Solo dining in Prague: best places to eat in Prague as a single traveler

We get single travelers on our Prague food tours all the time. And they always ask the same thing: „where should I eat later on, as a solo traveller?“ We have some thoughts.

We always tend to recommend a place with countertop or bar seating, or something small and not intimidating with excellent service that will take good care of you. Or something super casual with tight or shared seating that makes it easy to blend in. We are also adding in the grand café as a separate category - this is ideal for people-watching.

So where do you go for solo dining in Prague?

Taro

Bar eating doesn’t get any better than Taro. And neither does modern Vietnamese, for that matter. The restaurant is elegant and dark, almost bar-like, with plush, generous, comfortable bar seats around the open kitchen. When you enter the restaurant, you find yourself first in the bar area, then get seated in the corner section where you wait for others, and all or most get seated together at the same time. The tasting dinners tell the story of the brothers Ta (Giang is in charge of front of house, Khanh is the executive chef) and their family’s voyage from Vietnam to Czechia. They do lunches too.

Marie B

Another excellent countertop eating place is Marie B, the younger, hipper and more accessible sister to the Michelin-starred La Degustation. Their concept of „carte blanche“ can be fun to a solo traveller - the restaurant gives you no menu, but instead you get a pencil and a paper for tasting notes, and you have to figure out what you’ve just eaten. Then you verify with the waiter, sommelier or chef that is taking care of you. So you get excellent modern Czech food, but gamified, and with interaction with members of the staff. Marie B’s sommelier Zdeněk Oudes won Michelin guide’s Sommelier of the Year award, and for good reason: their wine menu is excellent.

(Side note: their older sister, La Degustation, gives solo travelers the seat nearest to the open kitchen, providing a sort of a „chef’s table“ experience.)

Eatery

Eatery is a modern Czech restaurant in the Holešovice district with a kitchen run by Chef Býček, famed back from when he worked in the Michelin-starred Alcron. The vibe is definitely casual, especially during their busy lunches frequented by people from the surrounding offices. What we like about Eatery is their lighter touch on Czech dishes - their dill sauce with egg and potatoes is one of the best versions of this iconic Czech dish, and we’ve always loved how they work with fish from the nearby Chabrybárna fish farm. Most importantly, they offer bar seating that allows you to observe the busy kitchen, and their wine pairing is incredibly extensive - they distribute wine to other restaurants.

Kantýna

Kantyna is a „butcher palace“ near the Wenceslas sq located in a former bank, which means a lot of marble and a surprisingly elegant space for what basically is a large butcher shop with rotisserie and grills. The system is similar to a Jewish deli in the US: you get a ticket, walk to a cutter, point at roasts and they will cut you a bit, put it on a tray, you get a beer at a different station, and go find a seat. And find a seat you will have to do, because Kantýna is (1) incredibly popular, and (2) does not take reservations. You can either eat standing up at the amazing central marble table that fits anywhere between 20 to 30 people, or at one of the tables in the back - these are laid out in rows that are meant to be shared. Heck, you may even start a conversation with someone as you all devour the tasty dishes. (Don’t skip the carpaccio.)

Oda

One last countertop seating worth mentioning is the very recently opened Oda up in the Vinohrady district very near the Flora subway stop, meaning some easy 15 min from the city centre on the green line. This diminutive restaurant truly has a mom and pop feel to it, but the food is anything but - this is a casual fine dining place with a tasting menu (you can do a la carte, too) that has offered some of the best flavors we experienced in 2025. Think modern Czech restaurant with some distinctly Japanese touches when it comes to fermentation and the like. Also, the produce is carefully curated and sourced really well. The service is very warm and delivered by some seasoned professionals of the cool part of Prague’s food scene, and in addition to the few tables, you can sit at the bar, too.

Grand cafés

It’s hard to beat opulent, slow breakfast in a grand café lit by sunshine through huge windows, observing the medley of people who met friends and family for a good time together. The best version of that is probably Café Savoy by the river (reservations are a must, especially on a weekend) - really good breakfast, pastries from Myšák, the iconic pastry shop that happens to be Savoy’s sister restaurant, and a well curated selection of wines. And well-prepared specialty coffee on top of that. Not many places can tick all of those boxes. Café Savoy can. For something similar, we recommend either Café Louvre, but it’s a step down from Café Savoy, food-wise. Café Slavia has a great view of the Prague castle if you can get one of those seats, and Café Imperial has a stunning interior, tiled all the way to the roof.

Taste of Prague food tour

Alright, time to plug our food tours in Prague. We have solo travelers on our Prague foodie tours and on our Moravian wine tours all the time - many times more than one in a group - and it’s always a blast. Our food tours give you a great cross section of what is available in Prague to eat, but just like most food tours, it is a cultural tour as well: you get to learn about the Czechs through the food. And you get to meet people in a setting where you’re actually supposed to meet other people, so blending in a group is just natural. If you want to taste some great food in multiple eateries, and learn something interesting along the way, you should definitely book a tour with us.

New Prague Restaurants in 2025

The 2025 was an amazing year for Prague’s food industry. Discounting all the coffee shops, bars etc, we counted 27 new openings the last year that were somehow meaningful to us, and we’re sure we are forgetting or missing some, if not many. That’s a new exciting restaurant every two weeks! Sure, prices are up, rents too, hiring is hell, but hey, that still did not stop at least 27 crazy individuals to open a restaurant in Prague. Let’s get right into it. What are the most exciting new restaurants in Prague in 2025?

NEW PRAGUE RESTAURANTS IN 2025

Let’s start with Prague’s OGs of just about any food concept for a grown-up, the Ambiente group. And What a year they’ve had after a slower 2024 with zero new openings.

First, Eska opened its new location in the Letná district. It may be more a bakery and shop than a full-service bistro like its Karlín sister, but hey, it’s a lean machine that baked and sold about 400 breads from day one and only grew from there, serves specialty coffee, a few sandwiches, some sweet buns and the like, and whole lotta produce and merch from other Ambiente branches. A concept like this on the main street of an affluent neighborhood like the Letná just makes sense.

Second, a sweep at the Michelin ceremony for Ambiente: Štangl has received both a green star and a Michelin star, Ambiente’s second (in addition to La Degustation, which has defended its own). U Kalendů, the best cooking Pilsner pub in town, has been awarded a Bib Gourmand, and Zdeněk Oudes of Marie B was the sommelier of the year according to the Michelin inspectors. Good job!

Finally, the long renovation of two houses in the Holešovice market has been completed, and Ambiente has opened not one, but two new places in the gentrified market halls. The new location of Myšák does not bake per se, but resells Myšák’s pastries, reheats a sandwich or two, and serves good coffee. Four seats only, but again, just like the new Eska, this is a concept with very little fat on it - they will make you coffee and a sandwich, and sell you some great pastries. What more would you want? (Naše maso butcher shop’s new beautiful location next door did not open until January, so they don’t count.)

The other opening is Skô, Prague’s first young Slovak restaurant in a city full of young Slovaks. Headed by chef Tomáš Valkovič (former executive chef at the old Eska and one of Ambiente’s creative chefs), the open kitchen is dominated by an open fire grill. The place is super cute, sits about thirty people and serves comforting dishes that bring back many memories if you have a family that is part Slovak. (Many people in Prague do.) Add cool wines, a nice cocktail program, and a cool soundtrack, and you’ve got yourself a place we may be returning to a lot.

Next big category for 2025: hotel restaurants, as Prague saw some very cool properties open in 2025.

First off, Zlatá Praha in the Fairmont hotel has become, under the eye of chef Maroš Jambor (ex sous-chef at NYC’s Eleven Madison Park), a serious contender for another Michelin star, if not two. Let’s get it out of the way - the view is second to none: when they touch that button to open the wooden sliding door, revealing the view of Old Town’s rooftops, it takes your breath away, and you inevitably pull out your phone to take a picture. The food is a fine dining affair with lots of delicate technique. The wine glasses are beautiful, as is the cutlery. And since Chef Jambor was a longtime chef in NYC’s Eleven Madison Park, their vegetarian tasting menu is really a vegan tasting menu, and it’s great. Is this „fun and casual“? Not exactly, but we don’t really expect that from this sort of fine dining. But if you want a have a date, or celebrate an occasion, with someone who loves and understands food, this is hard to beat. (The Fairmont hotel has more restaurants, including Greenhouse, and Kafka.)

Another fine dining restaurant in the city is Parzival in the Bookquet hotel at Karolyn Světlé by chef Gal Ben Moshe, whose Berlin-based Prism was a Michelin star. We liked some dishes more than others, but the signature dish, stone bass with verjus and XO sauce, was absolutely delicious. What really made the evening for Jan was the „concept“ wine pairing based mostly on Lebanese, Israeli and Syrian wines that are otherwise harder to find on menus of Czech fine dining restaurants. Chef Ben Moshe is a super nice person and seems to enjoy Prague a lot, having relocated his whole family here, so let’s hope he finds happiness in Parzival.

Finally, Eyal Shani, arguably the most famous Israeli chef at the helm of the Miznon group, has opened Seven North in the Sir hotel right across from The Real Meat Society in Náplavní. And it’s great: Middle Easter, vegetable-forward cuisine with a sense of fun and flair that will speak to a younger, hipper audience (at least that’s what they seem to be targeting), but that won’t leave more conservative diners disappointed, either. The Sir hotel is a beautifully renovated property, and the restaurant is a looker, too.

Brothers Ta have opened two new concepts in the renovated Dunaj palace on Národní st - first they reopened Taro, an evolution of the original place in Anděl (now home to Pho 100, the best pho in town and the most franchisable concept the brothers have created to date). The new Taro is a bit more mature, more elegant, darker, more expensively appointed space, and a clear upgrade on the original Taro, allowing the brothers to tell their story better through their beautiful food tastings. Right next door they later opened Paté, a bakery that sells congee for breakfast (yay), banh mi and shokupan sandwiches, and loads of sweets at the intersection of French and Asian baking, along with specialty coffee and matcha. Excellent stuff.

Just two blocks away, pastry chef Jiří Matějka opened Furiant pop up, a pop-up pastry shop in the former Parnas restaurant (that shortly was also Prague’s best jazz club, check out the live album Laco Deczi recorded there) with the best view of the Prague Castle and arguably the most beautiful, albeit unused, bar in the city, with wonderful zodiac-based inlays in the stunning wooden cladding. The pop-up served kolache and the like, along with Czech sweet mains, in the highest quality. We are including it here because while the pop-up was supposed to last until the end of 2025, there are talks of turning it into a permanent fixture.

Two more fun places opened in the city centre: first, La Bottega di Finestra was converted into Finestrina, a more upscale and more elegant restaurant that serves a pretty ample Italian menu in cool, elegant surroundings, reminiscent of some London hotels with their plush seating. And Centraal, located in between U Kalendů and Hostinec na Výtoni, serves the best fried chicken sandwich in town with selected sparkling wines in a tiny restaurants that seems to be more about take outs than the dine-in experience. (That paprika spice mix they but on that chicken…. damn!)

Final place in the historical city centre worth mentioning is Reason, a fine dining restaurant on the top floor of Zaha Hadid studio’s Masaryčka office building. It is run by Jan Horák, former executive chef of The Augustine hotel’s restaurant, and sits 40 inside and about in their 60 rooftop lounge outside. The selling point here is the view, which is almost panoramic. They serve lunch specials and tasting menu or a la carte dinners from Tuesday to Saturday.

More fun things are happening outside of the city centre, too. Bubeneč, the neighborhood that we live in, got not one, but two new pizza places. First, Diskotéka serves smaller Napoletana style pizzas with a sometimes idiosyncratic twist. The place was opened by the good people behind Laforme café and bakery in the same block, and it’s a fun place to get a pizza, some Italian starters and natural wines. Second, Pizza Bici has grown from a pizza pop-up to basically a window near Vítězné náměstí. The take-out only pizzeria serves Napoletana-style pies in a box to whomever walks by and breaths in the smell. Finally, Rakin is a seafood restaurant that has quite bravely based its concept on fresh seafood in a landlocked country, along with natural wines. But we like brave concepts, and Rakin is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. We got some fried shellfish during our visit, but the „bucket of seafood“ that comes with bibs, hot water and the like looks like a beautifully messy affair.

In addition to Eska, Letná also saw the opening of moe, a small coffee shop and bistro where the now iconic Bistro 8 used to be. The place is run by former Letka staff and serves specialty coffee, breakfasts and small dishes in a beautiful, stripped-down room. At one point, their scrambled eggs with smoked trout was our favorite breakfast in town. Café Letka has also opened Studio Letka in the place formerly run by Závitkárna. The studio serves specialty coffee and runs a small grocery store with well curated products and ingredients from local farmers and food purveyors.

Just across the train tracks, the Holešovice district saw the opening of Mexická, a gargantuan project headed by chef Jiří Štift of the Together group that serves a wild medley of Mexican dishes on multiple floors connected by a central golden staircase. The place consists of different work stations that focus on different things (think tortilla making, fish butchery, salsa production etc.) and is serviced by what feels like a hundred servers. The place is packed for lunches, haven’t been for dinner. Was it good? It was honestly better than we had expected. Not Mexico good, but on par with other Mexican restaurants in Prague. In an economy where it’s hard to hire just about anyone, you just have to admire the effort of opening such a huge restaurant… and succeeding immediately.

To finish that part of Prague, Kro opened their Libeň location just across the bridge towards the end of the year. It’s huge and it can feel like a canteen of a big office complex (which it kinda is), but the cooking is recognizably Kro Kitchen, as is the cocktail programme. Plus the bakery on site bakes great bread and other goodies that you may recognize from Kro Kitchen in Moskevská. Given the traffic generated by the offices and residential developments around (and given the lack of any sensible alternatives in the area), we are sure this will be a huge success.

Big things were also happening in Vinohrady and surrounding areas in 2025, putting the district once again at the forefront of what’s up on the Prague Food Scene.

First, the relocation-of-the-year award goes to Maman bistro, where the physical move to a (much) bigger space has also meant a philosophical move from a tiny bistro to a sizable restaurant… and they nailed it: great dishes to eat alone or share, good drinks, and a great presence on social media all make this „mom-and-pop“ Asian restaurant a winner.

Another winner is Lá Bù Lá. Finally a Chinese restaurant in Prague that (1) caters to a younger audience, (2) does not dial down the spice and (3) cooks really well. The chef has staged in Alma (on one of our visits, we saw one of Alma’s executive chefs taking a sous-chef role in Labula) and the cooking is a big step above your mom’s favorite „Chinese bistro“. The menu goes beyond the usual favorites (although the beef noodles are still a dish we’ll be going back to) and the pepper dumplings that make your lips numb are one of our bites of the year.

Another surprise newcomer in Vinohrady is Mazel, taking over the interior jungle space left behind the suddenly closed Gram. Mazel (a combination of Ma - meat, and Zel - vegetables in Czech) is a new concept by the Kolektiv group: Výčep has provided a lot of the know how and inspiration, while the closed Nejen bistro in Karlín has provided the talented young chef. And it works: these are clean, simple dishes that are based on, but not exclusive to, Czech comfort food, with some foreign inspirations (oysters?), and obviously a full section of dishes for vegetarians. The staff is of note, too: the front of house consists of a bit older professionals that we had met in other notable restaurants, creating an interesting alternative to the youth everywhere else. (We mean this as a compliment.)

Talking about Czech comfort food, the Zas a znova restaurant (that is also behind the Di nuovo Italian restaurant in Vinohrady) has taken over the space left behind Ossegg in Římská behind the Vinohrady theatre to open Pivovar Římská, a gastropub with its own brewery. The group has always been known for solid cooking, and this is no different - bear-forward dishes done really well, which just makes a lot of sense in Prague. The Zas a znova restaurant (about a 30-minute drive outside of the city) has always been a destination for sweet buns in hot vanilla custard, a classic Czech dessert. The brewery has brought the famous buns to Prague, which a feat in and on itself.

As if the success of Sugo in Karlín was not enough, chef Andrea quickly moved over to Vinohrady and opened Enoteca JZP, where la vita is dolce, the pasta and steak tartare are delicious, and the wines are natural and - duh - Italian. Their outdoor seating with the view of the church on the currently beautified Jiřího z Poděbrad square was honestly one of our favorite places to spend a summer afternoon: good pasta, simple meat dishes, good Negronis and wines, and the occasional pop-up lunch or dinner with an exciting chef… what more would you want?

Specialty coffee? Good. Just walk over to Blumery, a new specialty coffee/breakfast/bistro place from the people behind Kolektor in Holešovice. The interiors are modern and light, with brushed steel communal tables and decor with modern arts. They started slow but we think the kitchen hasn’t said its last word - right now it’s mostly brunch foods but we expect more going forward. Our favorite place for coffee in the JZP area, actually. (And with Automat Matuška opening a location next door soon, JZP will be absolutely on fire.)

Moving east to the Flora area, Oda opened towards the end of the year, bringing tasting menu or a la carte dinners in a fairly small, minimalist space. You have to root for a place like Oda: this is a true mom-and-pop place, run by two veterans of Prague’s food scene (chef Ondra worked in Field, Gram, and helped us in Šodó, too) who have worked hard elsewhere to finally open their own cool small restaurant that works with carefully curated local ingredients to create simple, tasty dishes, with a side note of Japanese-inspired fermentation. When we walked in, unannounced, we burst into laughter when we saw who runs the bar: Jarda, whom you know as a barista from just about anywhere, because he has worked just about anywhere. (We’re not sure if he understands the concept of „free time“.) A lovely place run by lovely people. If you haven’t been, you have to go.

Moving down to Žižkov, Better Than Clasico (or „BTC“) was pronounced the opening of the year by some (looking at you, Adam Rundus). We’re less hot on this modern Korean restaurant, but we do love the concept and the uniqueness of the interior and concept: if they’ve copied anyone, it surely wasn’t a Prague restaurant. We loved some of the dishes (the white ragout tteokbokki was really awesome) but were less impressed by others. We loved the concept and the people. We wish they used a bit better ingredients. But if you don’t care, or for a night out with young friends, this is pretty cool actually.

Chef Punčochář, a TV personality as one of the judges on Czech Masterchef, got to celebrate twice this year. First, his U Matěje restaurant was awarded the Bib Gourmand award by the Michelin guide. Second, he opened the Šnycl restaurant in the Anděl area that serves - you’ve guessed it - schnitzels. It is difficult to transform the ambiance of U Matěje, a modern-meets-classic pub with wooden cladding in a villa district, to a modern open-space building, but they’ve tried anyway. Šnycl serves traditional Czech and Central European comfort food done really well - let’s see how that matches the dietary rituals of the workforce from the offices around.

Takumi ramen opened a new location in the Quadrio mall (right next to Kafka’s head statue), and the ramen is as good as the original location on Senovážné.

And that’s about all we can remember opening in 2025 now. Have we missed anything? Please let us know.

BAR UPDATE - PRAGUE BARS IN 2025

A quick update onT bars, because there has been some movement. First, Hemingway Bar, the icon that has created a class of alumni who have been opening their own bars in Prague and elsewhere ever since, has moved a bit south Opatovická, and added hot food. New hotels means new bars: Fairmont opened Golden Eye, run by some familiar places (we were served by one of the former beverage people of Štangl), which we recommend for people who want the view of Zlatá Praha but don’t want to spend Zlatá Praha money. Second, Minus One in the W Prague hotel is a beautiful hotel bar with a separate entry from the Wenceslas Sq. run by Luca, whom you may remember from the bar of L’Fleur.

On a more local note, Tomáš Melzer of Hradec Králové’s famed Blind Lion has opened Taigen bar in Vinohrady, a more serene, small place that sits about 20 tops, and serves Tomáš’s classic cocktails based on clean tastes and whole lotta cordials. Finally, Martin Tomášek of the legendary Parlour bar has opened a new place, Sabi & Sip, just a few steps down the street from Parlour. First Krakovská street, then the world? Sounds like a plan.

2025 Christmas and NYE Dining Guide - Where to eat in Prague over the holidays

Our 2025 Prague Christmas and NYE dining guide is out.

Christmas dining can be difficult in Prague - first, the city can be flooded with tourists, so the capacity is strained. On top of that, many restaurants close or at least shorten their opening hours, so finding a seat, especially for Christmas Eve dinner, can be a challenge.

If you’re reading this now, you don’t have a reservation for your Christmas meals, and want to eat a meal that makes sense within the context of Christmas in Prague, you should read the following and act quickly. Some places listed below may already have very limited capacity, or accept bookings on their wait list only.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING… TO DINE OUT ON CHRISTMAS IN PRAGUE

Czechs celebrate Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day, and the city stops to a halt on Christmas Eve at about 4pm. Most restaurants and businesses will shut down for the day in the early afternoon. So if you don’t have a reservation for a Christmas Eve dinner, act now.

The traditional Christmas dish for the Czechs is a schnitzel made of carp with potato salad. Escargots are also a popular Christmas treat. Fish soup is common, as well as „kuba“, barley risotto with mushrooms. Czechs, one of the least religious European countries, still follow some Christmas traditions rooted in Catholicism, so we not supposed to eat meat on Christmas Eve, and fish and escargots apparently don’t count.

That said, some Czechs ditch that tradition and have meat instead. We’re talking schnitzels, maybe duck or goose, and „wine sausage“ (white pork and beef sausage that needs to be grilled or roasted) is quite common, too. And most restaurants open on Christmas Eve will probably let you choose between fish and meat.

Dining on Dec 25 and 26 is easier - many (but not all) restaurants will reopen for these two days, so there’ll be more options. Retail will still be mostly closed for Christmas, though.

New Year’s Eve is not a bank holiday in the Czech Republic (unlike 1 January), so everything should stay open. Here the choices should be based on your very own style of celebrating NYE - a quiet, fine-dining dinner? Or a wild party at a bar? Somewhere near or above the river to watch the midnight festivities? Only you know the correct answer, and you should do you on NYE. There are options.

WHERE TO EAT IN PRAGUE ON CHRISTMAS EVE & NYE

Enough chit chat, let’s get to it. (Or scroll down for coffee.)

Christmas Eve (Dec 24) dinner:

All restaurants of the Ambiente group, a ubiquitous restaurant in Prague that runs anything from the Lokál pubs to La Degustation Michelin-starred restaurants, are shut down for December 24. As a result, Dec 24 is also the only day of the year when we do not run food tours in Prague.

Here’s what the good restaurants we know have in store for Christmas Eve dinner:

CAFÉ IMPERIAL/NEXT DOOR

Café Imperial is a classic Belle Epoque restaurant headed by Chef Pohlreich, a celebrity TV chef (he ran the Czech version of Kitchen Nightmares). Don’t expect hipster fermentation utopia - this a trip down the Austro-Hungarian memory lane.

What’s good about their Christmas menu, served on 24 through 26 December, is that’s it’s all a la carte, which is great if you don’t want to commit to a full tasting menu with or without restless kids. The menu includes Czech Christmas classics like fried escargot, fish soup, pike perch with mushroom kuba, or goose. What’s bad is that they seem to be fully booked for Dec 24, but you may try your luck.

They may recommend Next Door, their other location… ahem… next door, that also serves Czech classics a la carte, but adds saddle of deer as an option.

Both restaurants add goose to the menu on Dec 24 and 25, and both restaurants offer their own (very similar) flavor of NYE dinner buffet: Café Imperial charges CZK 3990 but adds lobster Thermidor to the menu, while Next Door charges CZK 3500, sans the lobster.

LE PETIT BEEFBAR

The beautiful, renovated Grand Café of the W Hotel on Wenceslas Square is a feast for the eyes, if your eyes like Art Nouveau interiors restored to absolute splendor. They are open from 6pm to 11pm and offer an a la carte dinner.

Their Noël brunch runs from noon to 4pm on Dec 25 and 26 and costs CZK 2,900 per person. We like the brunches at this place. Finally, their doors open at 6pm for the NYE dinner: a 3-course sharing menu and an oyster bar and glass of Champagne will set you back CZK 7500 per person. It might be nice to watch the craziness of Wenceslas Sq on NYE from the comfort of Belle Epoque luxury: like watching a flight erupt in a plane’s economy class over a reclining seat… from the comfort of your business class bed. (Okay, I may have gotten carried away a bit here.)

420

Another great choice for Christmas dining is 420. Despite the double-entendre name (the international dialing code for Czechia is +420), this is actually a pretty conservative-cooking place owned and run by Chef Kasparek who runs the Michelin-starred Field. The main benefit is of course its location, right across the Astronomical Clock on the Old Town Square. Another benefit, especially over the holidays, is the size: this is a big restaurant. So if you’d like Czech comfort food with some modern touches, 420 is definitely an option. (Its sister Field is closed for the holidays.)

Mlýnec / V Zátiší

Let’s star with Mlýnec. While closed on 24 December, they will have some XMas specials. First, their XMas brunches on Dec 20, 21, 25, 27 and 28 start at 11:30 and go until 3pm. Expect proseccos, kulajda, a Czech classic potato and mushroom soup, Prague ham, beef, cod and much more.

They do offer a NYE menu for CZK 12,000, which includes Champagne, a 6-course meal with wine pairing (CZK 8500 without the booze), live music, open bar, post-midnight buffet and, of course… a great view of the Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle. (Please note that not all the tables in the restaurant get that view, so ask for them in advance if you can.)

V Zátiší is also closed on Dec 24 but will reopen on Dec 25 with a 7-course tasting menu for CZK 2295. This will include some Czech classics, like sauerkraut soup, fried escargots with Prague ham and parsley, or catfish, suckling pig belly or veal schnitzel. This honestly sounds like a steal - V Zátiší is a beautiful, fancy restaurant.

Their NYE menu is a 5-course affair with a glass of good Champagne (Legras) that will set you back CZK 5450. You start with a snack bar and carpaccio, followed by sturgeon and veal tenderloin, finish with cheeses and chocolate mousse. Sounds lovely.

U Matěje

The beautiful pub U Matěje - a recent Bib Gourmand - in the neighborhood where the rich and famous live, is closed on December 24. Other than, they will be open with their regular a la carte menu. Worth the bus/Uber drive any time, and especially during the holidays. Good stuff by one of the most famous Czech chefs, Chef Punchochar.

ZLATÁ PRAHA

If fancy fine dining is your jam for your Christmas meal, you might have a look at Zlatá Praha, the absolutely stunning restaurant on the top floor of the Fairmont Hotel, Prague’s only recipient of two Michelin keys in the current guide. They are famous for their unparalleled view of the Old Town (it does take your breath away when the sliding door to the restaurant opens, revealing the vista), and their chef has excellent credentials (as a former sous-chef of NYC’s Eleven Madison Park).

The dinners on Dec 24 and 25 include a live jazz band on site. The 6-course menu (Arctic char, pumpkin custard, Czech wagyu beef, desserts, canapés etc.) will set you back CZK 5990, the wine pairing is another CZK 2900.

Sounds pricy? Well, strap yourself in for their NYC dinner: the 9-course NYE dinner from 6pm (that includes Krug champagne as a welcome and midnight drink) costs CZK 16990 per person, with wine pairing for another CZJK 3990. And that’s just the start: the Golden Eye bar next door has a NYE menu that includes a lot of food and unlimited Ruinart champagne. Prices start at CZK 16990 for standard seating and ends at a whooping CZK 24900 for „VIP“ window seating with the best views of the city. All of these dinners include access to the afterparty at the hotel’s Grand Ballroom with a live concert and a DJ later on.

La Collezione group

If you can’t find a place for Christmas Eve dinner, there’s always the restaurants of La Collezione group, the veterans of introducing Italian cuisine to Czechs. They have always been open over Christmas, offering a mix of Italian and local experiences.

Bottega Linka is a beautiful restaurant neat the Marriott/Hilton Old Town hotels, and has a 4-course Xmas Eve dinner menu with foie gras paté, ravioli with escargots and cheeks, beef main dish and semi-freddo for CZK 2000 per person. Amano nearby has a more comprehensive 6-course tasting menu with lobster, cod or veal for CZK 3450. The cool, and the youngest, member of the group, Finestrina, is incredibly well located, and has a simple a la carte menu for Christmas Eve. This is actually our very own choice this year, so come say hi if you happen to be there. La Finestra next door offers an a la carte XMAs menu with stuff like grilled lobster Thermidor, veal Rossini or veal schnitzel, white truffle risotto, octopus, or a whole lotta different fish and steaks. Finally, Aromi, La Collezione’s flagship, offers a tasting menu for CZK 3450 that includes fallow deer, turbot and others. Good stuff!

Casa de Carli

If you crave more Italian, Casa de Carli, which has received its first Michelin star a week ago as arguably the best Italian restaurant in the city, is open on both Dec 24 and NYE (but closes for Dec 25 and 26). No special Christmas menu - they stick to their standart a la carte and tasting menus on both days.

ALCRON

Alcron, the famous restaurant of the Almanach X hotel in New Town, has a lot in store for this holiday season.

On Dec 24, they will host both a lunch and a dinner, both with classics like Zander and carp but also vegetarian and vegan options. The 3-course lunch will go for CZK 1590, and the 4-course dinner will set you back CZK 3290 (includes a glass of Veuve Cliquot.

On Dec 25 and 26, their lunch is a 3-course affair that included beef or turkey for main, at CZK 1750, and their dinner is a 4-course meal for CZK 3290, with Champagne.

Finally, their NYE dinner costs CZK 6500 and includes the likes of caviar, truffle choux, scallops, pumpkin tortellini, lobster, beef, with vegetarian and vegan options available.

NYE dining in Prague

We’ve already included many NYE options above, but here’s a few more restaurant that may not offer much over Christmas, but have something special for NYE:

Alma

Alma, one of our favorite restaurants in Prague that we visit nearly on a daily basis with our Prague food tours, and a recent Bib Gourmand recipient, has a NYE tasting menu that starts at 7pm and consists of either a regular or vegetarian 6-course menu. The dinner in this beautiful and modern restaurant will set you back a measly CZK 4 395, which we think is great, and the low-intervention wine pairing, with a midnight drink, will cost CZK 1995. The manager said they might actually offer an early-bird, shorter 5pm seating at a cheaper price. Call them to find out.

Taro

The nearby Taro - the world’s best modern Vietnamese restaurant in our view - offers two seatings for their NYE menu: the first seating from 5:30pm to 9pm for EUR 190, and a second seating that includes a rooftop midnight Champagne toast from 9pm to 0:30am for EUR 290.

All options include a welcome drink, an amuse-bouche, a tasting menu (4, 6 or 7 courses) and petit fours. The menu is created by our chef Khanh (he recently won the „Young Chef Award“ by the Michelin guide, a running joke in the restaurant and the family - Khanh is 39 years old but the proud owner of an incredibly smooth baby face), featuring festive ingredients such as aged meats, lobster and truffles, balanced with the bright and expressive flavours of Vietnamese cuisine. It will served in a carte blanche style — the full menu is revealed course by course at the table.

Štangl

Štangl, a fantastic casual fine dining restaurant and Prague’s only holder of both the regular star and the green star by the Michelin guide, is closed on Dec 34, but offers a 6-course NYE dinner that will include oysters, mushrooms with bone marrow, potatoes with caviar, halibut, duck with foie gras, and quince. The price? Nearly CZK 6000, with low-intervention wine pairing at 3988. Štangl is an amazing restaurant, and a well-deserved new Michelin star in the city.

The Eatery

The Eatery, a popular casual fine dining restaurant in the Holešovice district, used to be a staple for Christmas dining. Not anymore - they will close for Christmas. That said, they do offer a NYE menu: a 4-course menu at CZK 2399 or 2599 (depending on seating) with carpaccio, foie gras/pumpkin soup, beef tenderloin or zander, and laskonka dessert. The Eatery is a minimalist restaurant with bar seating (excellent for solo travelers) and great, light take on Czech cuisine, and very much a local favorite.

COFFEE IN PRAGUE AROUND CHRISTMAS

We have a coffee routine for Dec 24, because it has become a tradition that a lot of Prague’s food scene meets in the line for Christmas Eve coffee to exchange wishes and sometimes even edible gifts. If you want to be a part of it, or at least be there, make sure you visit any of these coffee shops before or around noon on Christmas Eve: onesip coffee, Kafemat, Solo bakery, format, hrnek café, and kiosek. All of these serve excellent coffee on Christmas Eve.

For specialty coffee over the holidays, you should just download the European Coffee Trip and check the opening times there, or find a place that is convenient for you, and check their opening times on their websites or google.

2025 Michelin guide for Prague and Czechia is out!

The wait is over, and Prague (and the whole of Czechia at large), now has its own Michelin guide. The ceremony took place in the casino of the Nové lázně spa in Mariensbad, and was attended by nearly the entire food industry of the country.

So what were the restaurants rewarded by the Michelin guide? Let’s recap:

Two stars

As many predicted, the only two stars in the country go to Chef Knedla’s Papilio in Velký Újezd, a small village just a short drive from Prague. And for good reason: we ate there recently and loved the experience. The very young kitchen carefully curates some of the country’s best ingredients (we had to google many of these little farms and producers, and we thought we had a pretty idea of what is good here) and turns them into excellent dishes. The wine pairing is great, and Zuzi could not have been happier about the tea pairing.

The kitchen only serves sixteen guests for dinners, which we’re afraid is quite limited given what’s going to happen after the awards, but we were the only diners for Friday lunch, so this is your window of opportunity: lunch. We asked Jan at the ceremony when would he raise the prices after they got the two stars. His response: „when the farmers raise their prices“, so they should keep their prices for now. A week before our meal at Papilio we at at Bangkok’s three-Michelin-star Sühring, and this was in many way comparable. Excellent stuff. If there was one restaurant that deserved two stars, it was them.

Chef Knedla and his wife in Papilio.

Papilio.

Papilio, a two-star Michelin restaurant.

One star restaurants in Prague

La Degustation and Field have defended their stars… from five years ago. (Michelin’s focus on legacy and continuity was a bit weird, given their five year’s absence in the Czech Republic.) Credit where it’s due.

New stars: Štangl. Amazing. They deserved it. They needed it. They got it. Chef Štangl was incredibly emotional. Štangl is a fantastic restaurant that does not only talk about farm-to-table, but actually does it, vetting their suppliers and carefully curating their produce. As a result, they have also received the green star for sustainability. They have struggled given their location a bit off the centre and Eska’s legacy. So this is excellent news.

La Degustation, one-star Michelin restaurant in Prague.

Field, one-star Michelin restaurant in Prague.

Štangl, Prague’s new Michelin star and green star holder.

Casa de Carli has also received a star. This is a bit below our radar, to be honest, but we have loved every meal we had there, and we know it’s the very favorite restaurant of Chef Andrea of Sugo and Enoteca JZP. Levitate has also received a star - Christian Chu is a young chef with Asian roots who serves elaborate multi-course tasting menus that subscribe to the whole idea of nordic cuisine. This is a very fine-dining-y restaurant… and an excellent choice if you want your dinner to be an experience.

Leaving Prague, Moravia has received three stars: Entrée in Olomouc by a famous TV chef Přemek Forejt, a modern place with a playful take on some Moravian classics and tables that have already been hard to get on a Friday. Essens by chef Otto Vašák (our secret tip for two stars), housed in a beautiful resort by a calm lake that serves multi-course dinners with great technique and flavors, along with excellent local and foreign, wines in beautiful settings. A great destination for overnight if you’re traveling from Prague to Vienna or vice versa, or if you’re visiting the Moravia wine country. Finally, La Villa in Zlín got a star, too. We have never been, but congrats to them! Running a fine dining restaurant in a relatively small town must be hell, so this is at least some consolation.

Green Stars in Prague

Four restaurants have received the green star, awarded for sustainability. Two in Prague: Štangl, mentioned above, and Leaf, the little restaurant that could by Chef Barbora Šimůnková, the only female chef to have received any award. We know they have struggled to keep this place open, so we hope this will boost their bookings going forward. The valiant effort that is Sůl a řepa in South Bohemian Strakonice, and Dvůr Perlová voda in Budyně nad Ohří, less than an hour from Prague on the way to Dresden, have also received green stars.

Bib Gourmands in Prague

The Eatery, Dejvická 34 and Na Kopci have defended their Bib Gourmands. Chef Pohlreich’s Divinis has been demoted to mere „selection“. New Bib Gourmands in Prague include Alma, U Kalendů, U Matěje and Výčep. All of these are excellent choices, and if we are recommending places to eat in Prague, all of the four are in our top five. We are super happy. Also, our Prague food tours visit Alma nearly every day. Hope this does not change anything about our relationship, guys!

Alma, new Prague’s Bib Gourmand.

The Eatery, Prague’s Bib Gourmand.

U Kalendu, Prague’s new Bib Gourmand.

Výčep, Prague’s new Bib Gourmand.

Brno has two Bib Gourmands: Atelier Bistro & Bar, our fave dinner place during our Moravian wine tours, and Valoria. Other notable bibs include Long Story Short in Olomouc, Goldie in Tábor, or Štipec in Pilsen.

Personal acknowledgements

Miroslav Nosek of Field has won the Michelin Service Award for excellent hospitality. Zdeněk Oudes of Marie B and La Degustation has won the Sommelier Award, and Khanh Ta of Taro has won the Young Chef Award, which was especially funny - Khanh is 39 years old and older than many of the chefs present. His brother and maitre d in Taro, Giang, was laughing, shouting „the baby face has paid off!“ (Khanh does look much younger than 39.)

Snubs

The Czech foodie internet has exploded after the announcements, proving once and for all that the Czechs are world champions in complaining. The same people who wanted the Michelin guide to cover Czechia have also been the harshest critics of the results. But there were some recurring remarks and complaints:

First, most people missed at least a mention of the excellent El Camino in the guide. With no disrespect to Mr Nosek, David Böhm of El Camino is a beacon of excellence in hospitality, something pretty much everyone in the Prague foods scene can agree on. Honoring him would give the guide a lot of legitimacy among the locals.

Many also missed Terasa u zlaté studny in the guide, Chef Hlaváček is one of the most talented young chefs in the country, with incredible credentials from abroad. Zlatá Praha in the Fairmont hotel hasn’t been mentioned, either, although the chef was, inexplicably, present at the ceremony. You might say it opened too late, but Parzival made Michelin’s Selection despite being opened later than Zlatá Praha. Finally, many people expected Salabka to get a star, including its chef, who spent the rest of the evening absolutely heartbroken.

Recap

In any case, Prague now has five one-star restaurants:

• La Degustation

• Field

• Štangl

• Levitate

• Casa de Carli.

The Bib Gourmands are

• Alma

• Výčep

• U Kalendů

• U Matěje

• Na Kopci

• Dejvická 34

• The Eatery.

The green stars are

• Leaf

• Štangl.

Can’t wait to the next year’s results!

Final note

Jan had the distinct pleasure to be one of the hosts and presenters of the Michelin ceremony, and Zuzi had the privilege of attending the event, too. We will write about our experience next.

Romantic spots in Prague for (not only) St Valentine's Day

Spending Valentine’s Day in Prague? Excellent choice - the city offers some truly nice romantic spots, and the vibe of the city is easy. But where do you eat on Valentine’s Day in Prague? Well, we got you covered. Here’s our favorite romantic spots in Prague to impress your loved one.

Alma

Alma has arguably been the coolest spot in Prague for about a year now, and you can score bonus points for booking a table for two in this dimly lit restaurant because it will create the (correct) impression that you know what’s up. Alma offers a three-course Valentine’s Day menu with a fully vegetarian option and optional wine pairing for CZK 1695 (the wines go for CZK 595) that highlights, as always, local ingredients processed with a modern touch. Add the fact that they have their own natural wine distribution business and they could rank high as one of Prague’s best cocktail bars (with a line of mocktails for „sober February“) and you got yourselves a winner. Bonus points: after dinner drinks at the super cool Forbína just a short walk away through the romantic piazetta of the National Theatre.

El Camino Tapas Restaurant

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: El Camino offers the best hospitality in town. David Böhm, the chef/owner, and his team have created a place where you’ll be pampered and wined and dined throughout the evening, and you’ll feel like you entirely deserve it. Kinda like White Lotus, but without the drugs and crime and so on. It also make no sense: why would one of the best restaurants in town be a Spanish restaurant? But here we are. The food is top notch, the knowledgeable service is impeccable, and the wines are great, too. This is the kinda restaurant where you’ll have the time to stare in each others’ eyes forever, and you won’t want to leave.

Stangl

What makes this beautiful restaurant in the Karlín district St Valentine’s dinner-worthy is how generous the space is - when it was the top floor of Eska, it used to sit 90. Now it sits one third of that. So privacy is pretty much guaranteed. It also houses a beautiful kitchen with three big counters, some fermentation stations, a hydroponic herbs garden, and a lovely, slightly subdued wooden decor. The tasting menus are great, will not full you up (but you will not leave hungry, either) and are very elegant and playful at the same time. Finish your evening in the Liquid Office cocktail bar nearby for best results.

BISTRO KAREL

Bistro Karel is a super-popular casual bistro in the Troja district right next to the ZOO where evry day feels like a Sunday. The best way to get there is with a long walk through Stromovka, the biggest park in Prague - the nice is so walk that it in itself is the destination, really, and the food at the end of it is just the cherry on top. They offer a Valentine’s Day three-course menu with duck breast à la orange as the main course for CZK 850. This is a super fun way of discovering the very residential yet very rewarding Troja district. And if they’re sold out, or you need something a bit fancier, but still want to do the walk, try the very elegant Salabka winery restaurant just a few blocks farther away.

Marie B

Marie B is a great place for a first date perhaps: with bar-only seating around an open kitchen, you don’t get the privacy you may (not) want, but still get to spend a nice dinner and experience together. The place is a great compromise between elegant and cool - the dining room is adorned with modern art reminiscent of Berlin, but the communal table in Vin de Marie, the wine shop that becomes a part of Marie B once the dinner service starts, is dimly lit and more elegant. And you can guess together what you’re eating, which can be a fun, bonding game. („Carte Blanche“, a blank menu with notes and a pencil, is central to the whole concept.)

Le Petit Beefbar

The newcomer in the beautifully restored Grandhotel Europa (run under the W Hotels franchise) on Wenceslas Square has a sharing Valentine’s Day menu that includes some Champagne, their great „street food“ snacks, steak & frites and one their humongous desserts that need to be shared anyway. Sure, this is a franchise restaurant that has multiple locations around the world, but the venue is so beautiful just sitting there counts as a win. And the menu looks really nice. Continue to Světozor cinema for a movie date and finish in Parlour for drinks.

ZILVAR

Okay, this might be stretching it a bit, but if you don’t mind being a bit adventurous, if you don’t mind a bit of prep, and if you don’t mind a bit of day drinking (if you mind the latter, we’re afraid we can’t be friends), we recommend you check out the Zilvar winery. The best winery in Prague is super easy to get into: just a 15-min ride on the 17 tram from the Old Town, which stops literally in front of the winery.

Then I suggest getting a bottle and two glasses, and climb up the hill to the vineyards with oversee the beautiful Troja district on the West… and a bit left beautiful Holešovice district on the South. Maybe get a picnic basket/backback full of food going ahead of time for added points? Or make it into a walk - the calm Stromovka park through the Císařský ostrov island into the Troja chateau, have a bite at the cool Bistro Karel next door, and then walk for 15-ish minutes through the Troja villas to the winery. A great escape on a sunny day.

Bockem

Who says breakfast can’t be romantic? Bockem is arguably one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the city, and the three-course French-inspired breakfast is paced just right for good times. Add prosecco at will for early day success. Alternatives include the nearby Café Savoy, a beautiful Belle Epoque grand café with great coffee, food and cakes and an impressive wine list. Just make sure you have a reservation because the odds of you getting in without one are fairly slim unless you want to wait outside. (That is not romantic.)

PS: Bockem now also offers dinners.

La Degustation

Now that the Michelin-starred restaurant serves breakfast (it only had dinner service before Covid), we recommend it for a Valentine’s day lunch. While the food in Prague’s other Michelin star, Field, is excellent, we still give the slight edge to La Degustation because its beautiful, dimly lit dining room seems more private and confidential than the lightly-lit Field. And you can now choose your protein for the main dish, and the wine pairing, which focuses on the best wines this country can offer, is worth the price of admission alone. Have a quick cup of coffee at onesip coffee nearby, and then combine with a visit to the beautiful St Agnes Convent around the corner.        

Terasa u zlaté studnE

Confession: we have never been too fond of Terasa, the quintessential „restaurant with a view“ at the end of a narrow street just under the Prague Castle. It felt too conservative, too stuffy, and a bit too touristy. But they now have a new chef, Mr Lukáš Hlaváček, one of the most promising chefs around with experience from some of the best restaurants out there, taking over the kitchen, and that’s great news - his fine dining experience seems to fit the space like a glove. So it anything, we believe the food will be delicious, and the view of Prague won’t hurt either. They have an 8-course Valentine’s Day set menu that will set you back CZK 4400 per person, but it does look delicious. If you want to splash, this is the place to splash.

Bokovka

Our favorite wine bar in town is a fantastic place to spend a Valentine’s Day at: the beautiful 15th Century brewery courtyard is a haven of calm, separated from the fairly busy Dlouhá street outside. The cellar that accommodates the wine bar is a dimly-lit boudoir where you sit in windows on animal fur and enjoy the candle light on the table. The selection of wines is fantastic with a great selection of local wines as well as some European favourites, and the bar does not pick sides: you can find both natural and conventional wines in the shelves. If you want to eat, there’s cheese and charcuterie plates and truffle popcorn, but you can also buy things (steaks, burgers and the like) in the wonderful Naše maso butcher shop next door and have them delivered to Bokovka. If you can’t sweep your loved one of their feet here, it’s probably your fault.

The Eatery

The Eatery is a beautiful, minimalist and modern restaurant in the Holešovice district. The dimly lit interior is dominated by the well-illuminated open kitchen, so you can either sit in a dark corner, or enjoy a bar seating to have a view of the action. The dishes are light, modern, well-executed, beautifully presented, and rooted in local tradition. The wine list is vast and taking full advantage of the fact that The Eatery also acts as a distributor of wines. This a great place for an elegant meal that is surprisingly affordable given the quality.

And they do offer not one, but two Valentine’s Day menus this year: one three-course menu for couples, and one 6-course menu for their communal table for singles, or parties of three, or just advanced diners who couldn’t care less about Valentine’s Day.         

Myšák

If your loved one has a sweet tooth, there are only a few better places in the city to scratch that itch than the venerable Myšák, founded by Mr Myšák back in 1911. We recommend you get the Czech classic pastries tasting platter (there’s a smaller and a bigger one) and some bubbles - they have Czech sparkling wine and really good local cider, too. Myšák is also one of the few pastry shops in town that serve specialty coffee and do it well. But the real seller here is the classic Czech pastries and the really cute decor of the coffee shops that still feels as fancy as it must have in 1911.

Kristyjan Chocolatiers

Our favorite pralines and chocolates in town come from Kristyjan, a literal mom-and-pop shop (but the mom used to work in the mighty Ambiente group of restaurants, and the pop used be a concierge at Prague’s Four Seasons hotels) in the beautiful Bubeneč district, which happens to be our hood. The pralines are beautifully finished and come in a plethora of flavours, including a few vegan pralines. All of their boxes have a luxurious feel to them, so even if you buy just four, it will still look nice. They also make chocolates and other stuff, but this Valentine’s Day, we’d go with the pralines.

Hemingway bar

If you like to imbibe with your loved one, there’s a few cocktail bars in town you should know about, and Hemingway Bar in the Old Town is definitely in the top three of any cocktail aficionado in Prague. The OG of cocktail bars in town, Hemingway still leads the way in many ways, making cocktails that are at the same time modern and inventive and steeped in Czech tradition. The lighting is subtle, the bar occupies two floors, with the upper floor providing more privacy, and the walk to and from the bar along the narrow streets of Old Town will be a treat in itself.

Parlour

Another great bar we love and recommend is Parlour. Sure, the Krakovska street is not exactly what you’d call romantic, but the bar is small and cosy and as dark as they come. There is no drinks menu: the single bartender - usually the only member of staff on duty in Parlour, will ask you what you’d like to taste, and craft a drink based on that preference. The drinks are as good as they come, the jazz soundtrack from the turntable adds atmosphere, and the little quirks will make it fun. Great time guaranteed.

Rudolfinum

Now, this one is for those who came prepared (meaning brought their best apparel), but a concert of the Czech Philharmonic at the Rudolfinum as a feast for the senses: the musicians are top notch, as are the acoustics, and the building - a concert hall turned parliament and then back to concert hall - is absolutely gorgeous. Put on your tux and/or your dress, and prepare to be dazzled.

Spa at the Four Seasons Prague

If you want to treat yourself to a spa treatment, head over to the Four Seasons hotel in the Old Town. Sure, the sauna and the steam room - separate for men and women - are tiny, but they are well built and equipped, the pool is more a dip pool than an Olympic affair, but the luxury surrounding it all is undeniable, and the view of the Prague Castle still beats any other hotel in Prague. Plus you can just chill, have a tea and nibble on the little snacks provided.

And if you don’t want to spend a fortune on anything, we have tips for two walks in town that are absolutely free. First is Vyšehrad, „the other“ Prague castle a few bridges south of the Old Town. It is an old fortress with a Roman Rotonda, one of the oldest places in Prague, a park, a cemetery of famous Czechs, and a beautiful church. (Other notables: one of the most bizarrely located tennis courts you have ever seen, and a cute beer garden in the summer.) You can walk along the walls of the fortress, and then walk down to the river, which offers some amazing views of the more known Prague Castle. This is one of the few Prague monuments that is frequented more by locals than foreign visitors.

The other destination is the Petřín hill, which gets a lot of action on May 1 as the „most romantic place in Prague“: celebrating a well-known Romantic poem, couples traditionally hit the Petřín hill en masse to kiss under the blossoming cherry tree (and now taking Instagram pictures of themselves doing so). But you don’t need to wait for May to enjoy Petřín for romantic purposes. The climb isn’t that bad (and you can use the funicular to go all or half way up), the views are stunning, and the mini Eiffel Tower at the top of the hill is kinda fun actually. And you can extend your walk to the Prague Castle for more stunning views and romantic hideaways. Great stuff.     

Your Guide to St Martin's Goose Feast in Prague, 2024 ed.

WHAT IS ST MARTIN’S DAY AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

Easy. St Martin’s Day falls on the 11th of November and it celebrates St Martin of Tours, one of the first „non-Martyr saints“, a soldier-turned-Bishop who lived in the 4th Century. There are many legends surrounding his life, but only a few are relevant for us specifically.

Namely, it’s St Martin goose, St Martin rolls, St Martin wines, and St Martin “arriving on a white horse”.

Traditionally, St Martin is said to be arriving on a white horse, meaning that November 11 tends to coincide with the first snowfall of the winter season. While due to a little thing called climate change, this hasn’t been the case very much lately, St Martin remains the day on which you feast on comfort food before the Nativity Fast hits on November 28: there’s a few legends involving geese and St Martin, but the fact is St Martin goose with cabbage or sauerkraut and dumplings is an absolute St Martin’s Day classic, along with sweet rolls filled with either nuts or poppies.

The one thing you should know is that St Martin’s goose feast has literally exploded as a food event in recent years, and it has become THE busiest weekend for many great restaurants. So if you haven’t made a reservation for your goose by now, you should drop everything and start making calls right now. St Martin’s weekend is pure madness, in a good way.

St Martin’s wines

There is another that happens on St Marin’s Day, and it’s the release of St Martin’s wines, a recent phenomenon meant to popularise local wines and help with the cash flow of some winemakers. You mights see a lot of ads about this. It’s basically young wines - the first wines of this vintage.

Now, we will go all out and say it: we recommend you skip St Martin’s wine altogether if you have a discerning palate about wines. Seems like we’ve tried to out-French the French and their Beaujolais Nouveau, and it makes little sense: wines in Beaujolais are picked earlier than here, and the wines are marketed a good week later. So being „first“ doesn’t always mean being better, and we gotta be honest here: we never had a St Martin’s wine that we liked, if you take the context away. Also, St Martin’s wine is a big winery game, so you’re missing out on the small wineries that we like so much. In short: have „normal“ wine instead. Which ones? Here’s a good point to start.

WHERE CAN YOU GET ST MARTIN’S GOOSE?

Here’s our favourite St Martin’s feasts in town.

Výčep

As every year, the St Martin’s weekend is the highlight of Výčep’s calendar. The Wallachian pub in the heart of the Vinohrady district will do the kaldoun driblets soup, only goose legs (according to their executive chef, good whole birds are hard to get and everybody wants the legs anyway), goose wine sausage, goose livers and so on. Výčep always seasons its food well and the atmosphere is great. Book now - their Saturday is fully booked already, and the availability for Friday and Sunday is limited. St Martin’s wines will be offered, too.

[Full disclosure: we run Výčep’s social media, but our own contents are not part of the deal.]

šodó

So this is new, exciting and scary: Šodó, our very own neighborhood bistro that we own with Gabi and Petr of Karlín’s Etapa, is opening for dinner service for the very first time. We offer a three-course menu that includes goose giblt soup with met-filled canollo, sous-vide goose breast and with cabbage puree, potato pancake, demi-glace and five-spice toulie, and tarte tatin with creme patissiere, spruce sirup and rose petals. Sounds like finie dining? Because it is. The seating is limited.

(No disclaimer required: everybody knows we own this place. But we will be there and it will be great!)

Čestr

The venerable steak house/meat-centric Czech cuisine institution is letting you choose whether you want leg or breast with your side of sauerkraut and a selection of traditional sides when you book a table. In addition to goose mains, the menu includes pulled goose neck croquettes, goose liver paté on brioche buns, or confit giblets. Čestr is great for bigger parties, and benefits from fresh Pilsner in tanks, and a great wine selection.

kantýna

The super-popular „butcher palace“ housed in a former mortgage bank is selling farm-fed geese to take away for your home roasting, and then offer a St Martin’s feast from 9 to 11 of November. The service at Kantýna is similar to a „Jewish deli“ in the US: you get a ticket at entry, go to a cutter and point at whatever looks good to you. Great atmosphere, fancy central room of a former bank (think marble), fresh Pilsner from a tank, and a small but really well curated wine list. Prepare to literally rub shoulders with the locals - this is not a date place but a place for a loud, cheery living.

THE EATERY

Chef Býček’s (of former Michelin-starred Alcron) Holešovice-based restaurant popular for its incredibly well-priced lunches and nice dinners based on modern interpretations of traditional Czech cuisine, a vast wine list and modern interiors (think bare concrete and elegant lighting with some street art touches) is serving a four-course dinner on 11 November that includes goose gibblet sout, goose leg, goose breast, and poached pear with brioche and Sabayonne cream. This is a great option if you want a bit of sophistication with your goose, and want to explore the post-industrial Holešovice district, a short tram or taxi ride from the city centre.

Červený jelen

The behemoth of a pub that is the multi-story Červený jelen in Hybernská street is also gearing up for St Martin’s goose weekend, and according to their own social media, the availability is shrinking. They will offer a whole bird or just a leg, kaldoun soup, goose paté, and sweet buns with goose fat and plum jam. Červený jelen is centrally located and great for bigger groups.

Kastrol

While this traditional destination-dining Czech pub is absolutely booked out for the St Martin’s weekend, they will hold on to the St Martin’s menu for the entire week of 13 through 19 November, so even if you cannot get a seat anywhere on St Martin’s proper or on Sunday, this is your place to go in the day afterwards… or if you want to see Prague for a slightly different angle. As always, their St Martin’s menu s quite extensive, offering anything from whole birds to pulled goose in dumpling, goose paté or goose driblets ragout. Great stuff!

Hostinec na Výtoni

Hostinec na Výtoni, a fairly new opening underneath the Vyšehrad castle is a traditional Czech pub with a focus on duck and really nice cooking. For the St Martin’s weekend, they have offered a menu of CZK 1250 per person. If will include creamy goose soup, foie gras terrine, 1/4 goose with almond stuffing, potato pancakes and red cabbage, and warm kolache with honey mead ice-cream. Sounds great, book now - availability is limited.

U Kalendů

U Kalendů, our favorite Pilsner pub that combines the Czech attention to beer service with minimalist cooking a-la St John’s in London, is serving goose stock, filled goose necks and roast geese with sauerkraut and dumplings, on Sunday and Monday. No further details given, so a piece of advice: book now - this is a super popular place that gets fully booked even without St Martin’s feast going on.

U Matěje

U Matěje, one of the most beautiful pubs in Prague run by the famed Chef Punčochář, one of the judges on Czech Masterchef with fine dining roots who decided to cash in on the pub craze of the recent years, is not taking St Martin’s feast too literally and has added a few hunting season touches, so in addition to confit goose leg with potato dumplings and red cabbage, you can expect deer carpaccio with truffle mayo, barley risotto with pumpkin and Brussel sprouts, or deer neck with rose hip sauce, marinated juniper and pumpkin spaetzle. For best results, combine with a glass of fresh Pilsner, and a walk through the Baba Housing Estate.

Café Imperial

In the Pohlreich Republic (Chef Pohlreich is super famous in this country as a TV chef and presented of the Czech version of Kitchen Nightmares) the goose feast is already well under way from Monday, and the whole shebang will wrap up on Sunday. You can get goose rillettes, goose velouté soup, and confit goose legs with bread roll dumplings and white cabbage. Next Door, the restaurant across the street, will serve parfait of goose foie gras, and goose leg confit with red cabbage and potato dumplings.

Vinohradský parlament

The large, modern pub in the National House on the Náměstí míru square in the Vinohrady district is betting big on the goose season, extending the goose feast until November 14 (and starting November 8 already). The menu is quite extensive, and the price is right, too. Classics (kaldoun soup, goose leg confit, whole bird for four to six) are supplemented with some twists unique to the pub, like the dumpling filled with goose confit, or the langoě fried potato pancake with pulled goose. Good stuff!

Best Bakeries in Prague

Okay, we love carbs and gluten just like the other guy (Zuzi’s favorite dish ever? Bread, butter, slices of radishes, salt. Drops mike, leaves.), so let’s talk our favorite bakeries in Prague. This time around we will focus on bread bakeries. So without further ado, here we go: our favorite bakeries for bread in Prague.

Pekárna Praktika

Pekárna Praktika has been our favorite bakery in town ever since Tomáš Solák (listen to our podcast with him in Czech here) opened it just at the border of Vinohrady and Vršovice a few years ago. Tomáš works with freshly stone-milled flour (he mills it himself on the premises): it is harder to work with but carries much more flavour and nutritional value. He controls the entire process of bread baking - works with small farmers to get the grain, and wants to grow old heritage grains that existed here centuries ago.

That focus on small farmers and heirloom grain varieties also means that Praktika is running two operations at the same time: one is the production of bread that is being sold, but there’s a shadow production on the side - fine tuning the bread recipe for the next flour they will work with… in two weeks or so. And since small producers can’t produce that much flour, they do switch from flour to flour in a matter of weeks. Crazy? Yes. But they think it’s worth it and in line with the philosophy.

The resulting breads? Great nutritional value but, above all, great taste. The breads are heavily hydrated and will stay good and fresh-tastings for days and days. We like the spelt covered in sesame seeds and love their buns but honestly, whenever we come to their Karlín district shop (right next to Kro Bistro & Bar), we take whatever they have because all of the breads are great. (We also did one pizza night with them, and we think they should do more of those.)

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Alf&Bet

We really like the place: the first flag of gentrification in the seemingly forgotten area of Palmovka is a former garage or industrial space that roasts and serves great coffee and, of course, bakes bread. We really like their kolache and buchta buns with coffee - we liked those even bore Alf&Bet opened because they form a heritage taken over from the now extinct Café Lounge.

As for the breads, we like the Američan bread with potato the best, while the Angličan is a second favorite. But their buns and poppy seed buns are great too. They are using an older, refurbished oven by Kornfeil, a Moravian company that makes ovens for the likes of the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. But the nicest thing is to just get coffee, sit at the counter and watching the entire bread-making process happen in front of your eyes.

Where can you get it? If you want the bread with a side of deep cultural immersion and exploration, head over to the Alf&Bet bakery itself in the Palmovka area (it’s a five-minute walk from the Palmovka subway stop). Alternatively, they resell the breads in both locations of the EMA Espresso Bar, their sister establishments and specialty coffee pioneers in Prague.

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Artic Bakehouse

Founded and opened by an Icelandic baker moved to Prague (allegedly he was told by his friends who had visited Prague that they couldn’t find nice bread in town), the multiple locations of Artic Bakehouse are probably the most famous bakeries in the „historical centre“. We usually opt for the Nutcracker (bread with nuts in it, duh), but the Old Charles is great too, and the bread with blue cheese and white chocolate is definitely interesting.

Where Artic Bakehouse excels is the sheer width of its portfolio: they also bake great baguettes, and a lot of sweet stuff: their rolls, almond croissants and… love balls are fantastic. Another great thing about Artic Bakehouse: they will toast a loaf of their bread with a selection of toppings (or is it fillings?) on the spot. Why don’t more bakeries do that?

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Kro Bakery

The baking arm of the Kro Empire that also includes our beloved Kro Kitchen bistro and Kro Coffee bakes bread using stone-milled whole grain flour, and their sourdough breads are fantastic. Now they’ve added a version with seeds, and their rye bread is a show-stopper: rye breads are quite difficult to get in Prague, and this version is tasty and will stay good for days on end. The perfect vessel for healthy chlebíčky and such.

We really like their potato buns, and their baguettes are tasty too. (And the portfolio of sweet baking is large as well.) The breads are baked at a location at Moskevská in Vršovice - now reopened as “Kro Vrsovice” - but they also sell them in Vinohrady’s Kro Coffee, at Alma Café in the New Town, but we mostly get them at Letná’s location of La Formaggeria store, because they do resell them there (and all the other locations of La Formaggeria, too). Yay for us and carbs!

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Eska

Eska is one of our favorite spots in Prague, period. It would rank high if it were separately reviewed as a modern bistro, bakery or coffee shop. We really like their 33 bread - they used to give it to you with freshly churned butter and lovage salt if you went for lunch and dinner, meaning you’d be inevitably full and very happy by the time the first course arrived - we just couldn’t keep our hands off of it. But that’s way back before the old Eska split into the bottom part, which is a bistro and shop, and Štangl, the fine dining restaurant upstairs.

Their bread most reminds us of the bread we used to eat as kids, so they do follow on the Czech bread making tradition, but with a flour that is more nutritional than most. They also bake tasty sweet buchta buns and kolache that we like. And as mentioned before, Eska now runs a small shop, which is handy: you come for bread and add some essentials for home cooking later on.

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U Kalendu

When they reopened the U Kalendů pub, a place I spent many a shameful night in my college days (don’t ask; I won’t tell), we didn’t expect the ode to Czech pub cooking mixed with an homage to St John’s Fergus Henderson would include one of the best bakeries in town. But it does. They are smart with their sweet cooking: basically two types of dough render a full display of beautiful croissants and the like, and Danishes and the like.

How good is their sourdough? Well, we take their bread for our very own bistro, the Dejvice-based Šodó. Their focaccia is also very nice, and their toast bread is the best in town. If you want to make a katsu sando at home or just like toast bread, this sweet-smelling, buttery loaf is a piece of perfection. Make this a must-stop on your gluten tour of Prague.

Etapa

The 100% whole grain sourdough bread by Karlín’s Etapa is definitely worth a mention, too. Our friends Petr and Gabi and their team are all perfectionists and will not sell anything that is below their very high standards. They don’t bake a lot of bread: it was supposed to be part of their breakfast offerings, but given the current situation, they sell the loafs, too.

Worth a special mention are their loupák rolls: they make them every Wednesday and Sunday, and they are the best in town, showing that size doesn’t matter after all: it’s how you make it. And their seasonal breads for Christmas and Easter (vánočka and mazanec) are always top notch.

I don’t think we’re spilling any secrets here when we say Etapa is bound to open a proper bakery in the same block some time in the spring of summer of 2024. More carbs. Awesome.

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Zrno Zrnko

Zrno Zrnko is a small chain of bakeries started by two friends who sold their foreign language school business and decided to invest their newly gained money into the sourdough baking business. They focused on fairly rapid expansion and now they sell bread in six establishments, which include the HQ in the Nusle district.

Now, I will be honest. The sweet stuff does not seem particularly appealing to us: it feels too big and a bit overdressed. And we will cover bakeries great for the sweet tooth in a different post. But their „ctyrka“ sourdough bread is actually really good, and we buy it whenever we run out of the U Kalendu loafs we buy for the bistro - it’s a quick and worthy alternative.

Slovenské delikatesy

You always want to find that old bakery that reminds you of your childhood and is run for a long time by seasoned professionals who are just regular old bakers, and not slick hipsters with bread and wheat tattoos (sourdough is notoriously hard to tattoo). Slovenské delikatesy is that bakery in Prague. 

We really like their simple, traditional bread rolls, and their crackling sticks or twists, or whatever you want to call them… they’re just awesome. Their Slovak potato bread is nice, too. But the whole point of Slovenské delikatesy is that it’s a no-thrills bakery that is just all hard work and product and zero attitude. Bonus? It’s right next to Hall 22, the only market worth visiting in Prague right now… in the season.

Prague food scene round-up 2023

One day, we will look back at 2023 as a fantastic year for the Prague food scene. A year when Prague finally left the covid years behind and moved forward. We have been running food tours in Prague for 12 years, and we have now been running a cosy bistro in Prague for less than 12 months, and let us tell you: people in Prague are hungry, and tourists have come back after the almost three Covid years with a vengeance.

So let’s get to it. What’s opened in Prague in 2023? Let’s start at the top end.

(Note for readers: this year we have only focused on restaurants, leaving coffee shops, wine and other bars for different posts.)

Alma

The biggest opening in Prague is arguably Alma, a modern Czech restaurant tucked away on a small street behind the National Theatre. What’s made it so consequential is the gravitational pull it has created on the „cool table“ part of the Prague food scene, attracting a lot of great young talent with a lot of great potential - great young chefs, great young bakers, young bartenders and sommeliers. And it shows: Alma was never supposed to generate profit in its first months, but it has done that comfortably, and has become a place that can rank at the top of any Prague chart when it comes to restaurants, coffee shops or wine bars. It is the hottest restaurant in Prague right now if you live in the right bubble. In a sense, this is the Eska of 2023. (Remember how cool Eska was back in 2016?)

420

After long months of rumors and expectations, the 420 restaurant finally opened in December. Aside from the food, the main attraction remains the location - a big Czech restaurant opposite the Astronomical Clock, an area so far reserved for mass tourism only, is bound to be successful. The reconstruction must have cost a fortune, and the restaurant’s premises on the first floor are not ready yet, but the ground floor alone sits 140. Despite the hype and the controversial name (420 is the international dialing code for Czechia, but also, ahem, you know what), the cooking is actually quite conservative, and builds on what Chef Kašpárek, the face of the restaurant and the executive chef of the Michelin one-star Field, is known for - his demi glace sauces. If you like conservative cooking with a slightly modern edge and umami, you will love this place. But let’s be real here: despite all the talk about reclaiming the Old Town Square for the locals, sooner rather than later this place will be overrun by tourists, and for good reason. So get there before it happens.

Štangl

Štangl (pronounced “shtangl”, nothing’s silent) opened on what used to be the first floor of Eska in the Karlín district. Run by the Chef Štangl, the former executive chef and co-owner of Eska, the restaurant reflects his personality: it is pensive, mature, with a big focus on sustainability and location. It is also an absolutely beautiful restaurant - the top of Eska was nice as it was, but the three granite counters of the open kitchen and the hydroponic garden in the corner give it some serious „The Menu“ movie vibes. And our dinner was very tasty, with an interesting wine pairing to boot. Definitely a great place for a destination dinner, ideally combined with a cocktail at the Liquid Office nearby.

Marie B

Marie B was opened by the people behind the Michelin one-star La Degustation, and Marie B feels like its 2023 sister that is light on its feet and with some fresh ideas. The relatively small restaurant sits 21 at a bar that revolves around the kitchen and serves four-course meals in two seatings. The central idea is the Cart Blanche - instead of a menu you get a blank paper and a pencil and you get to figure out what you’re eating. Sounds like an expensive prank? It isn’t - the whole concept is surprisingly fun and accessible. The food is based around Czech recipes but our dinner did not shy away from exotic ingredients, either. And the wine is supplied by the next-door Vin de Marie, a wine shop (with actually really nice prices) that doubles as extra seats and/or private-dining area for the restaurant at night. A great addition to the world of Prague fine dining.

Alcron

When the iconic Alcron hotel reopened under new ownership and management as Almanac X, we were happy to hear that Eliska Hromková was chosen as the executive chef - we had known her from Výčep and Ze mě projekt. As demanded by the owners, the restaurant is a vegetable-forward place that is elegant yet modern at the same time, and the same words could be used to describe the food. (And their Champagne list is definitely worth a look, too.) Alcron has always been at the echelon of Czech cuisine, and the current itineration gives it justice. It’s still sad that Czechs don’t like to walk past a front desk to eat - a hotel restaurant is a hard sell for the locals, but we think definitely it’s worth a visit.

Kruh studio

Kruh studio, a three-chef operation in an apartment on the top floor of the Langhans gallery / Foto Škoda building is a charming place with a long counter for eight people maximum. It’s truly entertaining to watch three chefs finish a pretty elaborate meal in what basically is a basic home kitchen, but it works, and everything we had on the night was delicious. This is „different“, but the good kind of „different“ - the top of the building is a calm oasis you enter through one of the busiest streets in New Town, and the chefs know well what the strengths and limits of the space are. If you want an intimate, delicious meal with a difference, give Kruh studio a try. Bonus point: the chef waiting at the reception of the building to let you in to the private elevator is I guess necessary, but really charming.

Terasa u zlaté studně

Finally, worth a mention is a change at the helm of the venerable „Golden Well Terrace“, now headed by Chef Hlaváček, one of the most talented and experienced chefs of the Czech fine dining scene who worked at London’s iconic The Ledbury and Napa’s Meadowood. We had always thought that Terasa was the proverbial „Prague restaurant with a view“ - a place targeted at tourists and overpriced - but with Chef Lukáš in the kitchen, the proposition has now gotten much more enticing, and the dishes look amazing.

How about more casual dining? Let’s see

Eska

When Eska reopened in the summer, it caused quite a stir - the more casual bottom part of the restaurant (the top part has become Štangl, described above) has gotten a lot of bad rep due to the changed layout and concept - no reservations, tighter seating arrangement, and - crucially - no table service: you pay everything at the till and get a number. You want to order something else or extra - get in the line again. Perfectly normal in Copenhagen, but shocking in Prague where people still expect Viennese style of service. But you know what? It’s still a place with excellent cooking, great baking and very solid coffee. And changes like these help food businesses survive. So definitely get there again and appreciate Eska for what it is - an excellent casual place that makes many things from scratch and bakes great bread.

Šodó

Yeah, so we’ve also opened a bistro. (With Gabi and Petr of the excellent Etapa.) Šodó is small. It’s in the Dejvice district. But we think it’s nice and punches above its weight. Maybe check it out? ‚Nuff said.

Bjukitchen

Our dear friend Bára, aka Bju, has finally opened a bistro at Jungmannova st in the New Town, and it’s really awesome. In the summer, she’s become famous for her soft serve ice-cream, but that’s far from the whole story. The whole story is that Bjukitchen is a beautiful bistro that serves really good brunches and lunches, bakes Bju’s famous granola and sweets that go well with the specialty coffee served. The place is a true reflection of its owner: it is beautiful, honest and playful. A joy to sit in, and an awesome addition to the New Town food options.

Sandwich Rodeo

The people behind MrHotDog and Big Smokers love all things Americana, and Sandwich Rodeo is their take on the American diner. And it works. It also works because it’s located right next to MrHotDog in the Letná district and shares with it some of the back-of-the-house amenities, like the walk-in fridges. Craft beers on tap are Czech, but the rest is unapologetically American. We like the hot fried chicken in milk bread sandwich the best, but they’re all really good. This is another home run by the people who probably know all about home runs.

Burgerman

Burgerman, the star take-out burger of the Covid era, has finally opened a brick and mortar shop in a slightly cursed location in the Letná district, and the curse seems to have been lifted: the burgers rank among the best in town, the staff is super nice, and there’s craft beers and some interesting sodas, too. Turns out the challah-like buns are not inspired by NYC’s Minetta Tavern, but by a UK-based burger place inspired by Minetta Tavern. Great stuff that never disappoints with a well-constructed burger.

Burger Service

Living testament to the fact that even the mighty Ambiente restaurant group can hype up and open a place that isn’t ready. And the burgers were not great when this opened. But I did write back then that they were bound to get better… and you know what? They got better. Burger Service has tweaked the concept and the smash burgers (which you can choose next to the ready-to-eat „ASAP burgers“ that the original concept was built around) are actually delicious. Plus now there’s a tiny bit of seating inside, too. Great bare-bones smash burger. (Didn’t have the fancy version with lard and foie gras and my new year’s resolutions prevent me to order one… for now. But the time will come. I’m guessing late January when I’m done with new year’s resolutions.)

Slice Slice Baby

Another place long time coming, the uber cool pizza place in the Holešovice district is the newest creation of Chef Katka Jakusová, former sous-chef at Eska with some pretty cool fine dining stages in the past. Slice Slice Baby was a popular pizza pop-up for years, but now it finally has a home. The pizzas are obviously great - we also like the umami dust (which is basically embellished dried yeast) and dips for your crusts. The menu is concise but what more do you want from a pizza place? The vibe is great and we’re sure this will be a resounding success. For a place at the cool pizza table, head over to the Holešovice district.

Da Pietro

And we’re not done with pizza yet: Da Pietro, the Pilsen-based Pizza Napoletana icon, has finally opened a location in Prague, namely near Tylovo náměstí in the Vinohrady district. And they mean business: the owner is moving to town and is committed to serving classic and novelty pizza to the masses, along with other Italian treats and natural wines from Italy. On our visit, we had three slices with different toppings and liked all of them. The „street food“ selection is an arancino and two other fried items that were equally delicious, and the wines were cool. The interiors are simple and scream more „outing with friends or family“ than „first date dinner“, but you don’t need more, do you? This is an interesting counterpoint to Slice Slice Baby.

Hostinec na Výtoni

I used to drink at the old Celnice pub in the Výtoň area when I was in college, and have very fond memories of the place. That’s why I approached the new concept with caution: did they kill my old pub? They did… and that’s not a bad thing. The new concept revolves around duck grilled en masse on their Josper grill and served with sides, and it’s delicious. Plus the grilled catfish is one of the best pub starters in town. This is a great pub with well-treated Pilsner and well-seasoned dishes that are a bit more pubby than those from the more edited and curated U Kalendů nearby. One of the best-cooking pubs around.

Kro Vršovice

After months of expensive and unpredictable renovations, the Moskevská st location of Kro has finally opened in what used to be the Tramtárie restaurant. It helps that Kro has had its central kitchen and bakery right there, behind the wall, all along. The place is well laid out: you enter and either go left to eat, or turn right for coffee and take-out bakery. And the quality of the food is as good as you’d expect from Kro. Bonus points: nice little tables and seats outside of the restaurant with limited traffic. We can’t wait to stop there on our walks through Vršovice.

Mamam bistro

It’s nice to see that the second-generation Vietnamese Czechs have abandoned the cheap-bowl-of-pho bistro concept and have expanded the vocabulary of Vietnamese food in Prague. First it was Gao Den, Nha Hai Hanh, Taro and Dian, and now Mamam bistro, opened by a couple with ample experiences from Prague’s food scene, notably Dian. The menu is short but strong, and the drinks are a great addition to the usual suspects. The shrimp burger is a standout. A great addition to the Vršovice scene and the Prague food scene in general. Tiny, so book ahead.

Chi Xiao Mian

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Prague needs more Chinese hand-pulled noodles, and cool Chinese spots in general! If you have an itch only a bowl of Chinese spicy pork noodles will scratch, head over to this restaurant near the Jiriho z Podebrad square. Is it as delicious as we remember it from other places around the globe with bigger Chinese communities? Not for now, but it definitely hits the spot - we’ve been several times in 2023, and I find myself craving a bowl of noodles more than I will admit.

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.

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.

New Prague restaurants and food stops, Q1 2023

With the Michelin guide skipping a year (there’s a lot of discussion now in our social bubble about the fact that the guide now cooperates with local tourist boards to „promote“ the given destination’s food scene… for a fee) and eater.com’s Kat Odell not having refreshed their awesome heatmap (guess who gave Kat a few tips for the one!) for quite some time, it is obviously up to us to write a piece about the latest coolest and best Prague restaurants and other food stops.

We have decided to do this quarterly from now on, and with Q1 2023 behind us, it is high time we start. So here we go:

New Prague restaurants and food stops

Šodó bistro

We have to start with the obvious: we have opened a bistro in the residential district of Dejvice. It is tiny but it has a big heart… with a bit of a cholesterol problem because we stuff browned butter into everything like there’s no tomorrow. We have teamed up with the one and only Gabi and Petr, aka PG Foodies, who run the successful Etapa bistro in the Karlin district, to open a place we would enjoy ourselves - the design is Scandinavian, but the seating and layout definitely Parisian.

We serve breakfasts, light lunches and whole lotta sweet baking, all tied together with specialty coffee, a condensed but meaningful menu of mostly natural and local wines (basically the best samples gathered and collected from our Moravian wine tours) and a few low-ABV drinks for the day-drinking we so much enjoy. We have a great team: our chef Ondra is the former executive chef at Eska, our main barista Honza used to work at Berlin’s infamous The Barn nad was trained at Doubleshot, Prague’s OGs of specialty coffee, and our main baker Eva is the person behind the kolache at Letec Espresso Bar we adored for the longest time.

So come over! We promise it’s worth it. The place is popular during the weekends - with some wait time possibly involved - while things are more relaxed Mondays through Thursdays. And we’ll tell you where to go from us - Dejvice and Bubeneč are great residential districts worth exploring.

Bjukitchen

We’re not the only bistro that opened in February - our good friend Bára Karpíšková, aka Bjukitchen, opened her eponymous bistro just a few weeks after us. (We knew of each other and like each other to the point of almost consulting menus so that we don’t serve the same things because we knew we liked the same things.)

Her bistro is like from another, friendlier planet with better design - her almost all-female staff focuses on porridges of different savoury and sweet styles, and on granola, Bára’s forte. (We love our granola, but Bára’s granola is da bomb.) The place is very kid-friendly, with a generous kid’s corner at the back of the place, and an ice-cream machine ready to generate happy faces when the season hits. It is located at Jungmannova street in New Town, so it’s easily accessible when you’re roaming the city centre. This is like getting invited to the cool table by the cool people who are smiling at you and waving you to come in. We love it.

Alcron / Almanach X

After a lengthy remodelling, the iconic Alcron hotel, arguably the first boutique hotel in the world, has been slowly reopening to the public under the Almanach X brand that includes other properties in Austria and elsewhere. The restaurant is slowly reopening, too, but a bit different: the fittings are more modern than in the old-fashioned La Rotonde days, and the menu is more modern, too. Headed by chef Eliška Hromková, the kitchen turns out plant-forward dishes that can be high on technique but still focus on taste and balance. The wine list is an intelligent mix of local favourites and cool boutique Champagnes.

Hotel restaurants are always a tough sell for the locals who hesitate to walk past a front desk to eat. But it would be a mistake to miss Alcron - it is a very competent restaurant that mixes fine dining touches with casual and friendly service, and immediately ranks among the best in town. Right now it’s lunches and breakfasts; while brunches were popular at La Rotonde, Alcron still tries to figure out how to serve them.

Chi Xiao Mian

If there is one thing we complain about in Prague, it’s the sore lack of cool Chinese restaurants in town. (Jan has enquired about a Din Tai Fung license in Prague. The silence was deathening. Oh, and if anyone tells you that Sia is a great Chinese restaurant, never trust that person with anything.)

So when spicy Chinese hand-pulled noodles appear in town, we’ll take it. Chi Xiao Mian occupies a space in the hip JzP (Jiriho z Podebrad) area of the Vinohrady district and it’s a weird animal - the menu is fun and would fit in a cool Chinese street food joint (and the hilarious Google translate mishaps in the menu give it a sense of authenticity), but the place itself shows hints of higher ambitions: there’s veneer everywhere, and wine fridges and some fancy touches.

We’ve tested only a few dishes so far and liked most of them, and we went in the opening week, so we’re confident things only got better from there. If you have an itch only Chinese noodles will scratch, give these guys a try.

Laforme in Nusle

The Nusle district has long lived in the shade of the more lustrous districts on its norther side - Vinohrady and Vršovice. There are no major sights there, or any major train stations, or churches. Culinary-wise, it has been long known for U Bansethů and their iconic duck-sauerkraut-dumpling-Pilsner combo, and recently for the Italian double punch of Frankie’s Pizza and Mozarellart, lovingly named „Nuslita“.

But with new developments, things have been changing for the better in Nusle, a neighbourhood now attracting younger residents. The newest addition to the local food scene is a brand new branch of Laforme, artisanal bakery and specialty coffee shop combination. The Nusle branch is a brand new fit-out of a brand new development, but all the staples that made the two existing locations of Laforme in Bubeneč and Vinohrady popular are there - carefully prepared coffee, and great croissants and sweet baked creations. The new location seems to be ready for younger crowds and can feel a bit like a co-working hub.

Terasa u Zlaté studně

This may not be a new opening, but it feels like one. Terasa u Zlaté studně used to be the quintessential „Prague restaurant with a view“ that served fine dining dishes and fine dining prices mostly to affluent tourists from abroad. With all due respect - it always flew below our radar: it did not feel like a place locals would find great value.

That all has changed with the arrival of Chef Hlaváček, one of the most promising Czech chefs today with experience from London’s legendary The Ledbury and Napa Valley’s Meadowood. Lukáš is a fine dining chef and his dishes will always be high on technique, but he has worked with the best and our podcast episode with him showed he is an intelligent, forward-looking young chef who knows where it’s at. And then the view, obviously. The value proposition of the Golden Terrace has immediately shot up with this great hire.

Zrno zrnko in Dejvice

Artisanal bread made at a scale? Hey, if San Francisco’s Tartine can do it, why not Zrno Zrnko? (Fun fact: Tartine uses Czech ovens made in Moravia and designed by Mr Kočařík, one of our favourite winemakers and a regular spot of our Moravian wine tour.) The newest branch is in the residential district of Dejvice, and it’s a nice one - they have a fancy coffee machine and serve specialty coffee, which goes well with the sweet baking done on the premises.

Is the bread as good as some of our favourites, like Praktika, Kro Bakery or U Kalendů? Not yet, but it’s still great bread. And this is one chain we can get behind. (We’re not so hot on Antonínovo pekařství, the cheaper baking chain in Prague that is otherwise very popular.)

San Carlo in Letná

For many the best pizzeria Napoletana in Prague, San Carlo, has opened a new location in the cool district of Letná, taking over the place from its arch-rival, Da Antonio. (Antonio allegedly used to work for San Carlo, only to leave with the know-how and so on.)

This is not your cool hipster pizza where the pizzaiolo is a a guy with a moustache and „Aqua + Farina“ tattooed on his forearm. The pizzaiolo in San Carlo will probably be a slightly tired middle-aged Italian guy rocking a dad bod. So don’t expect attitude and cool tables, but rather well made Neapolitan pies and some classic Italian dishes.

And that’s it for Q1 2023 we’re afraid. See you back in three months! There’s some exciting openings coming up.