Laibon, Český Krumlov

There are certain places where a visit has become like a ritual for us. Český Krumlov in the southern Czech Republic is one of these places. (A guide to this wonderful town is coming soon!)

Over the last four years, I have visited this cute, medieval town eight times, but it wasn’t until one of my more recent visits that I first went to Laibon.

There are approximately a million places to eat in Krumlov, and Laibon is the only completely vegetarian option. This might sound like it could be a disaster in a country where meat is the main aspect of most meals, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Laibon stands out from the crowd and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Down by the river, in the heart of the old town, yet tucked away down an unsuspecting alleyway, Laibon’s location is almost as wonderful as the food. On a warm evening, you could happily spend a couple of hours sitting by outside by the river, watching the sun set and soaking up the charm of this charming place.

The evening we went, we started with a bowl of hummus and salad, which you can choose to be served with either flat bread or nachos. The hummus was smooth and satisfying, though in my opinion was a little dry and could have benefited from more oil.

To wash this down, I opted for a carrot juice (a new favourite of mine) which was sweet and thirst quenching.

The mains didn’t take long to come after that, and we dove in to the tokari, a red coconut vegetable curry with tofu served with rice and salad, and the longa vita, a large plate piled high with tempeh, buckwheat, couscous, rice parboiled and fresh vegetables and tamari sauce.

The curry was delicious and extremely moreish, meaning it wasn’t long before we had polished it off between us.

The other dish was a bit harder to tackle, mostly because of the sheer quantity of food. The vegetables were all fresh and earthy, but I found the mixture of raw and cooked vegetables a little odd of a combination. The three types of grain were also very filling and we eventually gave in and left the restaurant with leftovers which we ate as lunch the next day.

In the end we had no room for a desert, but instead settled on a hot cup of fresh mint tea to finish off the meal. We later learned from the owner that most of the desserts could be made vegan, as they would be happy to substitute soy milk or yoghurt for the dairy products used in them.

On first viewing, there don’t seem to be loads of vegan options on the menu, but in fact about 75% of the mains are in fact vegan, and with this information about the desserts, Laibon easily becomes the best option in town for eating vegan.