Plevel is one of the restaurants I go to regularly in Prague, and yet I virtually never mention it on my blog.  I have been doing them a disservice, and must rectify things at once.  If you are planning a trip to Prague, put this place up at top of your eating itinerary (I’m not the only one who makes those, am I?).

Plevel has two locations, and there are some slight variations in the menus but they’re very similar.  The menu changes pretty regularly, but there are always a few raw options (which I steer clear of usually), some local dumpling-based dishes and a few international options.

Occasionally the pasta dishes tempt me out of my usual pasta retirement.  This involved pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, and was very good.

This pasta dish had some goat’s cheese, which was really nice.  (Pardon the terrible photo from my phone.  Yes, I am blaming my equipment.)

Another terrible photo, and some typical meaty/saucy/dumpling things.  Although a lot of the local cuisine is very heavy, I love these Czech dishes.  There are lots of variations on the same theme, and they’re always enjoyable.  Dr HH almost always orders the dumpling dish, so we’ve tried most of them over the last year.

This dish consisted of tiny pieces of gnocchi, cabbage and onions.  It was quite a dry dish, as you might guess by looking at it, but I love that sort of thing.

Czech dumplings are thick and filling, so this is a truly generous portion.

Here we have some seitan bacon dumplings in a plummy sauce – the sauce was a bit too sweet, but the seitan slabs were seasoned to perfection.

And these Slovakian cabbage dumplings were not as heavy as the Czech version.  It could have done with less sauce and more meat!

We got some pierogi there once as well – getting all international with the dumpling selection.

Another one of the most typical Czech dishes:  dumplings, meat, sweet root veg sauce, and cranberries.

The goulash was nice and smoky, and the crispy onions added some good texture.

Good hearty dumplings again.

And some more, though the meat looks very pale this time.  Nice to see some greenery too!

There’s almost always a burger on the menu as well.  Dr HH was a bit startled when he ordered the portobello burger and it turned out that the mushrooms were the bun, rather than the filling!  It was filled with chorizo and salad, but he would have enjoyed some kind of bread element in there.

I also had a burger there, and found it a little disappointing – too soft and mushy, without the crispy outer texture I love so.  Still, the flavours were good.

There is a daily lunch set, where you get a soup and a choice of main.  We enjoyed one such meal only once, again in those heady days when we first arrived and had loads of free time for weekday lunches.  Dr HH, as usual, chose something dumpling based, while I had a Mexican-themed dish with beans and wedges.

There’s always a selection of raw desserts, like this tart, in the fridge, and they are very good.  There are usually one or two baked desserts on the counter too, which are also lovely – there aren’t too many places to get a vegan sponge cake in Prague, so this is always an exciting find.

Look at this decadent chocolate and pistachio cake!

And another good chocolate sponge.

Here’s a tasty baked cheesecake.

We often reminisce about this raw apple cake we had when we first arrived in Prague in the middle of a heatwave last August.

And rich, decadent chocolate tarts are always a winner.  I think this one was made with avocado, giving it that lovely creaminess.

So make sure you visit Plevel on your trip to Prague.  The main reasons to go are:

1. A chance to try vegan versions of local food.  I hate missing out on traditional dishes, and this way you don’t have to.
2. The desserts are excellent, both raw and baked.
3. There is one location right near Wenceslas Square, so it’s easy to fit it into a tourist itinerary.
4. The staff are really nice, it’s all non-smoking and they usually play good music.
5. Vegan wine!