Waterfront Cafe the Vltava River the View

Waterfront cafe bistro LAb Space is on Naplavka embankment, a five-star location on the Vltava River. Enjoy the enchanting view of Prague Castle with a drink in your hand. This stretch between Vyton and the Dancing House is always buzzing with Czechs and tourists. Throughout the year there are activities from farmers’ markets and flea markets to cultural and gastronomic events. The cellars in the quay wall were used for ice storage, but have now been converted into shops, cafes and bars.

LAb Space Waterfront Cafe

Cafe LAb Space is Spartan furnished. Most of the time you will sit outside and the soberness will not bother you. This waterfront café is rather crammed and there is a limited number of seats. You enter through a round, massive porthole door. When you sit inside you have a beautiful view through the porthole door. From here the sunsets are stunning. The decor is minimalist, no art on walls, not even a single plant to add some colour. The focus point is the black bar with a regiment of beer mugs against a white wall behind it. There is no toilet inside, but further down the quay one of the cellars has been set up as a public toilet.

LAb Space for Coffee and Beer

The hand-written chalkboard menu includes coffee, iced coffee, soft drinks and of course beer. There is a small range of snacks. Chlebicky, open sandwiches topped with potato salad, slice of ham, a pickle and sometimes half an egg. If you prefer something sweet, there is kolac, a pastry made of dough filled with fruit or poppy seeds or other types of cake.

Porthole Doors

There are about twenty uniform cellars, in the past used to store ice and now converted into cafes, art galleries or shops. The tailor-made porthole doors are 5.4 meters in diameter and weigh 1.7 tons. They open automatically so that wheelchair users and mothers with prams do not need any help.

Getting there

Naplavka is the quay next to the banks of the Vltava River, between Palackého Bridge and Vyton. At weekends it may get crowded when the farmers’ market is held. In the summer the quay is very pleasant for a stroll or to do some people watching in one of the cafes.

Address: LAb Space, Rasinovo Nabrezi, Nove Mesto, Prague
Tram 3, 6, 7, 14, and 17 stop Palackeho namesti

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Farmers’ Markets

Photo’s LAb Space facebook