The juxtaposition of a vegetarian restaurant over a smoky nightclub might seem strange but Radost FX has turned ironic into iconic with a deft swish of its velvet hand. And who could bite the hand that feeds, especially when it points to three unique choices of dining: cafe, lounge, or gallery.

The romantic cafe offers great views from large windows, golden lamps, and a hip Steampunk design philosophy. Breakfast is served from 8:30 am and lunch/dinner from 11:00am till late. Finally, somewhere nice to eat after midnight. The brunch menu promises variety and delivers on time. The homefries were homemade but not worth writing home about. Mashed or braised is better than mushed for days.

The decoration in the spacious lounge feels like something Alice might have seen, not in Wonderland, but in the Jefferson Airplane hit of the 1960s. Mesmerizing paisley settee cushions buffer the mirror tiling lining the walls. In the humming dim green glow you are transported somewhere oriental, but without all the fishy smells. An enormously large drinks menu -- I'm talking 80s hairspray big with 390 exotic drinks, beckons one to relax for about a decade or so until you remember that you are indeed in a restaurant. The meal is a jazzy affair, packing full portions of Indian, Greek, Mexican, Italian, and Thai fare into a cohesive fusion that would make Miles Davis blue – er, green with envy. The wide range of the menu promises a journey around the world which will blur the hazy borders between orient and occident. The soup of the day has impressed me several times, with generous portions of creamy vegetable, broccoli, spinach, or a unique rendition of tofu reminiscent of breadcrumbs, betraying the usual blandness stigmatizing this vegan staple. The taco salad is volcanic, erupting with a brilliant mix of beans, salsa, guacamole, and cheese. You’ll hardly notice at which point you started eating the bowl and stopped eating its contents. The Mexican platter for two comes with delicious stuffed jalepenos, burritos, and nachos. The only weak link being a potato pancake masquerading as a quesadilla. This is the kind of place you want to bring non-vegetarians. Most will not realize they are in a vegetarian restaurant, and the only thing they'll be missing is high cholesterol. The Popeye burger offers a fleshy spinach patty on toasted focaccia if you’re worried about your carnivorous incisors. It comes with a lovely cous cous salad on the side.

In the gallery part of the restaurant, subdued burgundy hues create a different aesthetic, though maintaining a coherency with the design philosophy of the lounge and café. The restaurant is non-smoking before 3pm but does get a little smoggy afterwards. On a final note, the music is an appropriate mix of modern deep house, with live DJs Thursdays through Saturdays. Free WiFi and an English speaking staff make this rabbit hole an easy trip. So please, go feed your head.

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Radost FX
Belehradska 120, Prague 2
224 254 776
8:00 am - wee hours
Price: Less than 300 Kč

retro - (adj) modeled on something from the past

Unfortunately the model is based on a Pasttime Paradise that was fine then but is just plain stale now. The spacious decor hints at a modicum of style betrayed by the cheesy pop music that could only provide listening pleasure for teenage MTV fans.

It pains me to say that the food was actually quite good -- the time it was served warm. The menu is strikingly easy to navigate and well-designed (wish they'd invested as much in the management). The cappuccino lobster bisque was a frothy epicurean delight of crustacean originality -- pomegranate fit for Apollo.

Somebody should tell the kitchen staff the difference between al dente and Al Pacino. The pasta was fit for a Godfather once, but on another visit it seemed like it was butchered by Scarface himself. The carpaccio was forgettable but I was ready to forgive if the steak melted off my trident fork . No such luck. Maybe the plume of monoxious nicotine vapors had deadened my olfactory senses but I was tempted to wave the poor slab of meat in the air just to soak up some flavor -- any flavor. After attacking it with the kitchen's equivalent of black pepper spray, and wrangling a knotty cystic morsel onto my shiv, I felt more like a prisoner than a dinner patron. Retro can get quite crowded on the weekends, but I've rarely seen others actually eating. Maybe that's the price you pay to be retro -- you gain Coolio but lose Stevie Wonder.

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Retro
Francouzska 4
Prague 2
222 510 592
Price: 300-700 Kč

Though one does not instantly think of James Brown upon entering Hombre del Mundo (Man's World), your gut might ache like one of his battered wives after you finish your meal. The portions are enormous, which means at least they got half of the Tex-Mex formula right. The ambience might have boarded a flight for Austin, complete with sombreros and Tejano music, but this restaurant got hijacked to Santa Fe instead. Pyschedelic Santa Fe. Which wouldn't really matter if the food was good. The menu is teeming with enchiladas, burritos, tacos, and quesadillas, all of which come with a grilled sunburst of warm colors, like a 1969 Fender Stratocaster, but unfortunately tastes like a Strat that was made in Mexico.

Tex Mex is a gustatory fusion of American gluttony and Mexican muttony. Its borders are marked with the crisp pikes of corn tortilla chips, not the dry rye bread bowl imprisoning my bean soup. Which just goes to show, stick to what you know. Perhaps there's a quaint little bistro in South Texas offering traditional Czech goulash and borscht with equal imprecision. Still it'd be easier to pay for an overpriced Pilsner Urquell there than a $10 Corona here. After it's all said and done, the experience was akin to eating at T.G.I.Friday's or walking through a wax museum. Or anything Japanese. It's a seemingly perfect simulacrum of a cardboard cutout of the real thing. A dollhouse made to full scale. The unlit candle on the table said it all really. The lights weren't on, but someone's home.

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Hombre del Mundo
Nadrazni 21, Prague 5
257 326 902
Price: Less than 300 Kč

It doesn't take a genius to see why this pizza joint has no trouble filling its tables on a Tuesday night. The warm ambience, reasonable price, and great selection have proven to be a winning formula for Einstein Pizza, which now boasts 4 locations in Prague. The menu offers a wide selection of pizza and pasta, soups, starters, and salads, with plenty of vegetarian options, as well. The homemade pizza crust is made on site with a nice warm brick oven that adds more authenticity to this tradtional Italian pie than any greasy Pizza Shack. You won't need 100 napkins or a triple bypass surgery after eating your meal, which is probably a good business model. You don't want your customers keeling over like dominoes.

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Einstein Pizza
Rumunská 25, Praha 2
222 522 635
Price: Less than 300 Kč

In a hurry? Think slow food. With KFC and Mickey D's right across the street, Bea's provides a healthy yin to the fats food yang (and no, that was not a typo).

You can get a small or large set menu of rice (fried or white), vegetable curry, and your choice of lentils or chickpeas. You also get soup, salad, yoghurt, and a marvelous custard dessert. All this in less time than any Fast Food mission.

If you've got more time, you can order other authentic Indian specialties like vegetable korma, masala, paneer, or biryani. Dennis, the chef, brings the Indian flavor all the way from Northern India. The atmosphere is appropriately subdued, with contemplative worldly music serving as the perfect backdrop for this peaceful refuge. There's an outdoor area in the back and plenty of room inside should you wish to find yourself.

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Bea's Vegetarian Cuisine
Bělehradská 90, Prague 2
773 644 561
Price: Less than 300 Kč

Bring a book, bring a date; coffee, beer, and chocolate cake... ok, maybe not all at once, but I did and loved it! Books on the walls, chess in the parlour, garden out back, non-smoking lounge...what more could you want? Delicious snacks, too? Ok, you got 'em. They even sprinkle free Wifi on top.

Whether out for a nightcap after a lovely stroll through Vinohrady, or just wanting to curl up with a book in the corner, you'll feel right at home in this charming bohemian cafe.

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Blatouch
Americká 17, Prague 2
222 328 643
Price: Less than 300 Kč