meal didn't arrive with the rest. We waited a few minutes and then we started eating ours to avoid them getting too cold. More time passed. When the waiter finally reappeared, we asked where the other meal was. He said, blankly, "oh, yeah, no". That was it. I asked what that meant and he just repeated "oh, no". I asked if he even placed the order for that third meal and he then admitted that he hadn't. But he did not even offer to place the order then. He just stood there, vacant. no apology, nothing. There was not a language issue here , just a complete lack of professionalism. Since we were almost done with our meals at this point, we didn't bother pressing the issue about the third meal. What a disaster.

the food itself was average. I got the sausage appetizer and the seitan goulash main dish. both were ok but certainly nothing to rave about. the whole experience was such a disappointment.

Report Abuse

Fabulous

5 Posted on 05 / 20 / 2012

We ate here every day we were in Prague. The food was delicious, varied, healthy and well-priced. The service was terrific. And the atmosphere very restful.

Report Abuse

outstanding gourmet vegetarian food

5 Posted on 04 / 29 / 2012

We ate at Maitrea twice this week because it was so good.
This is vegetarian at its best. The staff are very nice also. This place is so popular that you must have a reservation for dinner. You can walk in for lunch.

Pros: outstanding vegetarian food, no smoking, friendly staff
Cons: packed; may need a reservation, slightly slow

Report Abuse

crazy food

5 Posted on 04 / 29 / 2012

This place was a bit difficult to find even with gps navigation.

The dishes are very exotic and wonderfully prepared and served. The custom drinks are a must to try.

There arent that many vegan options. But the few that are available would be a shame to miss because of this!

Pros: food, drinks, reasonable prices (for prague)
Cons: hard to find, many dishes not vegan

Report Abuse

Delicious!

5 Posted on 04 / 20 / 2012

This place is absolutely delicious! I lived in Germany for two years and every time I'd drive to Prague, I'd make it a point to visit this place. Now that I'll be moving back to Europe, I'm looking forward to eating here again.

The red pepper couscous risotto is absolutely to die for. If you are coming here for the first time, you can order this and not be disappointed. The downstairs seating is also beautiful. It's intimate and romantic.

The only negative thing I can say about this place is that the service could be better. The waitstaff has always been perfectly pleasant and responsive when asked for something. As other reviewers have pointed out though, they tend to disappear.

Pros: Amazing food, Intimate setting, Did I mention delicious food?
Cons: Disappearing waitstaff

Report Abuse

A special place

5 Posted on 03 / 14 / 2012

We ate at its sister establishment (Clear Head) the previous day and we were so impressed that we reserved a table for the evening.
We ate in the downstairs area, which is lovely, the food and service were both good and the staff were lovely.
We have no hesitation in recommending this place.
This restaurant gets very busy so it is wise to book in advance.

Pros: Not Expensive, Good Food, Atmospheric

Report Abuse

Zen and Tasty

4 Posted on 01 / 04 / 2012

Had to try Maitrea given our love of it's sister restaurant, Clear Head. We were seated downstairs, which is visually beautiful. Everything is artfully done. There were some hits with the food; the Thai salad was outstanding. The entrees overall were good but did not rise to the level of great. Service was borderline surly.

Report Abuse

great atmosphere...

5 Posted on 12 / 07 / 2011

and great food - they also have a RAW cheese cake which was very yummy!

Report Abuse

Best vegetarian restaurant ever!

5 Posted on 11 / 29 / 2011

My husband is a vegetarian and I had already had a big klobasa at the Old Town square, so even though it was almost 9pm we decided to give it a try, on the advice of our tour guide. On this first time, on a Friday night, maybe because the staff wanted to leave for home, the food was uninspired and the service was nothing less than awful: Slow, forgetful of our order, took forever to bring me a cup of tea, then after we ordered our bill and payed in cash the waitress left us for a long time waiting for our change, which quite frankly made me think that she wanted us to forget so she could keep the change. I mean, it was that bad! The food was nothing special and for the rest of our week in Prague we didn't eat there again. But on our last night there we were in the area and my hubby wanted to give it another chance, and since it was about 6pm we decided we'd give it another try. We didn't have a reservation and the place was quite full, but we found a table downstairs. This time, it was a dreamy experience! The guy who received us was very attentive, our waitress was delightful, serviceable, prompt, well informed of the menu options. And the food? Simple DELICIOUS! My hubby had an entree which looked delicious and according to him, it was exquisite. The Hemp beer was nice, my aloe vera drink was yummy and refreshing; and both our desserts were scrumptious! I had the carrot cake and I could not believe how good it tasted, the layers of flavors, the crunch of the carrots, the spices, oooh it was the best carrot cake ever. And my hubby had a lime pie that was just as amazing!
I wish we had Maitrea here in Fort Lauderdale, if it were, we would eat there at least a couple of times a week!!
If we ever go back to beautiful, gorgeous, vibrant Prague, we will definitely be back at Maitrea too.
- I will rate this restaurant according to our experience the second time we ate there, because I am sure that the unattentive service and the tasteless food of our first time there were just a glitch :)

Pros: Excellent menu, Great service, Peaceful setting

Report Abuse

Great experience

4 Posted on 11 / 02 / 2011

Maitrea belongs to some sort of meditation space/group, so they also sometimes host events related to that. The decor is nice, although I could do with slightly less Buddhas on the walls. Staff were very friendly and the service was really fast despite the place being rather full.

The food was superb! I had a "sausage" as a starter, which was very, but easily topped by the excellent vegan Kung Pao afterwards. I also tasted some of my girlfriend's spinach crepe, which was very nice too. For drinks we had tea, which comes in nice half liter mugs. All of this comes at the cost of a bit over 25 Euro for two, which definitely was well spent money!

Report Abuse

Good choice of restaurant for the hungry vegan!

4 Posted on 10 / 15 / 2011

We ate here last week and really enjoyed it. The interior is lovely, very cosy and comfortable, the prices are very reasonable, and the menu is in English, which is really helpful. I would say this place is great for vegetarians, and for vegans the choice is fairly limited, although it's still great to have vegan food available. We were in Prague for 4 days and ate here twice - I would say it's a good reliable one to go to. It's also right next to the square in the Old Town, so very handy.

The food does tend to rely on fake meat stuff, which I'm not keen on - more vegetable based dishes would be good. The first day I had the vegetarian sausage as a starter, and I didn't like it much - it was very strong. I then had a Thai curry which was lovely. My boyfriend had the roast veg which he said was good. The portions are HUGE - there was no way we could eat both a starter and a main. The next visit we had minestrone soup - which was very nice, and I had some carrot cake made with millet - it was good too, I thought it might be raw vegan as it didn't seem to have been baked. Again, I enjoyed it.

Service was quick, and this place is a real gift right in the middle of Prague for the hungry vegan!

Pros: Lovely interior, Wide choice, Handy location
Cons: Soya/Tofu heavy

Report Abuse

not for vegans

2 Posted on 10 / 12 / 2011

I do not recommend Maitrea for vegans. There was only one vegan main dish, and you could ask for others in vegan version, but the vegan version they served was different from what was shown in the menu. For example they didn't give dumplings with the goulash, and they didn't give mashed potatoes with some other dish. The waitress wasn't warning me that I shouldn't be excited about vegan dumplings; these things just turned out when we directly asked or when the dish arrived. For dessert I ordered a carrot cake and it supposed to be with chocolate sauce, but they gave it with some tasteless caramel pudding, which was quite lumpy and looked a bit disgusting.

I really don't think, that they are not able to make vegan chocolate sauce, vegan dumplings or vegan mashed potatoes, so I have to think, that they don't really care about vegans. (Or they just ran out of plant based ingredients?)

The portions are not big enough and the prices are high.

Pros: close to the center
Cons: few vegan options, small portions, expensive

Report Abuse

Good food, good value, good atmosphere.

5 Posted on 08 / 18 / 2011

Clear head and MAitrea (sister restaurants) are both very nice places to eat out in prague and sample both foreign and Czech dishes.

Good vegan options.

Nice locations, romantic.

Central

Good value.

Report Abuse

Wonderful

4 Posted on 08 / 17 / 2011

Such a great place, fantastic choice of food, so much to choose from. Fantastic interior and easygoing feel about it.

One thing was here, just as at the sister-restaurant Lehka Hlava, the noise. When we ate dinner in the evening we sat down at a tabel downstair which was in the same room as the food"elevator" from the kitchen above, and the signal from it was terrible. When we ate lunch there a couple of days later we first sat down by the kitchen and had to listen to the food-bell. We moved and instead got seated by the juicemaker.... That kind of noise-level don't match the serene impression you get otherwise...
And a big plus for the Hemp Beer!

Pros: excellent food, much to choose from, hemp beer
Cons: noise, stressed waitors

Report Abuse

Delightful atmosphere

5 Posted on 08 / 07 / 2011

The inventive menu offers a good selection of starters and salads. Among the czech specials I loved spicy goulash with seitan. Unexpectedly I discovered the nonalcoholic plum-flavoured beer as a very good accompaniment.

Pros: Beautifully designed restaurant, Excellent quality, English menu
Cons: Small portions

Report Abuse

Disappointing

2 Posted on 07 / 31 / 2011

I had heard about this place having been to Clear Head a few times. We went there with a group of about 8 and had one of my worst Prague restaurant experiences. The food was really mixed - some was good, but some terrible (read: the kung pao - a load of soya sauce and hardly any rice).
The staff were unpleasant and sullen, and considering the price, I'd have expected a lot more. A friend went there more recently and had a similar experience.

Pros: Location
Cons: Rude staff, expensive, varying food quality

Report Abuse

Yum!

5 Posted on 07 / 19 / 2011

We ate here twice while in Prague, and enjoyed it both times. I had better luck with the vegan options as opposed to the options that could also be made vegan, which felt like they were missing something crucial that make the dish taste how it is supposed to taste. That being said, the vegan options I had were tasty and if I make it back to Prague I'll be going back here for sure. It's beautiful restaurant and the staff was friendly and helpful. If you plan on stopping by in the evenings, you might want to make a reservation. The place seems to fill up quick.

Pros: tasty, inexpensive
Cons: could use more vegan options

Report Abuse

Beautiful, calm sanctuary in the centre of Prague

5 Posted on 07 / 04 / 2011

I had been warned about the Czech cuisine before I set foot in the country - bacon and cheese are added to literally everything, and the veggie dish is always just deep fried cheese. I was therefore astounded to find Maitreya just behind the Tyn Church in the centre of Prague.

I dragged my two meat-adoring companions there twice during the week. They absolutely adored the lasagne and chilli. I treated myself to vegan Kung Pao tofu and a Thai dish, a fresh pear juice, with a starter of vegan sausage and sauerkraut. The sauerkraut was VERY strong, but tasty and perhaps too filling for a starter. However I enjoyed getting to taste proper Czech cuisine vegan style!

Overall, it's a beautiful place, downstairs is a serene sanctuary with a wee waterfall and wooden furniture. The staff were pleasant and most spoke good English. There were a large number of vegan options on the menu and others could be 'veganised' if required.

Thumbs up!

Pros: Location, Lots of vegan options, Calm environment
Cons: Can get busy

Report Abuse

Can't wait to return

5 Posted on 06 / 27 / 2011

After eating at the sister restaurant, Clear Head, we couldn't wait to have a meal at Maitrea. We were very impressed with a similar but different menu that was just a delicious and tasty. Everything we ate was really really good. I had the goulash and my GF had the beet cakes with sauerkraut. Both were excellent. The place is also decorated very hip.

Pros: Selection, Portions, Ambience

Report Abuse

nice atmosphere

4 Posted on 06 / 24 / 2011

The menu here looked great but we couldnt get in a lunch so had to reserve a table for the evening. There was a goood choice but the portions are small and it isnt cheap (though normal prices for a city centre). My starter of sausage and caramalised onions in balsamic was delicious, my partners soup however was distinctly average. I had a papaya salad main which was good but not enough dressing. I think if you choose the right things on the menu this place is great. The hemp beer was nice too. The staff were ok it was definetley an nice place to sit but as its so busy you do feel a bit like the staff are wanting you to leave as soon as you've eaten. I would reccomend it but choose food wisely.

Pros: varied menu, nice venue
Cons: small portions

Report Abuse

Excellent!

5 Posted on 05 / 06 / 2011

After several days of eating pizza and noodles in Prague, this was a very welcome break. The restaurant was very busy, and we arrived just in time to get one of the few remaining non-reserved tables, and were treated to a very large and wide-ranging menu with options from many different cuisines including Czech. I tried the seitan goulash, which looked a little small when it came but was actually perfectly filling. I decided to splash out on desert as well and had the intriguing and very tasty pureed strawberry with cookies. The staff were very friendly, and the atmosphere of the place is delightful - well worth a visit, but you might want to reserve a table in advance, as it does seem to get (deservedly) very busy.

Report Abuse

Wonderful restaurant, lots of great vegan options!

5 Posted on 03 / 09 / 2011

When I read the reviews here, I was a bit suspicious. Some were very positive, others not so much so. Now, as Prague is not exactly one of the easiest cities to get a great vegan meal in a normal restaurant, I took the chance on my single free evening at a company conference to visit this restaurant.

My impression was that the range of vegan options is huge (about 50% of the meals on the menu are clearly marked either as vegan or as 'possible to prepare vegan') and the food was not meh at all.

In fact, it was one of the finest vegan meals I had had so far, with a nice starter (red beet salad), a wonderful main dish (thai eggplant curry that would not have been amiss in a very good thai restaurant) and a delicious rice pudding with seasonal fruit as a dessert (the seasonal fruit turned out to be mango, which was a nice touch).

I can highly endorse this restaurant, with two points of note: 1) it is not very big, so making a reservation makes a lot of sense and 2) while the restaurant is open until 23:30, the kitchen actually closes at 22:00. Same as in the 'sister' restaurant 'Lehka Hlava - Clear Head' where I had found that out yesterday at 22:30, unfortunately.

Even an omni colleague of mine who had accompanied me was totally impressed with his food and the ambiance.

Pros: great food, wide selection, friendly atmosphere

Report Abuse

Small Portions

2 Posted on 12 / 21 / 2010

If you only want to buy one meal, and want to leave feeling hungry, eat here. I had the cous-cous with a red pepper vegetable sauce. It was more like cous-cous/soup. Paid about 10 bucks and had to head down the street to Loving Hut so I could fill myself up. This place has potential if you've got the appetite of a mouse. If you're really hungry I suggest Gopal (all you can eat) or Loving Hut (big portions). I don't think I'll be going back here.

Pros: Atmosphere, Presentation, Location
Cons: Portion, Taste, Service

Report Abuse

Nice place

4 Posted on 11 / 14 / 2010

This restaurant had a nice atmosphere and the food was very tasty. However, there weren't many vegan choices. I had the tofu dish, which was quite good. be sure to make reservations, as it gets crowded and I think people got turned away. I woukd have really liked this restaurant if it had had more vegan. We had a vegan cookie, which was tasty.

Pros: English menu, Good food, pleasant atmpshere
Cons: not a lot of vegan options, expensive

Report Abuse

Just lovely

5 Posted on 10 / 20 / 2010

During our stay in Prague my bf & I went here 3 times because we loved it so much. Each time the food was absolutely delicious, whether it was a couscoussalad, sushi or a salad, and it was healthy too! Besides that the interior is nice and the staff is very friendly and speaks English pretty well. There's a daily menu for only 108 crowns which contains a starter, a main course and a glass of water, but the a la carte menu isn't really expensive either (100-150 crowns for a main course) and the portions are quite large. For 70% of the price you can get a smaller portion of each dish, and several dishes can be made vegan, besides the vegan options that are already on the menu. Reservation recommended, it was always busy whether we went for lunch or dinner.

Pros: Excellent food, Healthy food, Friendly staff

Report Abuse

Nice place, meh food.

3 Posted on 10 / 10 / 2010

Honestly I didn't really like Maitrea. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing, but then again, there weren't too many vegan items that day. I think the dish was called Kung Pao something... something. It was just bland and meh overall, although my bf thought it was OK. There were a lot of mushrooms and carrots in the dish and very little vegan chicken, which I found disappointing. I think the inside, especially the lower level, is really nice but I can't see myself eating there again. 2 cows for the food +1 for the decor.

Report Abuse

Great!

5 Posted on 10 / 05 / 2010

We visited in september 2010 for lunch, if we had found it earlier we most certainly would have visited it multiple times during our stay in Prague. Beautiful interior.

We ordered goulash (spelling?) and had to wait for the food quite a while. It tasted excellent though, so the wait was worth it.

Pros: excellent food

Report Abuse

Nice experience !

5 Posted on 09 / 16 / 2010

We visited this restaurant four evenings in a row. What an experience! Great food, friendly staff and remarkable interior. Although we were not the only foreigners, this place is not a tourist trap. Prices for a 3-course meal (wine included) are about 16€.
It makes sence to book a table, because the restaurant is quite successful.

Pros: Tasty food, Good price/quality rate, friendly staff

Report Abuse

Maitrea

5 Posted on 09 / 04 / 2010

I cannot speak highly enough about this restaurant. My girlfriend and I here come here more often than we should. They have an excellent menu of food and drink and incredible atmosphere. The price is right too! The awit staff is friendly and bi/tri-lingual or perhaps even more! The upstairs and downstairs are both excellent and make sure to check out the foutains on both levels.

Pros: Environment , Food, Price

Report Abuse

Veggie Haven

4 Posted on 08 / 31 / 2010

I was nervous about my trip to Prague, thinking the only vegetarian options in the whole city would be fried cheese and bread, but, fortunately, I was wrong!

I went to Maitrea with my Study Abroad group after Clear Head told us we wouldn't fit in the restaurant. I was glad for it, in fact, because Maitrea has a great atmosphere and a huge menu that includes some Czech classics like Goulash and Svickova (made with seitan) that I never would've been able to try otherwise. I took my family back when they came to visit, and everyone thought it was a hit.

The only bad thing I can say is that the service is often slow, but at least it's a nice, relaxing place to spend a lot of time, as opposed to a loud, crowded restaurant on the square.

I recommend the Svickova, Tofu and Eggplant dish, and Couscous Risotto. For dessert, the poached pear is delicious. Also, the daily menu is an excellent value!

Pros: Excellent Food, Good value, Beautiful decor
Cons: Slow service

Report Abuse

Good option but service needs improving

3 Posted on 06 / 28 / 2010

We had eaten at the sister restaurant Clear Head the night before which was amazing so had high hopes. It is a lovely restaurant although would have preferred to sit upstairs as it was quite hot downstairs. We booked because it was a Friday night but didn't need to as it was only half full (all other veggie places we'd been to that week were full so we thought this would be the same). Despite it being half full they tried to sit us right next to another party- the tables are very close together so we said no and we picked a table where we didn't have to listen to other people's conversation. We had to ask everytime we wanted drinks or to order food, don't know if they were short staffed but it was disappointing. The food was excellent, good portion sizes and very similar menu to Clear Head. However, not as many fresh juices on the menu here. We had the kung po chicken (vegan) and the tofu cous cous (would have liked more tofu in it to be honest but it was good). Good to see a couple of Czech specialities on the menu too.

Would recommend and if we hadn't have been to Clear Head before we probably wouldn't have been as disappointed. I think we thought this would be the superior version but it wasn't so if you only get chance to go to one, choose Clear Head.

Pros: great variety of food, good prices
Cons: tables too close together, poor staff service

Report Abuse

a veggie escape just off the old town square.

4 Posted on 06 / 08 / 2010

we turned up without a booking, but were lucky to get a table as 2 people had just walked out because they didn't want to sit near anyone - weird. tables are close together but not intrusive. the hemp beer is well worth a try. i had goulash with bread dumplings (quite pleasant) + my wife had lasagne (which, to be fair is the same wherever you are in the world). the lemonade comes as a sort of cocktail with fresh mint + is very nice. staff are friendly + speak good english. general atmosphere is lively, but not loud. definetely recommended as an escape from the hubbub of the old town square.

Pros: friendly staff, variety , drinks

Report Abuse

Best Ever

5 Posted on 05 / 31 / 2010

This is the best vegetarian restaurant we've ever eaten in (out of many). Be sure to eat downstairs. Decor and ambiance are extraordinary. Food and service were great. Wine was average. Didn't take credit cards.

Report Abuse

yummy!

4 Posted on 05 / 30 / 2010

was here may 2010. lots of things to be ordered vegan. we got the goulash and roasted veggies with dessert of carrot cake. so good!

Report Abuse

fantastic dinner

5 Posted on 01 / 06 / 2010

Eat at this restaurant if you are in Prague!!
Very good food, great atmosphere, great place (go downstairs, you'll be amazed).
Good prices and very kind waiters.
I cannot recommend it more.

Report Abuse

Beautiful

5 Posted on 08 / 25 / 2009

The interior was lovely and the dishes I chose were excellent! Try pea soup and hummus.

Report Abuse

Pretty reasonable vegie fair

4 Posted on 07 / 03 / 2009

Maitrea is quite similar to Lehka Hlava ("Clear Head"), only the food I got didn't seem quite as good - though it's probably about a year since I went to LH.

My burrito was okay - a so-so never-seen-chilli-its-life bean mixture, some salsa, nice presentation ... balanced against a tiny portion of guac. that had been sitting around a little too long, and rice that was so dry the I actually wondered if part of it had been cooked at all! The fennel salad was pretty good and quite unusual.

My friend had something that seemed to an attempt at fusion cooking - stir-fried veg on a bed of mashed potato with a creamy sauce and balsamic reduction deco! Interesting ...

Great fresh juices, and the (alcohol free) prune beer (!) got the thumbs up from both my Czech friend and I.

The staff were pretty good - very baby-friendly, polite and helpful. Non-smoking - a real treat in the centre of Prague. Relatively cool decor - lots of wood without that awful "leftover hippy" look you see so often in Prague, some funky lampshades, groovy tiling/polished concrete in the loos, etc.

Pros: reasonable selection of dishes, nice juices, friendly staff

Report Abuse

pretty good

4 Posted on 06 / 11 / 2009

They were out of the daily special at 105 Kc, so I had a black-bean burrito, salsa (really a puree), guacamole, some bland white rice and salad for 140 Kc. I wasn't fond of the hemp beer I tried. Calm decor, but thumping music, though low volume. Some vegan items available; otherwise lacto.
Salads in Czech Republic, in my experience so far, are just lettuce and hothouse tomatoes and sometimes sliced cucumber.
The burrito was very tasty.

Report Abuse

Nice ambiance, poor food selection for vegans

2 Posted on 05 / 25 / 2009

The place was nice. I liked the style as I do Lehka Hlava. However, the food selection for vegans really sucked. There was one that they made special for us. It was good, but I cannot see myself visiting Maitrea again until they improve on the vegan selections.

Pros: Ambiance, Beer & wine were good, Location
Cons: No vegan food, No vegan food, No vegan food

Report Abuse

Wonderful restaurant

5 Posted on 05 / 24 / 2009

I come to Prague once a year and always have wonderful experiences in this veggie-friendly city. Stopped by here on the recommendation of the staff at Clear Head, with which it is affiliated, just 2 weeks after it had opened.

Absolutely gorgeous decor and food. Hope no-one gives it a bad review based on prices. It's actually very reasonably priced for the high standard of food and surroundings. But this is not for anyone traveling on a tight budget.

Easy to find, on a street just behind the big church, one block off the Old Town Square.

Pea soup (fresh not split) was stunning as were the roasted onion pancakes. Hope to eat many more meals here on subsequent visits to Prague

Pros: Delicious, inventive food, Beautiful decor, Reasonable prices for gourmet restaurant
Cons: Non

Report Abuse

Great new restaurant by the Clear Head owner!

4 Posted on 05 / 22 / 2009

Wow this place is nice inside! A real artist must have made all the furnishings. It is beautiful. We were referred here with about a dozen other people who didn't have a reservation over at Clear Head. Maitrea is set up to handle everyone, they have lots of seating and downstairs is a whole entire new bar & seating area. You won't have a problem just dropping in and eating. Right now is like a half menu, but you can get a vegan burrito & pasta dish. Def try the local hemp beer, its great!

Pros: beautiful, vegan pasta, no reservation needed thus far
Cons: needs more vegan food