In my early days as a vegan, I used to eat quite a lot of falafel and hummus. It is more of a rarity now, which speaks well of all the other vegan options springing up all over the place. When I am in the mood for hummus and falafel, Bistro Habibi is probably the best spot in Prague to try.

This is a small and very welcoming Jordanian restaurant. It serves meat, but it does label vegan options on the menu. While there are quite a few suitable dishes to try, we always get the same one, which is a veganised version of the vegetarian plate. Make sure you do clearly request that it’s veganised! The dish as stated on the menu contains labneh, made with dairy, but it you ask for it vegan then the owner will switch the labneh for some zatar and olive oil instead.

The dishes in the plate are: hummus, makdous, zatar and oil, and falafel. We rate this hummus as the best in Prague due to its excellent seasoning. There aren’t too many vegan-friendly places serving makdous, so these are always a treat. These tiny stuffed aubergines are so good, we always want to order more but are just too full. I could eat zatar by the bucket load – we once had a really delicious zatar bread in Jordan and are constantly on the lookout for something similar. The falafel is crispy and very well seasoned.

The plate continues with foul, baba ganoush, walnut dip, and tabbouleh. The foul is the only warm element besides the falafel, and it’s tasty. The baba ganoush is good, on the right side of that bitter taste you sometimes get. The walnut dip has real depth of flavour. The tabbouleh is a bit too herby for me, though that’s a complaint I have about all tabbouleh.

The pitas are served warm, and they’re really fluffy and delicious. It feels like you need more bread in order to mop up all the tasty dips, but to be honest one is enough to leave you feeling full so the serving size is correct. It does leave you free to try some unadulterated dips too!

There can be a bit of a wait for food sometimes as it’s a small operation and the owner does a lot of the work himself. He speaks perfect English and is always happy to have a chat with diners and share a bit of his story. He is also very thorough in his service as well, even calling his suppliers one time to check if any of the pastries on offer were vegan (alas, they weren’t).

The decor is very charming and cosy, and it’s quite spacious. It’s not in the city centre, but it’s in a good spot not far from the river or from Vysehrad (a nice church and viewpoint over the river), so even for tourists it’s not a massive detour. You certainly won’t regret it if you go!