Vegetarian restaurants in Vienna, Budapest, & Prague...Any recommendations?

You'll have no more trouble finding a vegan or ovo-lacto menu than you will here. As for tofu schnitzel, pardon me while I collapse laughing (not meant unkindly). Look, you get traditional foods in a traditional manner. Ditto you get vegetarian food in a vegetarian manner. Vegetarian food in Western Europe I've found to be more than excellent as there is a long tradition there. As for mock meat in Prague....

Trust me, I laughed too, when I wrote tofu schnitzel as well. This is our first adventure with my boyfriend being a vegetarian (he wasn't the last 2 years we traveled). I think finding and deciding on a restaurant to eat is a difficult part of our trip. We either can not decide, or we are too intimidated to walk in, or not too sure what is on the menu. So now, we have even a bigger factor to throw into difficulty; he's a veg head now. I will be eating the real thing, but he may just have to live off of bread, cheese and beer. He is not worried about it, like I am. So I was just currious if there were a veg restaurant that made traditional local fare but in a more animal friendly manner. I know NYC has a few eateries where they take a traditional meat dish and make if with some kind of mock meat.......Not sure though if they do a tofu schnitzel but I may have to send them the idea.......

My husband and I really liked the Hollerei restaurant in Vienna, near the Miedling u-bahn station. It's one of the participants in the Vienna city card program and they gave us 25% off our bill. There was a goulash-like dish that was really delicious. They didn't replace the meat with any fake stuff, just served it without. It was a charming place.

Right outside the gate of Rothenburg (Restaurant and Rothenburger Pfannkuchenkuchel at the gasthof Zum Rappen) I had a great pfannkuchen soup. It's the pancake like things, shredded up, and in a soup form. It was neat.

In Prague, I'm sure you'll find something, but I don't recall any veg meals that I had there. I haven't been to Budapest yet so I can't help with that.

Have fun! Try not to exist just on beer and bread and cheese! :)

As Steve has mentioned, the Happy Cow website provides links to the world's veggie restaurants. It's been a long time but I had a very memorable veggie meal in Vienna thanks to them.

I have gone on the Happy Cow website and have printed up a list of veg head friendly restaurants. But that is just a list. I was wanting some first hand experiences with vegetarian restaurants in relatively meat crazed countries. So the more recommendations of specific restaurants, the better!

I am vegetarian and I hate to burst your bubble, but prepare to have difficulty. a LOT of difficulty. You aren't going to find vegetarian equivalents of traditional food. You can find some vegetarian options, but you need to be really careful and learn how to say you are allergic to meat in every language. Their version of vegetarian is NOT the same and you will find bits of meat in "vegetarian" dishes often- usually ham bits or its cooked in meat broth for flavor (LOL). I was shocked when I was there (Budapest, Vienna and Prague) over the summer. My best advice is to do self-cater from markets where you can each get your own dish, or look at some of the ethnic restaurants. Hummus Bar in Budapest is amazing!! Best falafel I ever had (and I found them from Happy Cow). We also hit all the public markets for supplies and made a lot of picnics. I had a really hard time in Vienna - ended up eating 3 or 4 meals at this place called the Salad Room a few blocks away from the Marriott on Ring Road, which is where I stayed. Also in Vienna is a fantastic place called NewMarkt, which is a public market and you can get everything there - self catering, fast food, sit down food, etc. In Prague I ate at the Bake Shop a few times - not just for breakfast, but for salads, and pasta stuff, which is for take away. We did a lot of self catering because the restaurant situation was just difficult. In Praha 5 there is a great pizza restaurant across the street and above the main plaza from the shopping mall (don't remember the name but you'd have no trouble finding it, has neon signs). If you get really desperate, all three cities have Subway Sandwiches and Starbucks or the equivalent (in Budapest its Costa Coffee). Good luck!

It would be a real shame to subsist on American fast food while in Europe--I wouldn't dream of it myself! I think the best tactic is to go to the places that serve real Central European food and ask them to improvise for your friend. One suggestion--most restaurants can whip up an omelet to order for you. So you can try the local dishes while he tucks into his meatless meal. (Assuming that eggs are okay for him...) Potato and onion dishes are side dishes that would work, perhaps with a chunk of local cheese and a salad. Watch out for the cabbage sides--they often hide bits of pork or bacon! I wouldn't expect tofu or fake meats, though, except perhaps at specialty vegetarian restaurants. Asian restaurants, especially Indian ones, will always have good vegetarian options, but then you won't eating Central European cuisine. I suspect you will both need to be flexible and compromise a bit. He may have a few more salad-y meals than he prefers, you may eat in a few more Asian places than you'd planned on.

Central European food is, unfortunately, pretty meat-centric. But, assuming that eggs and cream are okay, the fabulous pastries and desserts will be okay.