Czech Food and Drinks
Traditional Czech food is not for the faint-hearted. An individual portion feeds the whole family and almost explodes with calories. On the bright side: Czech meals and Czech beer are a happy marriage. Traditional Czech food consists of pork or beef doused in a sauce and served with dumplings.
Meat is the mainstay of most dishes. Non-meat eaters no longer have a difficult time in Prague because almost all restaurants include vegetarian dishes. The Czechs seem to be allergic to vegetables; only the smallest sliver of red pepper, the tiniest slice of tomato and half a gherkin accompany your main dish unless you order a salad as a main course.
Czech cuisine draws from German, Polish Hungarian and Austrian recipes. Almost every menu features goulash, grilled sausages, potato pancakes and roast pork with dumplings and cabbage. And finally, there is pivo! It is impossible to talk food without mentioning pivo (beer); bottom-fermented lager from the city of Plzeň (Pilsen) or one of the brews from the micro-breweries in Prague. Prague brims with beer garden where you can savour different types of beer. They each have their own distinctive flavour.
There are so many cafés, restaurants, beer gardens and pubs in Prague that it is difficult to make a choice. Below you will find the pick of the bunch.
Restaurants
Coffee bars
Ice Cream
Pubs and Bars
Local Food and Drinks
Recipes
Cafe Imperial: Coffee in Art Deco Surrounding
Café Imperial's grandiose Art Deco interior and the range of delicious drinks and food make this cafe one of the most fascinating cafés in Prague. The coffee is excellent and the pastries delectable. Try one of the specialties Karlovy Vary coffee, espresso,...
Vytopna – Trains Bring Drinks to your Table
Model train restaurant where your drinks are transported to your table on a freight train of a model train! The Vytopna Restaurant in Prague is an absolute must-go and must-see for anyone who likes model trains. Playing with the trains is not possible but children can...
Cafe Louvre – Coffee since 1902
Cafe Louvre is an old-fashioned-style coffee house, a historic hotspot. This pre-war cafe is reminiscent of Prague and Viennese coffee house culture. This was the meeting place of the intelligentsia in Prague, of Kafka, Brod and their friends. Einstein was also one of...
Kavarna Slavia
Kavarna Slavia is an institution in Prague and the place to be for morning coffee, lunch or afternoon tea. Be sure to order crispy apple strudel or chocolatey Sachertorte to accompany your cappuccino or Videnska kava, strong coffee topped with whipped cream. Located...
Cafe Savoy
Café Savoy in Prague is a charming Viennese-style café oozing with belle époque charm. From the first step in, you realise that Café Savoy is a special place. Its interior is an elegant mix of wood and marble, look up and notice the chandeliers and the seven-metre...
Italská Cukrárna – Italian Ice Cream
Italian ice-cream? You are in Prague and suddenly you crave for genuine Italian ice cream and you are close to Karlovo Square, then there is only one thing to do. Hasten to Amato u Itala, which is the place to be for delectable ice cream. If you are not an ice cream...
Erhartova Cukrárna
Erhartova Cukrárna in Prague is a household name. If you want to experience the atmosphere of a pastry shop in the 1930s, be sure to have an ice cream or a coffee and pastry in Erhart Café. The tantalizing cakes, topped with a scoop of ice cream are impossible to...
Prague Beer Capital of Europe
Beer capital of the world! When in Prague, you need only ONE word: pivo and perhaps one more: pivnice. These two words are your passport to understanding Czech: beer and beer garden. Prague and beer go hand in hand. The Czechs drink an average of 150 liters beer per...
Wine, Absinthe and Becherovka
Czech wine is a distant second to Czech beer. Absinthe is a strong green drink with a alcohol percentage of 70%. It is strong but doesn't make you hallucinate. Becherovka is a herb bitter and said to be good for the stomach and therefore a perfect excuse to drink it. ...
Chlebicky – Czech Open-faced Sandwiches
Each chlebíček, open-faced sandwich is a single masterpiece, applied art at its best. They are easy to find: all delicatessen or delis whether in the centre or elsewhere in Prague have a large choice of chlebíčky. They are the ideal snack any time of day and cost next...
Street Food in Prague
Street food is not very popular in Prague. Prague office workers have luncheon vouchers partly paid for by their employer and partly by themselves add to this a multitude of very affordable restaurants and you will understand why street food is not very common in...
Recipe Czech Potato Salad
Potato salad is the mainstay of Czech cuisine and each housewife has her own recipe. This salad is traditionally served with Schnitzels and carp which is 'the Czech turkey' at Christmas. Potato salad is also the main ingredient used in open-faced sandwiches. You need...
Recipe Traditional Beef Goulash
Goulash originated in Hungary but many Eastern European countries, Austria, Roumania, Croatia, Poland have their own recipe of this beef stew. Goulash is a meat ragout with garlic and paprika and is served with bread dumplings but in many tourist restaurants in...
Hospoda Ferdinanda
Hospoda Ferdinanda in Prague is almost everone’s favourite spot for a typical Czech meal. At lunch time office workers are more common than tourists because its location is just far enough away from the main tourist drag and there are many offices in Karmelitska...
Restaurant Mlynec
Restaurant Mlynec follows the seasons. Do not expect cherries in December or wild mushrooms in February, Chef Vladimir Vanicek composes climate-friendly menus. Mlynec won the prestigious Bib Gourmand award which stands for excellent value for money. The menu features...
Lunch without Tourists
Lunch without tourists is difficult to find in the centre of Prague. Restaurants near Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square mostly cater for tourists which their prices reflect. You will find no tourists in restaurant U Svate Anny besides it is one of these restaurants...
Medovnik the Most Delicious Honey Cake in Prague
Every cukrárna, pastry shop, in Prague sells delicious pastries. One stands out: honey cake. When you go for a coffee in a café or kavarna, there is always honey cake in the refrigerated display case. What is Honey Cake? Honey cake is a pastry consisting of biscuit...
Ice Pub Drinks in Icy Surroundings
The Ice Pub in Prague is cool! Figuratively but also literally because it is freezing cold with a temperature of a constant -7° Celsius (45 Fahrenheit). Everything in the Ice Pub is made of ice, the walls, the bar, the bar stools and also the glass you drink from. It...
Best Coffee Hotspots for Latte, Cappuccino or Videnska
A kavarna or cafe is one of the best places to take a break from all the walking and sightseeing in Prague. Check your WhatsApp messages, WiFi is almost always free, or browse your travel guide while enjoying a cup of coffee and some cakes. Besides sweet dishes, most...
Best Coffee Shops for a Latte, Cappuccino or Videnska
One of the best places to recharge in Prague during your sightseeing adventures is at a kavarna or coffee shop. Check your email, keep up with social media or simply browse your guidebook over a coffee served in a large mug, almost as big as a soup bowl. In addition...
Nonstop Restaurants and Shops open until late
Prague never sleeps. Even after midnight, there are still a limited number of shops and restaurants open. Most of them are in the Nove Mesto district, near the Central Station and the Florenc bus station. But also in other neighbouhoods like Vinohrady and Smichov...
Soul Kitchen a Slice of Greece in Prague
Words above the entrance to a restaurant read: Soul Kitchen - Bougatsa. This will make the hearts of many a Greece lover beat faster. Bougatsa in Prague! Not in the centre of the city but in the quiet Vinohrady district, a small inconspicuous restaurant that serves...
Indian Restaurants and Curry Houses with Authentic Dishes
Prague has a range of Indian restaurants that are frequently visited by Indian expats who live and work in Prague. This means that the dishes are authentically Indian and that the right amount of spices is used. To suit the Czech palate, there are sometimes two...
Restaurant U Betlemske Kaple Czech Meals and very Affordable
An affordable meal in the centre of Prague is easy to find, but only if you know where to go. As in any tourist city: the closer to the centre the higher the prices, but this does not apply to Restaurant U Betlemske Kaple. Although this restaurant It is right in the...
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...
Vnitroblock Cultural Centre and Shopping Arcade
Vnitroblock is a multifunctional space in a former factory building. It is a creative and cultural centre where you will find a café, a dance studio, a small cinema, an events and theater hall, an outdoor space, a gallery, boutiques with designer fashion and much...
Dhaba Beas Vegetarian Indian Dishes
Dhaba Beas is a vegetarian Indian self-service restaurant with North Indian specialties where you pay by weight. A nice bonus is that you get a discount on your meal one hour before closing time. A chef from India prepares the dishes on the spot, so everything is...
11 November Goose Red Cabbage and St Martin Wine
If you are in Prague on 11 November and you like to eat goose, you are in luck! Goose is on the menu of almost all restaurants on this special day. It is also the day when the tasting and sale of Svatomartinske vino, St. Martin's wine, begins. A Beaujolais Primeur the...