Poledni Menu – Lunch Menu at a Fixed Price

Eating in Prague is a feast for the taste buds and very affordable. The choice is yours; from simple meals to exotic five-course menus. Be sure to ask for the ‘poledni menu’, the lunch menu. When April arrives, the first tables and chairs are put outside on the pavements. Fleece plaids keep diners warm in early spring and late autumn. In summer dinner al fresco is one of the most pleasant ways to spend the evening in Prague.

Poledni Menu: Very Affordable Fixed-priced Lunch

Prague brims with restaurants, from 5-star formal restaurants in the city centre to pub-type eateries in residential areas. Lunch is the main meal of the day. The magic word is ‘poledni menu’, the fixed-price lunch menu served from noon to about 2pm. The price will make you smile.

Poledni Menu: One Snag

You won’t find the ‘poledni menu’ in the tourist restaurants in the centre of Prague. Simply follow a group of office workers, go in where they go in and yes! you have found a restaurant that has a ‘poledni menu’ card on the table. Some restaurants do not give tourists the lunch menu, ask for it! These restaurants will tell the tourist: ‘it’s in Czech’, and hope they will order a la carte, which is, of course, more expensive. No need to say, that in this type of restaurant has ‘tourist prices’. You will often find that some dishes on the menu have been crossed out. It simply means that this was very popular and no more is left. The earlier you have your lunch the larger the choice.

Fixed-priced Lunch Menu: for Meat Eaters and Vegetarians

Generally speaking, the main course is 200g of meat, usually pork but goose and duck are also very popular. Tiny slivers of cucumber, sweet pepper and one slice of tomato appear on your plate pro forma. Czech people are not very fond of greens and vegetables. It is good to know that most restaurants have a few vegetarian meals on the menu. Recently it has become much easier to find 100% vegetarian restaurants.

Restaurants where you can enjoy Poledni Menu, fixed-priced lunch menu
1. Ferdinanda: microbrewery and affordable meals
2. U Rozvarily: simple meal at budget price
3. Solidarita: neighbourhood restaurant
4. Pastva: vegan and vegearian
5. Carmelita: Italian pizzas and pastas
6. Pivnice pod Petrinem: Tsjechische keuken en bier

Photos Marianne Crone