Grand Cafe Orient Best Cubist Style Cafe in the World

Grand Cafe Orient is the only cafe in the world built and decorated in a cubist style. In the early 20th century artists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque embraced Cubism as a popular style in painting, but in Prague it was also a popular architectural style. The cafe is on the first floor of the House of the Black Madonna which itself is a striking example of cubism in architecture. Grand Cafe Orient is completely cubist in style, from the door handles to the furniture and from the lamps to the coat racks.

Grand Cafe Orient a Cubist Gem

Cubism and the spirit of the time are not only visible in the interior of Grand Café Orient but also feature on the menu. One of the most famous Czech pastries is ‘věneček’ round in shape, but in the cubist café it is square. All the pastries are homemade and you can choose from honey cake (medový dort) or fruit cakes, Viennese Sachertorte apple strudel and much more.

Grand Café Orient specialty are cakes covered with chocolate and mint or chocolate fondant, marzipan and prunes and marinated in port wine. The menu also features savoury dishes. The espresso is served in a cup with cubist motifs and the Grand Café Orient logo. The Viennese coffee is truly ‘Viennese’ with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Soft music popular in the early 20th century plays in the background.

Grand Cafe Orient is truly unique

The interior of Grand Café Orient is truly unique. In 1912, the architect Josef Gočár (1880-1945) designed the House of the Black Madonna, including the ‘light bulb staircase’ and the café on the first floor. The House of the Black Madonna is named after a small statue on the facade. The design was an architectural novelty: the main construction is a concrete skeleton that allows for a spacious interior. An architectural feat was that the elongated cafe did not need any supporting pillars.

Cubism was only popular for a short time, and the café was in use for ten years only because it had become old-fashioned and the public wanted something more modern. The space was then used for other purposes. When the House of the Black Madonna was renovated in the early 1990s according to the design of Karel Prager, the building was restored to its original form. The café reopened in March 2005 after an extensive renovation based on black and white photographs. The furniture and brass chandeliers are replicas based on these original photos.

Location and address

Please note: Grand Cafe Orient, on the first floor, should not be confused with cafe restaurant Černá Madona on the ground floor, a modern cafe restaurant in pseudo-cubist style.
The Museum of Cubism is located on the first floor.

Address: Grand Cafe Orient, Ovocný trh 19, Stare Mesto, Prague
Opening hours 10.00-22.00

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