maitrea

maitrea
tynska 6
prague, czech republic
221 711 631
www.restaurace-maitrea.cz/en

type of cuisine: vegetarian
culinary excellence: 8
vegan friendliness: 9
*recommended*

made 2 visits to maitrea during our trip to prague, as it was the favorite of all the places we visited. the sister restaurant to clear head, maitrea serves up wholesome, varied vegetarian cuisine in a beautiful, zen-like space. the servers are helpful and friendly and the food is top-notch. like clear head, everything on the menu is clearly marked if it is vegan or veganizable.

for our first meal there, we sat downstairs, adjacent to this calming fountain:



luca and i shared an appetizer of vegetarian sausage. it was served cold and had a nice flavor. the sausage itself was meaty and satisfying, served with crunchy smoky strips of onion and some bland brown bread.



luca got a vegetable stir-fry for his entree, which consisted of lots of julienned veggies over rice in a pureed red pepper sauce. it was smooth, but could have been more flavorful. too many string beans, in my opinion. it also would have been nice if the waitress had told him that when you order this dish vegan, it doesn't come with the mashed potatoes listed on the menu:



i was deciding between oven-roasted vegetables, seitan goulash and spinach and arugula salad with sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic and smoked tofu in a balsamic-honey reduction. our waitress heartily recommended the salad. it was fantastic. the greens were ever so slightly wilted in the warm vinaigrette and the flat strips of smoked tofu were delicious. the roasted garlic was great for smearing on the brown, grainy bread. this was a great combination of ingredients. the only thing i would have changed would have been to have a few less capers and some oil-cured black olives instead.



i was really hoping maitrea's hot chocolate could be made vegan, but apparently the milk was already mixed in, so i had to depart without a sweet fix.

on our second visit to maitrea, we sat upstairs, which felt a little more casual. if you can, i recommend trying to get a seat downstairs. the meal was excellent, once again. we started with tortilla chips and sun-dried tomato tapenade. the chips were crisp and nicely salted and the tapenade was extraordinary. i wish i could have taken home a huge jar of that stuff.



for my entree this time i order the goulash. i couldn't help it, i was too curious. it was actually really good, though it doesn't look that way from the picture. sadly, i couldn't get the bread dumplings made vegan, so rice accompanied the seitan, which was very soft. some pieces actually seemed so soft they were undercooked -mushy - but mostly it was good. the sauce had a nice rich flavor and there were some slippery mushrooms hidden in it. the waiter didn't know the english name for the little seeds in the sauce that gave it its distinctive flavor, but it tasted like caraway seeds to me - very eastern-european tasting.



luca got the best entree either of us had on the entire trip: thai eggplant with tofu. i guess it pays to get the dishes listed as favorites on the menu, because this was just outrageous. it didn't look nearly as incredible as it tasted. i'm not even an eggplant fan, but it kind of melted in your mouth, along with the little bits of tofu, wading in a pool of light but sumptuous coconut lime sauce. it was adorned with lemongrass stalks and black sesame seeds. don't miss this one!



i highly recommend maitrea. just remember to bring enough cash for your meal, as they don't accept credit cards.