Part I: The Ultimate Food Guide to Eating in Prague

I can’t believe it’s been 8 years since Dan and I were last here. We spent only 4 days in Prague the first time and immediately we were hooked. We finally made it back but a lot has changed since then. Prague was a city still off the tourist radar. Very few Czech people spoke English when we visited in 2007, and the country had not yet learned how to deal with foreigners (like charging a “tourist tax” on restaurant bills).

One thing relatively unchanged though is the delicious Prague food and it’s still as hearty and home-style as we remember it. We’ve been living in Prague for a month now, food-hopping from the Old Town to the New Town and local neighbourhoods in between. We are rediscovering all the traditional Czech food (and street food) we really missed but also finding new ones we never knew about.

In Part 1 of my Ultimate Food Guide to Eating in Prague, I’ll take you on a custom food tour of our most favourite dishes, where to find them, and how to eat like a local in Prague.

What You Didn’t Know about Czech Food

Many Czechs don’t like Czech food unless it’s prepared at home (much like us Italians). It’s hard to find better cooking than home-cooked dishes whipped up by their mother or grandmother (I can attest to that, my Italian nonna is a better chef than any restaurant!)

So, while Prague is known for many things, a Michelin-star culinary destination is not one of them just yet. Some of their best (and oldest) recipes were born out of struggle, occupation and communist rule . They serve up “poor man’s food” because it was created from accessible and inexpensive ingredients of the times. Czech food then, is not the most sophisticated or refined. If you’re expecting gourmet or presentation, you’ll be disappointed. But it is delicious, flavourful, and home-style which is exactly the food Dan and I go for.

Beef Guláš & Knedliky

Guláš may be a Hungarian mish-mash of ingredients thrown in a pot and slowly cooked as a soup or stew but the Czechs have come up with their own twist. Czech beef guláš is all about the meat – no vegetables, no potatoes – and served with slices of bread dumplings. Knedliky is the Czech word for bread – exactly what you need for dipping.

Tip: Guláš and beef guláš on a menu are not the same. One is a beef-based soup (usually appetizer), the other is a thick stew with chunks of meat in it and eaten as a main dish.

Where to try it: Any typical menu will have guláš. I loved the kind at the Prague Beer Museum, Americká 43 Praha 2 made with beer (175 Kč). Despite its cheesy name, this is a pub not a museum with good Czech food, hefty portions, and a drink list of 30 craft beers on tap from different regions across the country. The owners visit local breweries around Czech Republic personally, so the beer is always changing. We came here at least once a week.

Polévka

It’s traditional to start every meal with a soup like fazolova, thick bean soup served in a big clay bowl with smoked meat and cheese.

Where to try it: Bredovsky Dvur, Politickych Veznu 13 for the best bean soup (75 Kč) I ever tasted. Bredovsky is in a backstreet away from the tourist chaos of Wenceslas Square. Lots of locals go here for lunch and cheap beer. Or $2 Prosecco.

Also Polevkarna, Sokolovská 97 a tiny soup kitchen in residential Karlin for all kinds of soups.

Fried Cheese

Edam cheese coated in egg, flour then fried is one of the most typical pub foods you’ll hear about but locals tell me good fried cheese is hard to find.

Where to try it: Lokal, Dlouhá 33 for authentic fried cheese or U Pinkasu, Jungmannovo nám. 16 both in Praha 1.

Klobása

We’re always on the lookout for good street food when we couldn’t eat enough of spicy, deep red klobása (or kiełbasa) made with paprika. Párek v rohlíku is also a Czech twist on the world renowned hot dog. Czechs put sausage in a special kind of bread called rohlík.

We ate a lot of sausage.

Where to try it: We loved eating klobásy at a beer garden like Riegrovy sady near our apartment or Letná Park.

Euro Dog serves up tasty street meat at Metro Anděl, Florenc tram stop, and at the bottom of Wenceslas Square. It is not klobása but it’s good if you’re looking for a quickie.

Pulled Pork Dog

We really loved the Street Food Jam in the summertime, hosted every second weekend beginning in July with pop-up food trucks and local vendors serving tasty street meat like Brazilian burgers, Caribbean jerk chicken and pulled pork from the Dirty Dog food truck.

Where to try it: Dirty Dog food truck

Mia’s Bramborák Stand

Bramborák is another street food – a pan-fried potato pancake I discovered from Mia, a lovely lady at our local market on the way back from the gym. I looked and pointed at her bramborák that I wanted to try. I walked away, had a bite and went back to tell her how delicious it was. She knew only enough English to tell me her name and smiled at me when I told her I was from Canada. She suddenly started speaking to me gleefully (in Czech) and I wished more than ever I knew enough words to converse back.

When you visit Prague go to Mia for the sweetest encounter.

Where to try it: Mia’s stand in the tiny farmer’s market. Metro I.P Pavlova (red line).

Communist-Style Czech Kitchen

If you want a really unique experience this cafeteria takes you back to what it was like during communism when food was often flavourless, rationed and where workers stopped for lunch. Except unlike communist times, Havelská Koruna is tasty, hefty and there’s no rationing. You get heaps of typical Czech food for about $6-8 bucks a dish – think hearty stews and comfort soups (polévka) like svíčková and fazolová you might find if a local invited you over for dinner. It looks like an old-school dining cafeteria and although it is in a touristy location, it was recommended to me by my local Czech friend Petra. Be warned there is no menu, no prices, and no English here. You just look and point at what you want then wait for the counter lady to scribble something on your tally sheet.

Tip:  The best food is at the back.

Where to try it:  Havelská Koruna at the Havelská market in Staré Město/Old Town (Praha 1).

Update: there is now a menu posted with short descriptions, prices and translation in English. Some staff speak a bit of English.

Tank Pubs

Typical Czech pubs are called “hospodas” but today in Prague be on the lookout for tankovna (tank) pubs which use tanks instead of regular kegs. Tank pubs receive their beer from the brewery within six hours of it leaving the front gate – it’s literally straight from the cellars and into the tanks so your pint is actually fresher than keg beer.

Where to try it:  U Pinkasu or U Medvidku just to name a few.

Palačinky

Palačinky (pala-chinky) are Central and Eastern Europe’s answer to French crêpes. Rolled up pancakes are filled with ice cream, jam or fruits then topped with whipped cream, almonds, or sugar.

Where to try it:  Old Prague Czech Restaurant in the food court of Palladium mall (metro Náměstí Republiky). We found this spot in passing, starving and looking for something cheap and not a tourist a trap. So glad we did. The entire menu is under $10.

Little Coffin

This Czech biscuit is another traditional staple shaped like a coffin. Petra says it was the treat she looked forward to as a child and most Czech kids still do. It has a hard outer shell, but tastes sweet and melts in your mouth.

Where to try it: Lokál U Bílé kuželky. They have other locations but this one across the bridge is less touristy, very rustic and recommended to us by a local. Míšeňská 12 Praha 1

Pleskavica

Pleskavica is a Balkan dish made with different ground meats like lamb, pork, beef or veal then shaped into a burger. It’s the national dish of Serbia but it’s crossing borders to other central and eastern cities.

Where to try it: At the beer garden in Vysehrad, which is not traditionally Czech. It serves mostly Serbian and Balkan style street food. Well worth the hike up castle hill.

Other Places to Try:

Puro Gelato. I’ve seen how the real stuff is made (see my gelato-making video or read the eating gelato guide) so I am very picky when it comes to where I buy and eat gelato. This tiny gelato shop on Na Hrobci makes it perfectly though – naturally and fresh, and produced in small batches every day. It serves up traditional kinds like vanilla and chocolate and non-traditional ones like blueberry with sour cream or cucumber (which are also surprisingly good!) Grab it to-go for walk along the river. Na Hrobci, 1

Johnny’s Pizza. One of our neighbours was a Czech man named Johnny who happens to make the best pizza we’ve ever tasted. Exactly the kind you find in Italy – hard to resist when his shop is right by our flat and smells so good every time we walk by. It’s also conveniently open at 12am when you’re starving and kind of tipsy. We found Johnny always smiley behind his pizza counter and happy to make a custom flavour for us on the spot.

We didn’t eat enough here.

If you’re in Prague I hope you drop in to taste one of his delicious slices. Koubkova 16.

Manifesto. A brand new open-air market, Manifesto is a unique foodie spot where different vendors serve up street food in a pop-up shipping container along side beer, and sometimes DJs and movie night. It’s hipster, minimalist, and futuristic. The market is the first fully cashless place in Prague, meaning you can only pay by credit card or payment app. But the most interesting thing about Manifesto is the story behind it. The founders wanted to revitalize a central part of Prague that everyone once avoided – the “no-go” zone they call it. Located in between Florenc metro and Prague’s main railway station, the area has been synonymous with drugs, waste, and homelessness but Manifesto is making it cool and trendy. As long as you follow their 12 rules including leaving your team jersey at home and no picking their poor flowers.

Places to Avoid:

Dish. Delicious burger joint in Prague 2 but not worth the hefty price tag. Just because a burger was voted #5 in all of Europe doesn’t mean it’s good. Sure they come on toasted brioche bun and different toppings but the burgers are expensive (about $10), every condiment like ketchup (a tiny ramekin for $1) is charged for, and a side of fries sold separately (which you need because their burgers are not large or filling enough). We spent $30 for two which is more than double what it should cost to eat in Prague. Food can taste great but when it’s not worth the pricey bill it’s such a turn off.

Las Adelitas. Las Adelitas in Prague 2 is supposedly known for Mexican tacos and quesadillas. We were really excited about this one because we read it was the best Mexican in town. The tacos were good but my mind wasn’t blown. Everything was bite size including the side of rice and again, the bill was more than the platter was worth.

U Fleků. Another spot listed in every so-called “best of” guide for Czech places to eat, but U Fleků is painfully disappointing with pushy staff and rude waiters who demand a tip. The intrigue of this place is that it’s a 500-year old pub, likely one of the oldest in Europe. But that’s all it has going for it. Don’t waste your money here.

 

Check out Part II of my Ultimate Food Guide to Eating in Prague