Full English breakfast, open-faced sandwich or croissants
A traditional Czech breakfast may be a disappointing affair if you are a big eater. It consists of dark bread or bread rolls, slices of cheese, salami or ham washed down with coffee.
Sometimes pastry with poppy seed paste completes the meal. You may wonder if the Czechs are still full from the evening before or starving themselves from what is yet to come.
Eating your breakfast in your hotel may sound a good alternative. The breakfast buffet is an endless array of tempting dishes. But a hotel breakfasts are the same all over the world and you hardly notice in what city you are. The bread rolls may have a different shape, but the scrambled eggs, the salmon slivers, the jam, honey and orange juice are the same no matter in what country you are.
Prague has a plethora of interesting places where you can enjoy delectable breakfast dishes. Chlebíčky, open-faced sandwiches, are a delicacy you must try. Go to Ovocny Svetozor if you want to try them. If you are passionate about books, and a full English breakfast the Globe Bookstore is your place. Savour the homemade porridge while reading Kafka. Having breakfast in a vintage streetcar is fun for the whole family.
5 Breakfast suggestions that will make your day
1. Cafe Tramway 11, Wenceslas Square (opposite Marks & Spencer), Nové Město, Prague
Take you breakfast out and eat it at one of the outdoor tables while you scoop the whipped cream off your Videnska kava Czech for Viennese coffee. Drink it slowly while seeing the world go by on always buzzing Wenceslas Square.
Right in the middle of Wenceslas square, Cafe Tramway is an eye-catcher. This tram used to trundle along Wenceslas Square. The two vintage streetcars stand on their own, now disused tracks. One car is the café, the other is the kitchen and toilets. Today more advanced models have replaced it, but still clang their way through the centre of Prague. Tramway 11 Café is small, straightforward and unpretentious and so is the menu. Apple strudel or honey cake washed down by strong black coffee or frothy cappuccino makes an excellent breakfast. If you rather go for something savory, Tramway 11 also makes delectable sandwiches, salads and pizza.
Opening hours: 10.00-20.00
TRAMWAJ IS PERMANTLY CLOSED. The tram has been removed because the owner did not have the right papers and because of the reconstruction of Wenceslas Square.
2. Globe Bookstore and café, Pstrossova 6, Nové Město, Prague
Not only does the Globe Bookstore serve the best porridge in Prague, it also hosts literary readings, movies, live music and other special and top sporting events. Check their website for the program.
The Globe Bookstore has been going strong since 1993. It is a favourite hang-out for book-loving anglophiles who browse the inventory of over ten thousand new and used English books. Settle for a French breakfast with croissants or homemade porridge with dried fruits and sprinkled with brown sugar. Sunday brunch draws a crowd who can choose from cinnamon French toast to apple walnut pancakes and vegetarian dream omelet. Order endless coffee and set up camp at your table for the rest of the day.
Opening hours: 10.00-22.00, Saturday and Sunday from 09.30.
3. Patisserie Saint Tropez, Karmelitska 20, Staré Město, Prague
Be sure to try kolac pastry with a dollop of fresh prunes or strawberries. Washed down with strong sweet coffee this pastry is the perfect breakfast snack. There are many more delectable pastries in the display case.
As soon as the doors open, locals come in to get their fresh-baked bread or sit in the café sipping strong coffee accompanied by scrumptious pastries. Join them and take a seat near the window to catch a glimpse of locals hurrying to work and tourists looking for the Infant Jesus in Mary Victory Church opposite. Order chlebíčky, open sandwiches topped with cream cheese, ham, egg and gherkin or try palačinky, crepes filled with warm forest fruit and whipped cream. When weather is too beautiful to sit inside, take your meal out and climb Petrin Hill on the other side of the street. Settle on a bench in the sun and enjoy your breakfast al fresco.
4. Ovocny Svetozor, Sokolovská 32, Karlín, Prague
Ask any local where to find the best breakfast and the answer will invariably be Ovocny Svetozor. Not only is this the perfect spot for breakfast, their banana-strawberry flavored ice-cream tastes heavenly.
Do you fancy ice cream for breakfast? Ovocný Svetozor is one of the best places in Prague to satisfy your wish. This patisserie is not only famous for its fruit cakes, cheesecakes, cream cakes, pancakes, waffles and ice-cream, but also for its tasty sandwiches, croissants and freshly brewed coffee. They have several outlets scattered about Prague and there is always one right where you are. A very special shop is the one in Sokolovská street near Florenc metro station. The interior is decked out in a London-theme and red colours. The walls are decorated with London street scenes, red double decker buses and phone booths as entrance to the toilets. Does your strawberry tart or honey cream cake taste like the one you had in the coffee bar of your hotel? Ovocny Svetozor supplies cakes and ice-cream to various hotels, pastry shops and restaurants in Prague.
Opening hours 08.00-19.00
5. Bakeshop Praha, Kozí 1, Staré Město, Prague
Once you have tasted Bakeshop’s walnut sourdough bread, you will come back every morning and miss it when you are back home again. Freshness is their key word, yesterday’s bread or pastry is not on sale. Firstly because there is a large turnover, secondly because all pastries and bread are prepared and baked on the day you eat them.
The aroma of fresh bread rushes towards you when you enter Bakeshop Praha. This is one of the best places to tuck in crispy croissants, real French pain au chocolate or bagels topped with sesame seed. Sit on the high stools in front of wall to ceiling windows and enjoy an Americano. In summer you can enjoy your breakfast al fresco, either on the benches lining the pavement or on the little square across the street. Bakeshop Praha is a bakery with a difference.
Opening hours: 07.00-21.00
More like this: Globe Bookstore and Café
Next article: Café Karel honours the Czech singer Karel Gott
Previous article: Kavarna Slagr for Viennese Coffee and Cakes