PRAGUE FOOD BLOG
The best Prague food tips and Prague restaurant guide by Taste of Prague Food Tours. For more insight in Prague food, check out our Prague food tours and our Prague Foodie Map!
Prague with kids: five indoor activities for kids in Prague
So, you’re in Prague with kids, and it’s raining. Bummer, but not the end of the world. We have a kid, too - a pesky 7yo old boy who loves Minecraft, Sprunki (if you don’t know, congratulations), and treats in any shape or form - and keeping him occupied can be a challenge. Below are some of our favorite spots.
Just a side note: while Prague is generally very kid-friendly, this is still Central Europe, a part of the world where retired curators guarding the gallery exhibitions can frown at the smallest signs of „fun“ and shush you endlessly. Sadly, that is not how our 7yo son, who enjoys everything with a strong „Zorba the Greek“ energy, rolls, so there can be friction. Just be mindful of that, otherwise you’re totally fine.
This is when we go when the weather sucks, and our son is bored.
So, you’re in Prague with kids, and it’s raining. Bummer, but not the end of the world. We have a kid, too - a pesky 7yo old boy who loves Minecraft, Sprunki (if you don’t know, congratulations), and treats in any shape or form - and keeping him occupied can be a challenge. Below are some of our favorite spots.
Just a side note: while Prague is generally very kid-friendly, this is still Central Europe, a part of the world where retired curators guarding the gallery exhibitions can frown at the smallest signs of „fun“ and shush you endlessly. Sadly, that is not how our 7yo son, who enjoys everything with a strong „Zorba the Greek“ energy, rolls, so there can be friction. Just be mindful of that, otherwise you’re totally fine.
This is when we go when the weather sucks, and our son is bored.
National Agricultural Museum
One word: tractors. The basement level of the musem has loads of real tractors, but also small, push-cart-style tractors that all kids seem to absolutely adore. There is a tractor where you can add fuel, do some basic work with your tractor and so on. The upper levels of the museum are pretty fun too: the top level includes screens where you can add ingredinets and follow the guidelines to make some classic Czech dishes, you can shop for food in an in-house supermarket (kids go nuts over the price scanners), learn about recycling or hang in their gingerbread cottage. The middle levels include displays about fishing and fish farming, water circulation, forest habitat protections and so on. This is actually one fun musem.
Now, let’s get real here: you might be thinking - isn’t the National Technical Museum right next door cooler? No, it is not. While the central hall with planes, trains and automobiles is stunning, and some of the displays are cool, this is not an interactive museum and you can hardly touch anything. It’s a bit like taking your kid to a candy store and then tell them you forgot your wallet at home. Frustrating. (Maybe it’s okay for older kids who are super disciplined. Not a group our son is currently a member of.)
Army Museum
The Army Museum flies completely below the radar and was refurbished recently. The admission is free and it opens your door to visiting the awesome National Memorial at the Vitkov hill above. It also includes a slightly gamified route for kids - you have to look for cabinets with lion paws and your kids can try on Medieval helmets and swords, write a letter from the front to their families (this usually yields super funny and/or cute results), decode morse code messages and the like. It is also a museum that tells the story of a small nation in the middle of Europe trying to stand its ground, fighting two world wars and manufacturing lots of military stuff in the process. The constructivist building that houses the museum can be quite stunning, too, especially around the staircase area.
Kunsthalle
Kunsthalle is one of the reasons our JJ doesn’t think museums and galeries are a complete drag. This relatively young art space has lots of things going for it when you’re a child: first, the space itself is quite complex and a bit of a maze, which our son loves. Second, there’s a proper kids arts lab that will keep creative types occupied for… well, at least minutes, and a super cute reading corner with loads of books for children and adults alike. And their gift shop has a great selection of books and items for kids. The art exhibitions are well curated and always custom-installed into the specific space, which makes for intriguing and immersive experiences. And it’s „on the way“ - just nestled underneath the Prague Castle near the Malostranska subway stop. (Side note: some locals see the museum, owned by a local coal baron family, as artwashing. It does not pass our threshold for a boycott, but it’s fair that you know.)
Movie at Bio Oko
Going to the movies is a thing in the Czech Republic: given the quite massive movie industry (Czechoslovakia was called „Hollywood of the East“ during the Cold War), Czechs love watching movies as much as they do love making them. Which also means that Prague is full of movie theatres, ranging from modern IMAX multi-screen palaces to tiny art-house theatres tucked away in small streets. Our favorite for kids is the Bio Oko in the swanky Letná district: founded in the 1930s and now run by the good people of the Aero Kina group (think Alamo Drafthouse meets Criterion), Oko is a super popular neighborhood place to hang out (it includes a well-stocked and frequented bistro/bar) and see a movie: they gutted the bottom part of the seats and replaced them with beach chairs, bean bags and the like, which means the smallest ones can run around and wiggle and misbehave during their children matinee programs, and no one will raise an eybrow. And they run movies in English, too.
Childrens Museum
Seated in the former Federal Assembly Building/National Museum (which is cool for kids, too, with its Hall of Minerals, or the prehistoric life displays, and a stunning building in its own right), the Childrens Museum is an interactive area where kids learn about various facets of life through game and interaction. There’s no particular theme - the museum covers anything from history to photography to environment - but it is a place that will keep your little ones occupied for… 90 minutes, because that’s the time they sell tickets for. Booking a ticket for a particular time slot online is a must, and they sell fast, so do yourself a favor and do it now. And if you can’t get a ticket, there’s always…
Bohus tip: Public Transport Museum
Trams. Loads of trams. This little depot of Prague’s Public Transport company has been repurposed to show the various trams that cruised the streets of Prague since the late 1800s. This is a cute little museum that kids seem to really enjoy, and it is conveniently located in the Střešovice district, just a 10-minute walk behind the Prague castle, and a 10-minute walk from Villa Müller on the other side. And if it’s raining hard, just catch a direct tram to Bio Oko or Kunsthalle, or to the subway that connects you to everything else.
New Prague restaurants and food stops, Q2 and Q3 2023
When we wrote the wrap-up of new restaurants and food stops in Prague in Q1 of 2023, we closed it with a promise that some exciting openings would happen in Q2 and Q3 of the year. And boy, did Q2 and Q3 deliver! So without further ado, here’s the most exciting new restaurants in Prague that opened in Q2 and Q3 of 2023.
When we wrote the wrap-up of new restaurants and food stops in Prague in Q1 of 2023, we closed it with a promise that some exciting openings would happen in Q2 and Q3 of the year. And boy, did Q2 and Q3 deliver! So without further ado, here’s the most exciting new restaurants in Prague that opened in Q2 and Q3 of 2023.
Alma
If there is one new restaurant in Prague you should visit, it’s probably Alma, occupying a former movie theatre building from the 1920s. „Damn, that must have cost a fortune“ is the first thing we said when we saw the premises - Alma is not just a restaurant, but also a coffee shop, a wine shop and soon to be wine bar in a space adjacent to the Cube Hotel in the New Town behind the National Theatre. It is truly a huge project and calling it a „restaurant“ undersells its scope.
But it was money well spent - the place is beautiful and modern, and minimalist in a Japanese kind of way - at least the restaurant and bar area. Talking about the bar - Alma is following in the footsteps of Karlín’s Kro branch in trying to combine food and cocktails, which is still a novelty in Prague where these two are mostly separate. The kitchen is headed by two chefs, Petr Židek and Michal Daněk, both with formidable pedigrees. The food is mostly a modern take on local classics and just like the wine shop, it sources things from small local producers with a focus on sustainability, organic food and wild animals. The kitchen also benefits from the large premises that allows them, for instance, to age their own fish and meats etc. So great food, cocktails, interesting wines, great outdoor seating, and young, casual service? Yep, one of the coolest places to eat in Prague right now.
Eska
Eska, the Karen district staple, got a refresh and a slight change of concept during the summer: what used to be a super-popular two-storey restaurant with a bakery and coffee shop on the ground floor and a 90-seat restaurant on top that served everything from brunched to set-menu dinners is now two separate restaurants: Eska on the ground floor that serves breakfasts and lunches, and Štangl upstairs that only serves fine-dining dinners.
So I will separate the next text and advice for visitors and locals.
If you’re a visitor, Eska is wonderful, modern and hip. It’s a quick-turnaround place with limited service (you order and pay at the cashier, and they will bring everything to the table) that is frequented by younger crowds, people who work in the surrounding offices of the Karlín district, aka Prague’s Silicon Valley, and the people who attend events in Forum Karlin across the hall. The coffee is great, as is the food, and the bakery turns out nice kolache and other sweets. A great place to stop when you explore the district or Vitkov National Memorial.
If you’re a local, and miss the old Eska, with the free bread and butter, the table service, and the seemingly endless hours behind a laptop while you sip tea, you better just get over it. Stop being an entitled little brat and finally realise that Eska is a combination of a brunch/lunch place, coffee shop and bakery where all of these components alone would rank in Prague’s top ten. Also finally come to terms with the fact that staffing restaurants in the post-Covid world is difficult, and staff is expensive, and that restaurants actually do need to make some money to repay the huge investments that went to a place like Eska. Celebrate it, enjoy it, and stop whining.
Stangl
So we’re done with the bottom, but how is Štangl, the new fine dining restaurant that is now occupying the top level of what used to be Eska?
Well, first things first: it’s beautiful. Three symmetrical counter tops in the kitchen will get you some serious „The Menu“ vibes. And the hydroponic herbs garden in the corner proves that these guys are serious. We know Mr Štangl, the executive chef that opened the original Eska and gave name to the new restaurant, to be on the quiet and pensive, and the food mirrors that: don’t expect jokes on a plate but carefully crafted dishes that mirror the chef’s obsession with local agriculture and nature. Štangl offers tasting menus only - one short and one longer - and pairs the food with mostly local natural wines and Champagnes. The place relies on a surprisingly high number of staff and it’s fun watching every member focus on their particular task. This is an adult version of Eska, and a very nice one.
Marie B
I know. When you describe the concept of Marie B like „you get a blank piece of paper and a pencil, and they don’t tell you what you’re eating and you have to guess“, it can feel like a very expensive prank at your expense. But the new restaurant by the Michelin-starred La Degustation does not feel like a prank at all. It feels like a cool restaurant for adults (although the bar seating only and cool art on the wall from Berlin predestines the venue to a bit younger audience) and a slightly more hip version of La Degustation itself. Named after Marie B Svobodová, the late 19th century Czech cookbook author that has been La Degustation’s constant inspiration, the dishes focus on the local, but don’t shy away from foreign ingredients, either. The bar seating is great for couples; bigger groups can get the table in Vin de Marie, the new wine bar next door, which doubles as a private dining room of Marie B after 6pm. This place is fun and tasty and comes definitely recommended.
Loka
Prague hasn’t witnessed many exciting coffee openings recently, so Loka is a welcome change. Opened by the people of Doubleshot, who run the OG of specialty coffee in Prague, Můj šálek kávy, and the popular Místo in the Bubenec district, Loka is unrecognisable from modern specialty coffee places in NYC, London or LA. And we mean it in the best way possible - Loka is seated in a modern office building being finished right next to the Masaryk station, and everything about it feels modern, yet sturdy and valuable: the bar is made of a slab of stone, the chairs and tables are custom made and the plush seats on the side add a sense of understated luxury.
The coffee portfolio includes all the usual suspects, including nitro coffee, two batch filter coffees to choose from, some coffee-based cocktails, and mostly natural wines. And some snacks and sweets to nibble on. So far, this area with modern offices on the edge of the city centre has been dominated by the venerable EMA Espresso Bar, but I suspect Loka will be wildly popular - it’s right there where the new offices are, and it’s clean, modern, and fun.
Sandwich Rodeo
Tomáš Oujezdský, has always had a knack for all things Americana. Case in point? Big Smokers, the mid-Texas BBQ place in Holešovice, which is spot on, or the iconic Letná US fast food institution, MrHotDog. Now he’s expanded his empire with Sandwich Rodeo, his take on the American diner. Of course, like of all of his places, Sandwich Rodeo does not literally mimic a diner, just transplants it into Prague - hence Czech craft beers etc. and other local aspects of the business. Sandwich Rodeo sits right next to MrHotDog, which allows the two places to share some common premises, like walk-in freezers or beer infrastructure. The decor is all brown wood, with seating boxes, diner-style. Thank he sandwiches are delicious: we had the spicy fried chicken and the shrimp sandwich and loved both, incl. their milk bread. The one gripe people had was that while the outdoor seating of both Sandwich Rodeo and MrHotDog seem to blend into each other, the orders are strictly separated and you cannot order from one business and sit in the outdoor seating area of the other one. But we’re sure this will iron itself out going forward.
Burgerman
Burgerman has become a bit of a covid wonder - starting from a take-out window from a shared kitchen in Žižkov in 2021, it moved as a burger stand to Betlémské náměstí in the Old Town and managed to attract a loyal following in the meantime. And now it has used that to build a successful crowdfunding campaign and open a new, permanent fixture in the Letná district.
We always liked Petr Návrat’s burgers, and the two we tried in his new place were no exception - the meat is seasoned and cooked well, and we have always loved the challah-like, crispy bun that the burgers come wrapped in. You can also get your fries and craft beers to go with those burgers. The bacon cheese sliders at MrHotDog were always our go-to when it comes to the Letná burger, but Burgerman gives them a run for the money. Great addition to the Letná district.
Hostinec na Výtoni
Jan and his high school mates used to drink at this place back in the day, so we were happy to see the little house just underneath the Vysehrad fortress coming alive again after years of abandonment. And alive it came - with a new owner and crew, this is, in some aspects, the traditional pub we have all always wanted: great pub comfort food (with a big focus on duck grilled in their huge Josper grill - the website of this restaurant translates simply as duck.cz) that is rooted in tradition but has a bit of a modern sensitivity and adds interesting touches to traditional dishes and ingredients.
Great outdoor seating in the summer, too, and the service is as friendly as pub service should be. The place is an interesting juxtaposition with U Kalendů, one of our favourites, three blocks away: where U Kalendů is minimalist, modern and „cheffy“ and does not hide its inspiration in London’s St John’s, Hostinec na Výtoni digs its heels in Czech tradition and can come out as a bit warmer albeit a bit less curated at times. Both restaurants are great, but they approach „the Czech pub“ a bit differently.
Kro VRSOVICE
The Kro management team has been busy this year - after opening the gargantuan project that is Alma, which contains a restaurant, a coffee shop, wine shop, soon-to-be-opened wine bar and a wine distributor, they have set out to open a new location of Kro in the Vršovice district, right in front of their kitchen and bakery over at Moskevská.
And we love it. The place is not huge but really smartly arranged: do you want to eat? Go left and have a seat. Do you want to buy bread os a croissant and get some coffee to stay or to go? Go right and order at the counter. The two functions of the place never really get in the way of each other, and you understand what to do immediately when you get in. And there’s also some outdoor seating that overlooks the generous space in front of the restaurant. The menu contains some usual suspects from other Kro locations (the chicken, of course) but also some dishes specific to this location, and a whole new breakfast menu, too. This is a winner, and a huge contribution to the Vršovice dining scene.
Mamam bistro
Speaking of Vršovice dining scene, Mamam bistro is a Vietnamese bistro with a difference. Open by a couple that happen to be actually veterans of the Prague dining scene (with experience from the likes of Dian, Taiko and The Eatery), the place is tiny and the menu is limited, but it is far from a cookie-cutter Vietnamese bistro found all over Prague. No Pho, no rolls, but a delicious shrimp burger, ribs, or mixed noodles. And beer, a few house cocktails and modern takes on Vietnamese coffee. The place is tiny, but the heart is big. Make sure you check these guys out for something a bit less ordinary.
Burger Service
In a town that can feel obsessed with burgers at times, when the ubiquitous Ambiente restaurant group opens a dedicated burger place, you pay attention. And they have been building a bit of a hype for months. And like with most things in Ambiente, they have built their own know how and adopted their own approach to burgers, building everything from the bun to the condiments and so on. So we went recently to the take-out only place… and our burger was not that great. We were expecting a Shake Shack or Copenhagen’s Gasoline Grill burger - simple, juicy, delicious. We got simple, but not the latter parts. At this point, we still prefer the butcher’s burger at Naše maso, another Ambiente outpost nearby.
So why do we write about it? Because it’s Ambiente. If there’s one group of people in Prague who will figure it out, it’s them. I am sure right now somebody has a meeting addressing the complaints. Given how huge they got, people in Prague tend to forget that most of them have built a benchmark of quality for anything from pizza to fried cheese to bread or the vetrnik pastry in one of Ambiente’s restaurants.
I remember when Eska opened, their bread was pretty bad, and they were giving loafs of it to take home when you went for dinner. We talked to Mr Karpisek, the founder of the Ambiente group - and our friend - and politely mentioned to him that the bread was far from ideal. „It is, now. But we’ll work on it, and six months from now, nobody will remember.“ And you know what? He was right - now Eska is in the top five for most people in Prague when it comes to bread. I expect the same from Burger Service. They have the capital to survive the first few weeks, and the skills and know how to perfect the product in the meantime. Mark my words.
How to enjoy our Prague food tours
We’ve been running food tours in Prague and Moravia for 11 years now, and we can confidently say that we’ve seen it pretty much all. But there are some mistakes our guests make, and some misconceptions they have, over and over again. So we’ve said “enough”!
Here’s five basic tips that will help you enjoy our food tours (and any other tours, really) to the fullest.
We’ve been running food tours in Prague and Moravia for 11 years now, and we can confidently say that we’ve seen it pretty much all. But there are some mistakes our guests make, and some misconceptions they have, over and over again. So we’ve said “enough”!
Here’s five basic tips that will help you enjoy our food tours (and any other tours, really) to the fullest.
Tip 1: Don’t book for the day of your arrival.
Let’s start with a practical tip. Don’t book our tour on the day of your arrival, especially if you are flying from overseas.
We know what you’re thinking – „but I read the reviews and they said this was a great way to start my trip to Prague! And all my friends said so, too!“ We know. But still, don’t do it. Listen to the voice of experience here.
We don’t know if you’ve noticed, but flying is a bit of a nightmare right now. And even before Covid - you know, when flying was… …fun? - there were many, many, many times when our guests missed a tour because of a canceled or delayed flight. And since this all happens last minute, we may not have the time to reschedule you to a different tour a day later because we might be fully booked by the time you come to the sad realisation that you’re stuck in Newark… while your luggage is well on its way to Buenos Aires.
Also, our experience indicates that serious jetlag and serious overeating are not a great mix, especially if you throw in a bit of alcohol into the mix. We’ve seen too guests literally struggle through our tour, fighting off fatigue and the unescapable feeling of regret. And that’s not how you should experience our tours, honestly.
So trust as here – go against your instinct and book for the day after your arrival. We will be happy to send you tips where to eat and what to do before we actually meet, so we’ve got you covered for your first day too. Just ask.
Tip 2: Free your mind… and your mouth will follow.
OK, so you don’t like mushrooms. Have you ever had mushrooms in the Czech Republic? Maybe they taste like strawberries. (OK, they don’t, really, but you know what we mean.)
But joking aside, while we do respect and appreciate that our guests may have preferences and serious dislikes, we do strongly recommend that you try to broaden your horizons on our tours. Case in point: hot dogs. Hot dogs are awful in the US - let’s face the facts. But the hotdogs we serve on our tours are very different. They only have three ingredients, the way the Lord intended - meat, fat, and seasoning. Many of our guests are shocked that a hot dog can be that tasty. So again, while we will not force you to eat anything you don’t want to eat, it might be a good idea to try for once. Maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Tip 3: Authentic shmauthentic.
We often get questions whether we’ll have an authentic Czech experience, like eat pork knuckle in a Medieval cellar. Do you know how many times we’ve eaten pork knuckle in a Medieval cellar In our lives here in Prague? You’ve guessed it - never.
We strongly recommend that you throw away any notions of authentic when you come to Prague, or indeed travel anywhere else. In our experience, authentic really means anything that reinforces the stereotypes you’ve had about a place even before you visited it. But you know what? Real life may be somewhere else – and that’s what our tours try to focus on: real life. We do our best not to play to the expectations you may have when you arrive.
To be perfectly honest, it would be so easy to run an „authentic tour“ in Prague. Have a pork knuckle in a Medieval cellar. Have an overpriced glass of Pilsner with a view of the Prague Castle. Munch on a trdelnik. (If you don’t know what a trdelnik is, get ready to see them on every corner when you arrive. Also, please know that they are not authentic - or Czech - at all.)
So come as you are, and with an open mind. And don’t compare what you see to whatever you think authentic is. Maybe you’ll find you’ll avoid a major disappointment and learn something unexpected.
Tip 4: Get your questions ready.
We’ve had a guest recently who suggested we should use these earpieces that big tours use when they walk around the city. That goes directly against want we want to do with our tours. Our tours should not be about one guy talking and the guests listening quietly. Our tours should be about interaction and conversation.
Sure, food is fun and we can talk about it four hours, but in all honesty, can you? Food tours are really cultural tours, and ours is no different. We also want to talk about all things Czech. How we live, what are the taxes we pay, what do we get in exchange, what’s the healthcare like, and how about the schools? Isn’t this why we travel in the first place? To learn about a new place and perhaps compare our lives to the lives of people living in a different part of the world? That’s exactly what we want to provide.
So sorry, no earpieces. And get your questions ready. We will be happy to answer them all.
Tip 5: Tell us everything!
We’ve had guests who have withheld important information from us (regarding their allergies and dislikes or mobility issues) because they felt they were a nuisance. They just didn’t want to bother us with it.
First of all: you should never feel that way about yourself, girlfriend.
Second, telling us everything actually helps us create a tour you will enjoy, and will avoid disappointment on the spot. We order everything in advance, so learning about stuff on the spot is a tad too late. Also, we can adjust the places we visit to your allergies and tastes… when we know about them.
So please share. We actually welcome it. (And if you’re making a booking for more people, please ask them about their allergies, too.) Thank you!
Bonus tip: No Crocs, please.
As always, no dress code for our tours. Come as you are. We just draw the line at Crocs. Don’t wear them to the tour. Or anywhere else public for that matter. (Home and garden are acceptable.)
Best Children's Playgrounds in Historical Prague (According to Us)
If you follow our Instagram, you know we love to travel with our little JJ. Travelling with him and seeing the destination through his eyes is truly rewarding... as is giving him to the grandma for a day or two once we come back. (Sheesh, rewarding but so tiring, too!)
Anyway, while we want to do the things we want to do when we travel, we try to make sure he gets what we call his “executive time” - a good hour of juts pure playtime at a playground where we travel. Some cities do playgrounds really well (Paris, for instance, or Kyiv was great, too), while some lag slightly behind (we’re looking at you, Barcelona and Rome).
Luckily, Prague clearly belongs among the cities that do playgrounds really well. So if you’re traveling to Prague with your kids, here’s our favorite kids’ playgrounds in Prague.
If you follow our Instagram, you know we love to travel with our little JJ. Travelling with him and seeing the destination through his eyes is truly rewarding... as is giving him to the grandma for a day or two once we come back. (Sheesh, rewarding but so tiring, too!)
Anyway, while we want to do the things we want to do when we travel, we try to make sure he gets what we call his “executive time” - a good hour of juts pure playtime at a playground where we travel. Some cities do playgrounds really well (Paris, for instance, or Kyiv was great, too), while some lag slightly behind (we’re looking at you, Barcelona and Rome).
Luckily, Prague clearly belongs among the cities that do playgrounds really well. So if you’re traveling to Prague with your kids, here’s our favorite kids’ playgrounds in (the historical centre of) Prague.
Žofín
Children’s playgrounds don’t come more beautiful than this: you can just sit on the Žofín island, enjoy the views of the river and the beautiful buildings of the river bank, and just bask in the sun and get in the breeze. The playground is not huge but has everything you need. Plus there’s a little train for the smallest ones right next door. The Žofín and Mánes buildings are both a part of Prague’s history, and the former actually runs nice Sunday brunches that are very family-friendly.
We’d get our coffee at Supertramp Coffee nearby, maybe add the stupid simple yet delicious Love Balls at Artic Bakehouse. Another great tip is a porchetta sandwich or something equally as yummy from The Real Meat Society at Náplavní - this is one of the best, organic butcher shops all around. Ice-cream at Créme de la Créme on Národní is a great option, too. Finally, you can continue on across the river for pasta at Pastař, pastries and Czech classics at Café Savoy, coffee at Kofárna, or ice-cream at Angelato a little further on.
Also, we know it’s cheesy, but you kinda have to get one of those paddle boats for rent on the other side of the island, especially on a warm summer day.
Dětský ostrov
One of the biggest playgrounds in Prague - they don’t call it the “Children’s Island” for nothing. You have to cross a small bridge to get there but then it’s a whole arena dedicated to kids of all ages from the smallest ones (slides, see-saws and such) to bigger ones, incl. a zip line and outdoor work out equipment. The island includes a tennis court, basketball court and a small 5-a-side football/soccer field.
This is also a good place to explain how water locks work to your kids - the lock in between the island and the bank is very busy, always helping a boat or two navigate the river. To eat, just go to The Bowls for a Buddha bowl or a Poke bowl. Mezi srnky on Arbesovo náměstí is also a great option, and we’d get our coffee at Kofárna again.
Petřín
Talk about a playground with a view - the playground at the foot of the Petřín hill offers some nice views of the Prague Castle, and when the cherry trees in the park blossom, it’s one of the most beautiful sights in Prague. The playground is fairly big with some 15 attractions, mostly for smaller kids, offers tables to sit at, toilets and nappy-changing facilities. Mostly sand-covered.
Where to go from there? The ice-cream at Angelato nearby is a must, but expect a line in the summer. For a truly local feeling, take the funicular up to the lookout tower (optional) and have a look at the hall of mirrors next door. While adults may come out unimpressed (the whole thing is one small room full of distorting mirrors and - bizarrely - a depiction of the Swedish army pillaging through Prague during the 30-years war. But kids absolutely love that place, trust us.
Františkánská zahrada
One of the most popular playgrounds in one of the most popular spots in Prague - the Franciscan Garden may be central and just a few steps off Wenceslas Sq, but you kinda have to know about it, since it’s covered by buildings from all sides, so you’re getting a local experience here, too. There’s benches around the whole playground, plus many more in the park where locals come to enjoy the weather, ice-cream or chlebíček open-faced sandwich from Ovocný Světozor, a local icon. Not the biggest playground but it has everything you may need.
Where to go in the vicinity? We have mentioned the ice-cream at Světozor, so we must add the coffee at Café Truhlárna right next to the playground (Headshot coffee in another corner of the park is also a good choice). The nearby streets offer many pastries at Myšák, Erhart Café or IPPA Café. You can also shop for pencils at the Koh-i-noor pencil store in Vodičkova. And there’s one secret tip: if the weather is not great and your kid is below, let’s say five, the top floor of the Juliš hotel on Wenceslas Sq is home to an indoor playground with one of the most stunning views of the Old Town and the Prague Castle.
Haštalské náměstí
Tucked away at the end of a quiet dead-end street behind Haštalské náměstí, this is not the biggest or the most beautiful playgrounds in Prague. Actually, it’s quite small. But the selling point here is seclusion - it is rarely crowded, super quiet, and far away from any traffic. So if you need to let your kid just play, not worry about it and spend half an hour browsing Instagram to retain any sense of sanity, this is your place. Also, it is partly a community-based urban gardening site, so it will be fun to discover what they grow there during the season.
Anything nearby? Yes - for the adults, you get your coffee at onesip coffee at Haštalská, and getting a meatloaf sandwich at Naše maso nearby to go is also a great idea. (They give cold hot dogs to kids for free - they love them.) For the kids, the courtyard of the St Agnes Convent (which is amazing if you love Medieval Arts, btw) has room for the kids to run, and tiny “hobbit houses” in the corner to explore.
Explore Prague's Wenceslas Square and New Town
When we started our Prague Foodie Tours at the top of the Wenceslas Square in Prague’s New Town, showing its historical importance was easy: we’d just whip out our iPad and show photos of people celebrating Czechoslovakia’s independence in 1918, the Nazi troops parading on the square in 1938, the Soviet tanks in 1968, and the Velvet Revolution that ended Communism in late 1989.
Yes, Wenceslas Square, one of Prague’s natural crossroads and a place when the locals meet to venture into the historical centre, where they work and shop (but rarely live) is a place where history was repeatedly made. It has been losing its splendour in the past decades as it lost some high-profile retail shops to Old Town’s Pařížská street and as it became the nearest Prague had to a red light district at night. Think Champs-Élysées, but in Prague.
So the locals may be a bit grumpy about the current state of the square, and look forward to plans of its revitalisation, which - after years of empty promises - seem to be finally picking up speed.
The Wenceslas Square is not just a photo opportunity to capture the monumental National Museum towering at the top of the avenue (year, the „square“ is not really a square), but a great place to spend a day, or a half of it, breathe in the history, have a meal and a drink, and wonder through the webs of walkthroughs that connect the buildings around it. So if you’ve done the Old Town and the Castle District during your Prague trip, the Wenceslas Square is a great place to explore, especially on a rainy day in Prague.
When we started our Prague Foodie Tours at the top of the Wenceslas Square in Prague’s New Town, showing its historical importance was easy: we’d just whip out our iPad and show photos of people celebrating Czechoslovakia’s independence in 1918, the Nazi troops parading on the square in 1938, the Soviet tanks in 1968, and the Velvet Revolution that ended Communism in late 1989.
Yes, Wenceslas Square, one of Prague’s natural crossroads and a place when the locals meet to venture into the historical centre, where they work and shop (but rarely live) is a place where history was repeatedly made. It has been losing its splendour in the past decades as it lost some high-profile retail shops to Old Town’s Pařížská street and as it became the nearest Prague had to a red light district at night. Think Champs-Élysées, but in Prague.
So the locals may be a bit grumpy about the current state of the square, and look forward to plans of its revitalisation, which - after years of empty promises - seem to be finally picking up speed.
The Wenceslas Square is not just a photo opportunity to capture the monumental National Museum towering at the top of the avenue (year, the „square“ is not really a square), but a great place to spend a day, or a half of it, breathe in the history, have a meal and a drink, and wonder through the webs of walkthroughs that connect the buildings around it. So if you’ve done the Old Town and the Castle District during your Prague trip, the Wenceslas Square is a great place to explore, especially on a rainy day in Prague.
What to see in Prague’s New Town and Wenceslas Square?
Drake may have started at the bottom. We’re going to start at the top… with the National Museum. Reopened recently after a long and comprehensive reconstruction, the National Museum is a thing of beauty. No wonder they shot Casino Royale on the central staircase of the building. The museum itself is a natural history museum (think „Hall of Minerals“, which is actually quite stunning in a beautifully old-school way, and dinosaurs) that is hours of fun. Just ask our 4yo JJ.
Make sure you take the underground tunnel with pretty cool video art to the museum’s new building next door. The former Federal Assembly building is a striking Brutalist building from the late 1960s, and you’ll know it was a parliament - just the amount of marble used is pretty admirable. Make sure you visit the interior courtyard by the Myšárium play area. The top floor now (January 2022) hosts a cool exhibition about Czechoslovakia’s 20th Century history.
Walking down, you will notice two things: first, a small memorial to Jan Palach, who set himself on fire on the square in 1969 in protest against the Soviet occupation, and then the statue of St Wenceslas which gave the name to the square. Yes, he’s the guy from the old English Christmas carol, and no, that Christmas carol does not exist in Czech culture. But you’re welcome. Many locals have, in their lifetime, set a meeting point „behind the tail“ of the horse, so you may see people waiting for others there around the full hour.
The Wenceslas Square is a mixture of all different styles of architecture from different periods of time (the square was founded, along with the entire New Town, as the horse market in the mid 1300s) but there are a few notable ones. Starting from the top, Hotel Jalta is a classic example of Socialist Realism (think 1950s Communist luxury). Hotel Evropa, the neighbouring Hotel Meran and Peterkův dům are classic Art Deco structures from the Belle Epoque. The Lucerna palace is a modernist structure with hints of cubism. The Debenhams department store is brutalist, while the Baťa shoe store and the Lindt palace right next door are functionalist/constructivist. So feel free just walking down the square and enjoy the juxtaposition of different styles, forms and sizes.
The one thing you must explore are the walkthroughs prevalent around the square. These are commonly used by the locals and rarely explored by the tourists, but they’re great little quirky passages and arcades that will protect you from the rain or heat depending on the weather. Here’s some of our favourites:
Walking from the top, the walkthrough next to the KFC leads to the Studio Dva theatre. Note that the ceiling at the end of the arcade in front of the ticket box sports a really cool face watch, so that you know if you’re on time for a show. The most famous arcade is the Lucerna Palace. Mostly know by the „upside down horse“, a statue by Czech artist David Černý that echoes the statue of St Wenceslas on the square, but with the horse upside down, the arcade hosts a few shops and, most notably, the oldest cinema in Prague (built in 1909 and still in use), the „Big Hall“ under the arcade that was home to concerts by Ray Charles or Louis Armstrong and today hosts high school proms, or Lucerna Music Bar, home of the popular 80s and 90s nights and concerts by many cool Czech and foreign performers. If open, take the paternoster elevator to the roof of the building with some great views and vibes.
The Lucerna extends along Vodičkova street into Dům U Nováků, built in 1904 to mimic big department stores in Western Europe (think Galleries Lafayette in Paris). Today, it is home to Divadlo ABC theatre and a variety of shops. Crossing the Vodičkova street, you’ll enter the Světozor arcade with an art cinema that includes Terry Posters, a cool shop that sells old Czech and foreign movie posters. (Czech posters are different from the ones you know, so check them out.) At the end of the arcade, you can turn right into the Alfa arcade, one of our favourites: the floor and the ceiling are quite stunning. Too bad the Palác u Stýblů building isn’t used. We strongly believe that if Soho House ever builds a hotel in Prague, it should be here.
If you turn left at the end of the Světozor arcade, you’ll enter the Franciscan garden, a little green spot hidden in the middle of the busy streets around it. The locals come here to sit on a bench and enjoy the view, eat ice-cream or lunch, or take the kids to the playground in the corner. (Want a super hidden indoor playground? Get to the top floor of Hotel Juliš on Wenceslas Square for a cute play area with some stunning views of the city.) If you walk through the garden, turn right into the Church of Our Lady of the Snows. The interior is classic Prague as it mixes two completely different styles: Baroque altar and decorations inside a Gothic church. Oh Prague, you’re so beautiful.
On the other side of the square, walk towards the Henry Tower (and now the Andaz hotel) and pop into the Main Post Office in the first block of Jindřišská street on the right. You’ll be happy you did. Completely hidden from view unless you know about it, the post office must be one of the nicest in Europe. The last arcade for you to explore is the Koruna arcade, probably the most monumental one, at the very bottom of the square. You’re done with sights, let’s go eat and drink.
Where to eat and drink in Prague’s New Town and around Wenceslas Square
Let’s get the drinks out of the way first. There are two or three great cocktail bars in the area: OMY (Oh My Yalta) in the Jalta hotel is a showcase for the country’s most famous and respected distiller, Mr Žufánek. You will find his entire portfolio there, including some very limited items. Swim in Štěpánská street serves great vegetarian food but also artisanal cocktails in a pretty cool constructivist building. But our heart belongs to Parlour in the otherwise uninspired Krakovská street. It’s difficult to find with very little in the way of signage, but that’s not a bug - that’s part of the design. With a huge following among local cocktail aficionados, this little bar without a cocktail menu (you have to tell the bartender what you fancy, and they’ll fix you a drink) and with vintage glasses is an oasis for the thinking man and woman. If you’re introverted but love cocktails, you’ll be here a lot. Fancy a drunk crawl? Go elsewhere. Finally, the Be Bop Bar in the Alcron hotel is a classic bar with surprisingly delicious and creative drinks.
If you want beer, head to Lokál U Jirátů with fresh Pilsners and a pretty cool bar that opens and slides out into the street in the summer. U Pinkasů is an iconic Pilsner pub bordering on a tourist trap. And if you want wine, you’ll probably like Špejle that serves a lot of them with a side of tapas-style food.
Now, where do you eat in Prague’s New Town? Let’s go.
For the finest food in the area, head over to the Alcron hotel (the first independently-owned boutique hotel in the world, btw) to La Rotonde. Chef Lukáš Hlaváček may be young but he cooked in London’s iconic The Ledbury and in Napa Valley’s three-Michelin-star Meadowood. The restaurant is mostly empty, as the locals usually shy away from hotel restaurants, but that may change over time, as the young chef’s reputation grows. A bit down the fancy-meter is Čestr in the Federal Assembly building. A frequent stop on our Prague Foodie Tour, the modern restaurant slow-cooks local heritage breed of cow and adds delicious local sauces. The logo and plates tell the whole story: Czech tradition, updated. Great before or after a performance in the State Opera nearby.
Yalta Craft Bistro in the Jalta hotel puts a modern spin on some Czech classics, like the dill sauce with beef, and the results are delicious. Add local craft beers and outdoor seating on the terrace, and you must be a happy camper. Kantýna in Politických vězňů street is a place for meat lovers: the former bank is part steak house, part butcher shop and part deli with meat cutters and a ticket where the cutters record your order. Add fresh beer and you have Czech nirvana. Not a meat eater? Visit Swim just behind the Alcron hotel for vegetarian fare by one of the best vegetarian kitchens in town, Estrella.
Want something quicker? Have a bowl of ramen at Kitchen the Address, probably the oldest ramen shop in town. For a classic quick bite, have a chlebíček, the Czech open-faced sandwich, in Ovocný Světozor in the Světozor arcade, or at Lahůdky Zlaý kříž at the beginning of Jungmannova. On a nice day, get a few in a box and eat them al fresco in the Franciscan garden nearby.
Wenceslas Square is a great place to have pastries. In a country where continuity is hard to come by due to 40+ years of Communism, you’ll be pleased to know that Myšák in Vodičkova street opened in 1911 and has been great ever since. Come here for great classic Czech pastries, their iconic ice-cream sundae, and specialty coffee. Erhart Café in Dům U Nováků across the street adds a cool 1930s Constructivist aesthetic. And Ovocný Světozor serves ice-cream and whole cakes if you need them. Also, Grom may not entirely be the small artisanal ice-cream from Italy it purports to be (it’s a big company) but the ice-cream is legit.
And if you need coffee, the vicinity of Wenceslas Square won’t let you down. Most of local coffee is brewed around the Franciscan garden - Kavárna truhlárna is located in one of its corners, and Headshot is in another. Goodlok is just a few steps away on Jungmannovo námšstí and in addition to coffee serves cold-pressed juices and small dishes with a focus on fermentation and health. Kavárna Růžová just two blocks away is a cute espresso bar without any proper seats, but well-prepared coffee by Coffee Source, local roasters. Spell Coffee is tucked away in a courtyard and is a combination coffee shop and beauty parlour. Myšák may be a pastry shop, but their coffee is solid, and Cafe Susu has the best bingsu in town.
Finally, let’s talk shopping, because the Wenceslas Square has some retail therapy options.
First, Wenceslas Square is home to not one, but three bookshores. Neo Luxor is the biggest one - it spans four floors and has probably everything you may ever need. Academia is more about non-fiction, and Knihy Dobrovský may have a kitschy front, but a vibe of a small bookstore behind it. One of the coolest shops in the area is Foto Škoda, a true palace of photography that spams three floors and provides comprehensive printing services, too. For used and vintage cameras, check out the camera store in Dům u Nováků.
Two great shops for kids: Hugo chodí bos is a shop that sells Czech toys of our childhoods - we’d buy everything here… for ourselves, while Hračkotéka adds high quality and artisanal toys from Czechia and abroad, modern and old-school. Freshlabels is a fashion store with a focus on street wear and backpacks, while Queens is a great sneaker store. Finally, Les houbeles sells all things mushrooming, which is a Czech obsession, and Fransýr sells great French cheeses.
First Snow in Prague, Fall 2021 (Photos)
Not much to write here, but we had the first snow in Prague here today, so when we woke up to it, we did what we always do - ran to the Charles Bridge to take some pictures. So here you go, enjoy if you like snowy pics of old buildings, this will be for you.
Not much to write here, but we had the first snow in Prague here today, so when we woke up to it, we did what we always do - ran to the Charles Bridge to take some pictures. So here you go and enjoy. If you like snowy pics of old buildings, this will be for you.
Just a few tips if you decide to take snowy pictures on the Charles Bridge (i.e. one of the most instagrammable sights in Prague):
You gotta go early - that’s when the snow is still crisp, and there (the municipal services may - and probably will - remove it later in the day). We took these at about 8am today.
Don’t expect to be alone - there will be a few photographers on the bridge, but there’s quite a bit of empathy: most will get out of your shot if they can.
Bring an extra layer - it gets windy there. You’re on a bridge.
Make sure you walk the full length of the bridge. We didn't do that today, but there’s so much to take photos of at the bridge you’d be surely missing out if you didn’t.
After you’re done, head over to the Kampa park and perhaps the Lennon Wall to take some more pictures. Continue to Café Savoy for coffee and breakfast. If you just want a bakery and coffee, Artic Bakehouse will do.
Prague Walks with a purpose I: the Baba Housing Estate
The Baba housing estate encompasses 33 buildings built in early 1930s. It is one of six projects of this kind in Central Europe, but Prague’s project was different: the investor had bought the land and approached selected architects and selected clients from Prague’s cultural and financial elites, so that each building was built specifically for a particular client, and usually the villa bears the client’s name. We will not get into details about each house’s architect, purpose or client - this website will does a fantastic job we don’t feel compelled to try to replicate and fail.
What we want to focus instead is two things:
real estate market prices in Prague.
the lack of continuity of wealth in the Czech Republic due to its Communist past.
What is it?
Baba housing estate is a complex of Constructivist villas built in the early 1930s for the Prague intelligentsia and elites of the time. These villas are one of the most expensive pieces of real estate available on Prague market today. It’s a great walk that tells you a lot about Prague’s history and present.
How do I get there?
The obvious and fast way: subway to Hradčanská stop > 131 bus to U Matěje stop
The explorer way: subway to Dejvická and a 30-minute walk
The fun way: train to Praha-Podbaba, and a 25-minute walk
Please note that if you choose to walk, you’ll be walking up a hill in the last leg of the walk.
What’s on the way?
The Dejvice and Bubeneč districts are purely residential and very leafy. Nestled between the Vltava river and the Stromovka park on one side, and the Czech Technical University Campus and the Hanspaulka hill on the other, yet very easily accessible from the city centre via trains, trams or subway, it is one of the most expensive districts in town, often with a small-town feel. Every day can feel like a Sunday, especially walking among the Bubeneč villas occupied by foreign embassies. Here’s some notable buildings or sights:
The International Hotel. Want to see Communist architecture? This monumental „social realism“ structure - which still serves as a hotel today - can be found in most post-Communist capitals (think Warsaw’s Culture Palace), but here it’s comfortably nested behind a hill. This is luxury, late 50s style, and a neighborhood icon.
Stromovka park. Sure, this may be out of the way and will turn your walk into a whole-day affair, but the largest (and newly renovated) park in Prague is a true place of leisure with little ponds, alcoves, shady trees, children’s playgrounds, dog agility courses and loads of joggers or parents with newborns quietly strolling away in the sun.
Czech Technical University campus. If you want to see where Czech civil engineers get their diplomas, head this way. The campus is small but encompasses a variety of interesting buildings, with the modern National Technical Library at the front and centre of it all.
Praha-Dejvice railway station. This is for the train buffs here: the Praha-Dejvice railway station may be relatively small, but it is the oldest in Prague, dating back to 1830s and 1860s. The Bachmačské náměstí square across the street is a great place to unwind with ice-cream from Angelato nearby.
Slavíčkova street. This small street out of the way may not be in your guide book, but trust us - you’ll love the picturesque villas in it.
Stromovka park.
Can I eat/have coffee there or on the way?
Grabbing a cup of great coffee is easy in Bubeneč, the district at the foot of the Hanspaulka / Baba hill. Get yours at Kafemat, Kavárna Místo, La Forme, mazelab coffee, Kiosek Kafe or Borzoi café, and you won’t make a mistake in any of these. To build up energy, you can get a croissant or a pain au chocolate at La Forme, or the amazing kolache at Kafemat if they have them that day. If you like to pack something to go, the Wine Food market at Československé armády may have a stuffed focaccia to go. Fresh Point Pizza across the street sells cheap pizza slices that are surprisingly satisfying when reheated on the spot. And then there’s Bistro Santinka at the foot of the hill that leads up to Baba, which serves light Italian fare and has a great selection of wines.
The walk
So the walk is easy: you start at the U Matěje bus stop, walk to the Baba Ruin (Zřícenina Baba), and walk back. You start or end with a meal at the amazing U Matěje pub, run by Chef Punčochář, one of the three judges of the Czech Masterchef competition.
The Baba housing estate encompasses 33 buildings built in early 1930s. It is one of six projects of this kind in Central Europe, but Prague’s project was different: the investor had bought the land and approached selected architects and selected clients from Prague’s cultural and financial elites, so that each building was built specifically for a particular client, and usually the villa bears the client’s name. We will not get into details about each house’s architect, purpose or client - this website will does a fantastic job we don’t feel compelled to try to replicate and fail.
What we want to focus instead is two things:
Note the varying degrees of upkeep from pristine to neglected. Also, look at the cars parked in front of the houses. Yes, there will be Porsche SUVs, but also small Skodas, the Czech reasonably-priced car. Yes, this is - despite the location, the renown and the size of the villas and plots around them - a mixed-income neighborhood.
Baba, where villas can command EUR 2 million prices, is the best place to show that the Czech Republic, like most post-Communist countries, have no continuity of wealth, or „old money“. Sure, the original owners were affluent, but after the nationalisation of 1950 and the monetary reform of 1953, that was taken all away and replaced with a system of institutionalised (albeit not entirely real) income equality. And when the villas were given back to the descendants of the original owners in the restitution process of the early 1990s, these descendants did not necessarily come from money. No-one did at that time.
To give you an example: Jan used to work at a law firm, and the family of one of the legal assistants owned one of the villas at Baba. They were all middle class, white and blue collar family that struggled to find money for even the most basic upkeep. But their great grandpa was a prominent artist before the war, and that’s how he got to have the villa.
Now, obviously, this will change as old, middle-income settlers cash in and sell out to new, top-one-percent owners. But for now, you can still enjoy the district as it is today - on one side glitzy and fancy, yet also a tiny bit neglected, with greenery running a bit wild here and there.
The other thing we want to focus on are real estate prices. As you walk along Baba, please note that these houses are well beyond the reach of 99.9% of the local population. Out of curiosity, we went to see a house that was for sale there. It was not one of the 33 original houses, but one of those semi-detached houses built in the 1980s near the U Matěje bus stop. It was relatively small, in need of major remodelling, with a tiny garden and small ceilings (a clear sign of Communist development). It went for 17.5 million CZK (about 700 thousand EUR) and was soon gone. The original villas can start at the double of that.
According to recent surveys, Czechs work the longest to afford their own house or apartment in the entire European Union, and while the Millennials and Generation Z’s have been entirely priced out of the real estate market, so have many older locals. Still, the level of real estate ownership in Prague is astoundingly high - about 80% own while just 20% rent, but that’s because government-held real estate was sold out to the tenants at incredibly low prices in the 90s and early 00s. That was also sadly the last time the general public could easily afford to buy anything in the city or its centre, which may have contributed to the problem - most people in Prague don’t see the prices of real estate as a pressing problem because they already own their own. Only when you come of age or from a different place do you realise how unrealistic these prices can be. (On the other hand, mortgages seem to be relatively cheap and readily available.)
Conclusion
The Baba housing estate is a great destination for a small exploration in Prague - the villa district has a distinctly „Japanese“ flavour with incredibly swell designed buildings, a mixed-income neighborhood vibe, so you don’t feel someone will call the cops on you for walking through Bel Air, and the Baba Ruin offers great views of Bubeneč and Dejvice and the Prague ZOO and the Troja vineyards across the river. And you can see interesting stuff ands eat way along the way. Reserve half of a beautiful day for this, and you’ll be very happy.
Covid Restrictions in the Czech Republic, aka How the Heck Did We Get Here?
So you’re itching to get to Prague or the rest of the Czech Republic and wonder what the Covid restrictions in the Czech Republic are now, or what are the Covid travel requirements to get entry in the Czech Republic
Easy. There are two good sources for that:
The US Embassy in Prague has a great and frequently updated overview of the entire Covid situation in the Czech Republic and whether foreign travellers (with a special focus on US citizens, obviously) are allowed in the country and on what conditions.
Czech Tourism Board has the official information, although the updates are not as frequent and at times they may lag behind the reality by a week or so. For best results, we would combine these two sources to get the best picture.
Now, the bigger question is… how the hell did we end up here?
So you’re itching to get to Prague or the rest of the Czech Republic and wonder what the Covid restrictions in the Czech Republic are now, or what are the Covid travel requirements to get entry in the Czech Republic
Easy. There are two good sources for that:
The US Embassy in Prague has a great and frequently updated overview of the entire Covid situation in the Czech Republic and whether foreign travellers (with a special focus on US citizens, obviously) are allowed in the country and on what conditions.
Czech Tourism Board has the official information, although the updates are not as frequent and at times they may lag behind the reality by a week or so. For best results, we would combine these two sources to get the best picture.
Now, the bigger question is… how the hell did we end up here?
The spring
Short story: The Czech Republic did really well in the spring. The government proceeded to impose a very strict lockdown right away, and as we remember it, people were genuinely scared. We were locked in our homes as we looked in horror at the numbers in first Italy and then Spain going up, with corresponding deaths. When we went to pick up Italian food, we asked Italian chefs about their families at home. This felt safe, other countries felt dangerous.
Of course, it should be said that for us, Covid was a disease of skiers coming back from the Italian Alps, meaning usually younger and fitter, which meant that the death toll was fairly low. Also, the Czech Republic has a relatively high number of hospital beds per capita, above the EU average or the US. People here did what everybody else did: we started baking sourdough bread, we cooked, watched The Tiger King on Netflix. We all installed Zoom to check what’s it all about.
Now, not everything was fine on planet Czech Lockdown. The government did not procure face masks in any sufficient numbers, and people began to make their own with their sewing machines at home. The motto was „We will prevail together“, and there really was a sense of a communal effort, even if a big group of people (us included) otherwise genuinely disliked the government and especially the Prime Minister, who, towards the end of the summer, boasted we were „Best in Covid“. That quote did not age well, obviously.
Taste of Prague as a food tour operator was screwed though. Our business relied on the borders and restaurants open, and now they were closed. Travellers were seen as risk-takers at best, and murderers at worst. The food industry was hit substantially, with indoor dining out of the question for most of the spring until the end of May, when things reopened. The government did pay compensations to businesses and individuals (especially single parents whose kids stayed at home), although not as high as people and businesses would have liked. It sucks being as neighbour of the likes of Germany and seeing how efficient the government was there.
But all in all, we did well in the spring. By 1 March and 25 May, when the economy reopened, we had just over 9000 cases, which is a number of new infections we now get daily. We personally didn’t know anyone who got infected.
The summer
The summer was our victory lap. People began to pour back into restaurants and enjoyed daily life. We walked with Zuzi in amazement along the absolutely packed Prague riverside in early June thinking „nobody’s scared of this?“ Nobody was. There was a huge party on Charles Bridge to commemorate „the end of the epidemic“ on June 30: two thousand people sat behind a 1500-foot long table across the bridge to pat themselves on the back. We did it. We beat this thing.
Our business as Taste of Prague actually picked up. We had a few tours for the occasional German tourists, (the US where nearly 90% of our guests before the pandemic were from, was not allowed entry to the EU by that time) and we did quite a few Moravian wine tour weekends for small groups of locals and expats. We travelled, too: went to Tuscany and Slovenia by car (European air travel was still in ruins in the summer) and enjoyed both destinations tourist-free. It felt like tourism in the 1950s: the masses stayed at home, while the dedicated enjoyed the cities to themselves.
But as we were coming back from both vacations, we have begun to realise we were probably the only country to have dropped all precautions altogether: while face masks were mandatory in Italy, Slovenia and all our transit countries (Austria and Germany), the Czechs enjoyed freedoms unparalleled in the rest of the world. We beat this thing, right? So when, in mid-August, the Health Ministry issued an ordinance reinstitution the obligation to wear face masks in public, the Prime Minister himself, who presents himself as a crisis manager and an „I alone can fix it“ guy (ring any bells?), blocked the ordinance. And when the opposition wanted to discuss the rising numbers of infections, the Prime Minister responded that „people did not care about covid. They cared about gardens“. (This was related to a new gardening law he was trying to pass through the Parliament.) We were doomed.
By the end of August, we had 24,642 reported coronavirus cases. We may have heard of one or two people who got infected, but really friends of friends of friends. Nobody in our nearest circle of friends or family got infected.
The fall
Okay, let’s get right to it: by Christmas, we had whooping 664,968 reported coronavirus cases. (The population of the Czech Republic is roughly 10.5 million.) And 40% of all tests taken were positive. Yikes. So what happened? How did a country that was the „best in covid“ become the worst in three months?
Well, we’re no experts, so consider all of this just based on feelings. But we feel it was a combination of things. First, the government. They did downplay the second wave of the epidemic in early fall. Guess what: there were Senate and local government elections in early October. So while the numbers were rising, there was no lockdown until the voting was done, while the government projected the image of winners over covid who successfully protected the nation from a global epidemic. We beat this thing, yeah! Just on the first day of the election, we had almost 3800 reported cases THAT DAY, more than one third of the total for the three months of spring with a lockdown.
While the government seemed to love the epidemic, giving them precious air time to the point where the entire summer felt like a 24-7 press conference. But while the government wanted to show action and decision.making on a daily basis, the super-short news cycle and all the press events created the impression of erratic behaviour, with each decision being immediately amended, changed, fine-tuned, or even called off. People began to be confused and so saturated with all the news that they begun to lose interest. The media chipped in by giving voice to just about anyone who wanted to say anything about the matter without much in the way of fact-checking, which only deepened the confusion… and the frustration. People had no idea what was happening… they only knew they were unhappy about it.
Also, we think people just got tired of the government playing defence the whole time. There seemed to be no plan. In the spring, the lockdown was apparently based on a spreadsheet made by a private banker who sent it to the government, and when the predictions were spot on and showed exponential growth a week or two later, the government decided to institute the lockdown. When the Prime Minister was asked why he did not act in late summer, he mumbled something along the lines that this time, the banker did not send any spreadsheet. Oh my.
And when the elections were done, the government instituted another shutdown of the economy, less strict than in the spring. And that’s roughly when you could start feeling the epidemic getting weaponised for political reasons: the face mask-wearing liberals against the mask-less conservatives. There would be some anti-mask rallies. And people on the internet would start rolling out conspiracy theories and such. Oh well. The government eased the lockdown for two weeks before Christmas (we reported almost 5000 new cases on the first day of easing), and that was the last nail in the coffin. As mentioned, by Christmas we had over 650 thousand cases.
Winter
So we’ve had a shutdown since December 18. Out of the last 100 days, indoor dining was allowed for 15. Today’s (February 3) number of new cases: just over 9000, while the total number of cases just crossed one million. We have vaccinated just over 2.5% of the population, relying entirely on EU vaccine supplies. (In fairness, like most European countries.)
People don’t care anymore. Prague is doing relatively well, with most people working from home. We’re still surprised how many people walk around without a mask (masks are required in all public spaces. We’d say 10-20% of people in Prague don’t have their masks on when they walk around. But we recently took a walk through Kutná Hora, a small Medieval town, and we were practically the only ones with a mask on.
People are tired of it all and have adopted this belief that getting infected is not an „if“ but a „when“. Our numbers have stagnated, and that seems to satisfy most people. People break the rules, and the police doesn’t enforce them. We think everybody waits for the spring to come and the temperatures to go up. The government (we’re on our third Health Minister in less than six months, and he seems to be on his way out, too.) is planning to double down on restrictions in the coming weeks because this seems to lead nowhere. But with enough hospital beds for now, people are okay and don’t mind the numbers.
The Future
So what now?
Vaccinations continue. The temperatures will eventually go up. We think things will be okay here. But it’s been a hell of a year when we’ve learnt a lot about our government and ourselves, too. We have a big election coming up this autumn. Let’s not forget what’s happened here.
And if you’re a foreign visitor itching to visit Prague and see it without people, we’d be happy to have you here… in the spring or summer, when things should be better. Please have a look at the websites mentioned above, or email us if you need more information or an opinion.
Stay well and stay safe, get yourself vaccinated if you can, and hopefully see you soon!
Czech Movies You Should Watch Online
Whenever we travel, we always make a point of seeing a movie: the fact that it’s such a common and familiar scene only highlights the little differences between cultures. And we also like to see a movie popular in the destination we’re eyeing because - again - it shows the human experience from a point of view that may be different than your own. This will sound strange, but for instance Jan never really wanted to particularly visit Miami until he saw Moonlight.
So we thought we’d give you five cult Czech movies because they might give you a bit of an insight into the Czech psyche… and what else do you want to do now, in early 2021, when everything’s locked down, than watch a movie? Exactly. Now, of course, we could go over the list back and forth and never settle on anything, so we just went with the five movies that we personally like and that we believe are available online with English subtitles. Yeah, it’s going to be subtitles, but come one, man or woman up. You know what we call watching a movie with subtitles here? „Watching a movie.“ You think Bruce Willis speaks Czech?
About that availability: we went with things that are available on Czech Netflix… only to find out they might not be available on US Netflix. So if you’re an expat living in Czechia, easy, and if you’re not, we think you’ll have to shop around a bit (Amazon Prime seems to be a good source, or this website looks great), but we’re confident you’ll find a streaming source. So put that popcorn in the microwave, open a bottle of something good, and enjoy!
Whenever we travel, we always make a point of seeing a movie: the fact that it’s such a common and familiar scene only highlights the little differences between cultures. And we also like to see a movie popular in the destination we’re eyeing because - again - it shows the human experience from a point of view that may be different than your own. This will sound strange, but for instance Jan never really wanted to particularly visit Miami until he saw Moonlight.
So we thought we’d give you five cult Czech movies because they might give you a bit of an insight into the Czech psyche… and what else do you want to do now, in early 2021, when everything’s locked down, than watch a movie? Exactly. Now, of course, we could go over the list back and forth and never settle on anything, so we just went with the five movies that we personally like and that we believe are available online with English subtitles. Yeah, it’s going to be subtitles, but come one, man or woman up. You know what we call watching a movie with subtitles here? „Watching a movie.“ You think Bruce Willis speaks Czech?
About that availability: we went with things that are available on Czech Netflix… only to find out they might not be available on US Netflix. So if you’re an expat living in Czechia, easy, and if you’re not, we think you’ll have to shop around a bit (Amazon Prime seems to be a good source, or this website looks great), but we’re confident you’ll find a streaming source. So put that popcorn in the microwave, open a bottle of something good, and enjoy!
Cosy Dens (Pelíšky in Czech)
Cosy Dens has won the popular vote on the „Comedy of the Century“ among the Czechs, and has become a highly-quotable Christmas classic. And just like all good Czech comedies, it adds a bit of sadness and melancholy into the mix.
Basically, we’re looking at a story of two neighbouring families living in the same building in Prague in late 60s, just as the grip of the Communist regime was easing. The two families have different political backgrounds and opinions and think very little of each other, but are ultimately united through a series of events (and a marriage), and then through the invasion of the Soviets in August 1968. It is also a coming-of-age story of the main characters, which happen to be in their late teens.
Why Czechs love it. It is just a super-sized shot of nostalgia strait up the vein. The soundtrack alone works perfectly to evoke that era… even if you didn’t live through it. (Think Back to the Future.) The cast is star-studded for a Czech movie, and some of the Christmas scenes just remind you of the Christmases at home (the bitter disappointments under the Christmas tree, or the live carp in the bathtub). Also, who does not love a good coming of age story? We’ve all been there.
Why you should watch it. It is just a damn good movie with loads of laughs and some sad moments along the way. The female characters are deeper than in most gag-driven comedies and the movie is kind to all of its characters, with their character flaws and all. It also shows the promise of Prague Spring, and the heartbreak of the Soviet invasion.
Waiter, Scarper! (Vrchní, prchni!)
Fun fact: we were showing a scene from it to the guests of our food tours to explain the quality of service under Communism. Anyway, this is another cult comedy about the „phantom of the Restaurants and Cafeterias Company“ (the monopoly that ran all eateries under Communism) that has reached a cult status among the Czechs, and one of many comedies from virtually the same team of creators that enjoyed a very productive streak in the late seventies and eighties.
The main character is you „everyman“ with one fatal flaw: he is an unstoppable womaniser past his prime who is now hustling to make ends meet, meaning to pay off all alimony payments to the multiple mothers of his multiple children. Having just visited a school reunion where everybody seems to be doing better than him (some thanks to activities that are illegal), he comes to a solution through a random misunderstanding in a restaurant: he becomes a „fake waiter“. The service in restaurants was generally very bad back then, so he dresses up as one, walks into a restaurant, cashes all the bills, and walks out without ever being noticed by the real staff who are just chatting and smoking at a bar.
Why Czechs love it. The movie was, given the time of its inception, surprisingly critical of the level of service in restaurants, which was on pointe. Also, some of the scenes are just funny, like whenever the main character tries to conceal his new wealth in front of a nosy neighbour. Again, this is a comedy but the main character is not a gangster - he’s a lovable loser who just happens to be in a tight spot and tries to find a way out of it, being conflicted about what he does throughout the movie.
Why you should watch it. It’s just damn funny, with lots of gags throughout the movie. But it also nicely shows life under Communism in the 1980s: the Communists entirely failed to create the class-less system they were promising. Class existed but through side-businesses and hustle, some of it illegal. And most people wanted in on the action, having to make moral compromises along the way. Please pay careful attention to a seemingly unimportant scene where the main character retells the story of the „pigs in rye“ to his kids. That is the 80s in a nutshell.
My Sweet Little Village (Vesničko má, středisková)
Another cult movie in Czechoslovakia, My Sweet Little Village was directed by Jiri Menzel, who previously won an Oscar with Closely Watched Trains. The movie was nominated for an Oscar as the Best Foreign Language Film, and some of the scenes and quotes have entered public domain.
This is an ensemble piece about a small village that follows closely the human traits of its inhabitants with empathy and humour. Essentially, the story revolves around Otík, a mentally backward young man, and Mr Pávek, his boss and de-facto protector, who is tired of covering for him and eventually sets him out to live in Prague, but having found out the entire move is a trick by a crooked politician with interest in Otík’s inherited house, Mr Pávek retrieves Otík from the big city, where Otík is miserable, back to the village. But this plot line does not give the movie justice - there are many subplots focusing on various villagers that make up the whole story.
Why Czechs love it. Again, this is a film that loves its characters and the rural setting. The movie was a hit when it came out (Jan remembers seeing it in a cinema with his mom) and people tend to know some of the scenes by heart, like the hypochondriac manager of the restaurant complaining to the doctor, or the „seventh step“ quote (this relates to the perfect temperature for beer). Also, there is a bit of melancholy about the country and the countryside that the Czechs enjoy.
Why you should watch it. It’s just a really nice, feel-good movie. It shows a bit of the tension between Prague and the countryside in a funny way, and while it may romanticise the country just a tiny bit, it does make a strong point for living in a community where people care for each other.
Three Wishes for Cinderella (Tři oříšky pro popelku)
„It’s Cinderella, but in this version, she like totally slays.“
I love oversimplified movie summaries (my personal favorite I’ve heard so far: “They fly somewhere in a space shuttle… and then their computer breaks down.” to explain “2001: A Space Odyssey”) , and this one is from one out the study abroad US students in Prague explaining the movie to the rest of our food tour she joined. Amazing stuff.
Now, famously in Czechia, this movie is incredibly popular abroad: it’s the movie families gather to watch on Christmas Day in Norway (think „It’s a Beautiful Life“ in the US), and the theme song (a breezy walz) is the no 1 song for the newly weds’ First Dance in German weddings. True story.
There are a few things that make this particular film different. Unlike almost any other fairytale movie, it’s shot in the winter, with horses prancing through snow and everybody wearing coats and having red cheeks. Also, it’s a women’s empowerment version of Cinderella: in this movie, she cross-dresses as a man, enters the prince’s entourage and is better at just about anything than the prince, who’s a bit of an incompetent douche and learns a life lesson through the movie.
Why Czechs love it. You may not know this, but Czechoslovakia was a bit of a European powerhouse when it came to youth programming (fun fact: Star Wars were not shown here because they were seen as a threat to the domestic fairy-tale churning machine), and many children in both Eastern and Western Europe grew up watching Czech cartoons, TV shows and fairytale movies for kids. This movie is one of the Crown Jewels of that tradition: the sets and costumes are amazing, and the winter feel of the entire movie makes this the perfect Christmas movie. You’re welcome, Norway.
Why you should watch it. Well, this is a great gateway to the world of Czech fairytale movies with all its strong points: the set designs, the costumes, the “adult” acting etc. Also, it is a surprising modern retelling of the Cinderella story - Cinderella does not need anybody’s help when dealing with the prince, and she can be whatever the hell she wants to be. In short, she totally slays.
The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol)
Warning: While we’d argue this is a fantastic film, it has the traits of an art movie, so you have to be in the mood.
Often incorrectly labeled as a „comedy“, this really is a slightly bizarre but incredibly haunting Holocaust movie, although the movie lacks any Jewish roles whatsoever. The movie is about a creepy funeral director and his family as Czechoslovakia is split and the Czech Protectorate is occupied by the Nazis. Inspired by the Tibetan book of the dead, he comes to believe that cremation relieves earthly suffering… and there is, conveniently, an entire race that has suffered on earth long enough… get it? Oh, and he kills his family on his road to ultimate madness, as the movie uses wider and wider lenses to show his warped mind and distorted view of reality. In a word, „comedy“.
Why Czechs love it. Now, „love it“ is a strong word here, but Czechs truly appreciate it for the acting of Rudolf Hrušínský in the leading role, who really does give a haunting, mesmerising performance. Also, one can understand why some would put the movie in the „comedy“ department - there are some eerily dark but genuinely funny moments in the movie, which makes the entire experience even more haunting and captivating.
Why you should watch it. It is a cult movie that most (educated) Czechs have seen. Rudolf Hrušínský is amazing in the role, and it does provide a different, metaphoric view of the Holocaust. But again, watch the video above and see if this is a movie you’d like to watch.
Walking Too Fast (Pouta)
This is the most recent of all the movies listed here and arguably ably the darkest - and the most brutal - one.
It is a story of Antonín, a Czech secret police agent who falls in love with the lover of a dissident he is charged with surveilling. Antonín has anger management issues and his job gives him an outlet for what, as the movie progresses, clearly manifests itself as a mental illness. He uses his powers to steer the situation to his own favour - he protects Klára, the lover, from harm, while driving Tomáš, her lover and dissident, out of the country. The final meeting between Antonín and Klára leads to catharsis on Antonín’s part.
Why we love it. The movie received critical acclaim when it was released (and later re-released after it swept the Czech Lion awards, the Czech version of the Oscars). While it may not have been a blockbuster hit (mostly given the topic), some critics say it is one of the best Czech movies shot after the Velvet Revolution.
Why you should watch it. While The Life of Others, the Oscar-winning German movie with a very similar plot line, is kind to the viewer and to its characters, this movie shows a much grimmer image of the Communist secret police - no-one’s a hero, everyone’s afraid and easily manipulated, and police brutality runs unchecked. This movie is sometimes hard to watch, brutal and unforgiving. But it’s a great movie. Note: streaming this on dates is akin to saying „Hey, why don’t we watch American Psycho“ on your first date. Not a great idea.
Other notable movies:
There are so many, but these five are a good follow-up:
Closely Watched Trains (won an Oscar)
Daisies
The Firemen’s Ball
Shop on the Main Street (Slovak, but we’ll take it.)
Little Otik (if you’re into artsy stuff)
Prague Christmas Dining Guide... 2020 Edition
We’ve been writing Prague Christmas and NYE dining guide for a few years now. But just like with everything else, the guide in 2020 will be different - our current shutdown prevents us from eating outside during the holiday season, so we will be focusing on take-out and pre-made meals for the home.
Now, for the readers abroad: the vast majority of Czechs eat their Christmas Eve dinner at home in the circle of their closest family, and the dinner tends to steer towards fish, especially carp, which is the traditional fish for Christmas that is sold on the streets live in the days leading up to the holiday. Some people opt for salmon or other fish that may be easier to work with (carp is notoriously boney and requires heavy prep work) or for meat (think schnitzels).
But in our household, we began to eat out for Christmas Eve years ago, after a misfortunate Christmas Eve when Zuzi’s just about had it with all the preparations and family members showing up late or not showing up at all. It was a revelation: we realised that many families ate outside and we have thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing and trouble-free experience of Christmas Eve, as opposed to the stressed out and labour-intensive Christmas Eves we remember from our childhoods.
Now, this being 2020, things are obviously different. Restaurants were ordered to shut down about ten days before Christmas Eve and are unlike to open before… well… we’re guessing late January, early February? So eating out for Christmas Eve is out. But do you have to slave over the Christmas Eve dinner, or are there different options? Have restaurants come to the rescue?
We’ve done a bit of research, and the short answer is yes. Below is a summary of the take-out options and meal kits for your Christmas cheer. Enjoy the holidays whatever you do, okay?
We’ve been writing Prague Christmas and NYE dining guide for a few years now. But just like with everything else, the guide in 2020 will be different - our current shutdown prevents us from eating outside during the holiday season, so we will be focusing on take-out and pre-made meals for the home.
Now, for the readers abroad: the vast majority of Czechs eat their Christmas Eve dinner at home in the circle of their closest family, and the dinner tends to steer towards fish, especially carp, which is the traditional fish for Christmas that is sold on the streets live in the days leading up to the holiday. Some people opt for salmon or other fish that may be easier to work with (carp is notoriously boney and requires heavy prep work) or for meat (think schnitzels).
But in our household, we began to eat out for Christmas Eve years ago, after a misfortunate Christmas Eve when Zuzi’s just about had it with all the preparations and family members showing up late or not showing up at all. It was a revelation: we realised that many families ate outside and we have thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing and trouble-free experience of Christmas Eve, as opposed to the stressed out and labour-intensive Christmas Eves we remember from our childhoods.
Now, this being 2020, things are obviously different. Restaurants were ordered to shut down about ten days before Christmas Eve and are unlike to open before… well… we’re guessing late January, early February? So eating out for Christmas Eve is out. But do you have to slave over the Christmas Eve dinner, or are there different options? Have restaurants come to the rescue?
We’ve done a bit of research, and the short answer is yes. Below is a summary of the take-out options and meal kits for your Christmas cheer. Enjoy the holidays whatever you do, okay?
Meal kits and take-out options for Christmas
Aureole, the swanky, jet-setting restaurant on top of a high-rise building, offers probably the most complete Christmas meal kits of them all - there are a few beautiful menus for two or four, which include fish soup, boneless Zander, potato salad, Christmas punch, foie gras paté, Xmas sausage and ruche de noel. They also have menus for Christmas Day with svíčková and buns in vanilla sauce. The first two years we dined out for Christmas Eve, it was at Aureole, and we loved it. This should be great.
The Eatery is another venue we visited on Christmas Eve one year. They offer a simple but super classic menu for one: traditional fish soup, carp or trout fillet from Kalenda fish farm ready for breading, and potato salad. Check out the vast selection of wines, something The Eatery has always been strong at. Unlike most other restaurants, The Eatery delivers on 24 December, too.
Speaking of wines, Vinograf has a nice Christmas menu, too, with two options - fish or meat - and suggested wine pairings at really nice prices (the bubbles by Gala have only a tiny markup on them). We’re talking rabbit rillettes, carp, carp soup and Xmas stollen, or chicken soup and turkey with stuffing.
Výčep has a nice meal kit that you can put together, too, going for venison: we’re talking boar schnitzels ready for breading and frying, potato salad, Xmas sausage and chicken stock. The show-stealer is their delicious chlebíčky open-faced sandwiches. We could eat them all day long. Great stuff!
U Matěje, the modern pub in the Hanspaulka area run by Chef Punčochář, may be closed for Christmas, but offers nice meal kits for take-out until Dec 23: carp fillets, potato salad, carp soup, boar terrine with pumpkin chutney and… wait for it… NYE boxes!!!
One of the restaurants that have always remained open for Christmas were Chef Pohlreich’s Café Imperial and Next Door, both being de facto hotel restaurants. Chef Pohlreich has not broken this tradition this year, offering some traditional dishes to be delivered on Dec 23 and 24. We’re talking fish soup, carp and potato salad, Xmas sausage, veal schnitzel, apple strudel and eggnog. Last delivery: Dec 24 at 3pm.
Kastrol, the great pub at the very outskirts of Prague and a local favorite, offers a nice and quite ample Christmas menu, to be served for take-out on Dec 24: the meals steer towards meaty comfort food and include the likes of venison paté, sauerkraut soup and carp soup, headcheese, svíčková, boar with rose hip sauce and the like.
The Bottega bistros have mostly remained in hiatus during shutdown, with Bottega di Finestra at Platnéřská tasking the lead. Christmas will be no different, and the restaurant will offer two Christmas specials: Italian fish soup and veal schnitzel with potato salad. These options seem pricey (the schnitzel is nearly CZK 500) but the cooking at BdF has always been solid, and you can buy wines and other delicacies in the store, so this might be a great option to buy food (either made or as a meal kit to be finished at home) and stock up for the holidays.
If you crave snails, which is another time-tested delicacy for Christmas Eve here in Czechia, La Gare and Les Moules got you covered with escargots delivered to your doorstep and some special price wine pairings.
U Bansethu, an iconic pub in the Nusle district, will be open between 11am and 2pm on Christmas Eve, and will offer just three dishes: beef broth, Xmas sausage, and goulash. Perfect if you daydream about sitting in a pub on Christmas Eve (don’t we all?).
Staying classy and luxurious whether open or not, Salabka, the beautiful restaurant in the middle of a winery in the Troja district, offers a luxurious Christmas box for two that includes two bottles of wines from their winery, fish soup, boar rillettes, foie gras paté, dear leg with rose hip sauce, dessert and an assortment of bread for CZK 3500. But many of these items can be bought separately. The Salabka experience is that of opulence, and this box is definitely on brand.
And then there’s the Ambiente restaurants. Let’s go through them:
Christmas pizza, anyone? Okay, probably not, but Pizza Nuova does offer sea bass or sea bream fillets ready for home preparation.
Lokál Hamburk offers a Christmas menu for two: 2x fish soup, 2x carp fillet (plus breading kit), eggnog and a scale for luck, all that for CZK 600. Beer optional.
Café Savoy does not offer a Christmas special per se, but they will be selling their Christmas dishes until Wednesday: the mushroom Kuba, the Xmas sausage and first soup - we tried all of them and especially the soup is delicious.
Eska and Bufet, two Karlín-based eateries, are selling fresh carp from their barrels, adding fillets and other things that may come in handy on Christmas Eve. Bufet actually sells a very nice Christmas Eve meal kit for two, complete with eggnog.
And finally, Kantýna is shedding its meat-centric focus with a beautiful meal kit for Christmas Eve: fish soup, 4 ham and potato salad chlebíčky, potato salad, breaded carp fillets, breaded veal schnitzels and Xmas sausage, all of which goes for CZK 998. Sounds excellent.
In any case, whatever you decided to do on Christmas Eve and Day, stay well and safe, and see you next year! May your holidays be calm this year. You deserve it.
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