Prague Wine Week is coming...

January has never been on top of either my or Honzi’s list of favorite months. At the age of ten (yes, a long, long time ago), the only bright side of January used to be snow fights and going down the hill on a sleigh. Nowadays, we wish January was over before it even has a chance to start. So is there any reason why you should enjoy the cold, sometimes rainy, windy and dark days of the first month of the year in Prague? The answer is a definite yes: the Prague Wine Week!

The fourth year of the Prague Wine Week, organized by the Víno Revue, aims to get Czechs and tourists alike off the beer, and turn their attention to wine. The festival starts with a gala event at the Crowne Plaza Prague on Monday, January 23. At this event, you get a chance to taste more than 300 great wines that were awarded in the largest Czech wine contest, the Prague Wine Trophy, and that can’t be found on the supermarkets’ shelves, for CZK 1000. But there is more…

From Monday, January 23, to Friday, January 27, restaurants, wine bars and wine shops throughout Prague will cooperate with award-winning wineries to create set menus accompanied by wine tastings that will give you the chance to savor a particular grape in its best light, or rather, with the best bite for prices that won’t break the bank (ranging from CZK 150 for no-meal options to CZK 450 for three-course options).

Well... given that it’s more than recommended to spend as much time in January as possible by eating and drinking with your family or friends, we’re definitely gonna try at least one venue… Vinograf.

This wonderful, cozy wine bar joined forces with the MIKROSVÍN MIKULOV winery to select 7 different regional wines and match them with local cheeses. Besides, they have the widest selection of Czech and Moravian wines in Prague and a very friendly and knowledgeable staff. We are quite sure you will enjoy Vinograf so much that you pop in again the next evening.

Delicious Beer From Microbreweries

Are you planning your trip to Prague? If you are, then you will already know that we consider Czech regional beers our crown jewels. But do you know what beer tastes the best? Well, that’s tough one.

During our tours we often hear that Czech beer is the best in the world… but when we ask the participants what Czech beer they liked the most, we rarely get a straightforward answer. Frequently, it’s either Gambrinus or Pilsner Urquell, Budějovický Budvar and Staropramen, ubiquitous brands of giant breweries that have been dominating the Czech beer market. That’s not to say these aren’t great beers – at least Pilsner and Budvar – but too much of a good thing can get a bit boring.

Luckily, a new generation of Prague pubs is beginning to draw beers from a plethora of strange brews, going well beyond the traditional big-name lagers. These pubs are gaining popularity among locals: the beers they are selling usually have distinctive flavors, and freshness is always guaranteed. This trend is well illustrated by the recent list of the 10 best places to have a beer in Prague (alright, we are also tired of the generic Top 10 articles) published by Hospodářské noviny, one of the largest newspapers in the Czech republic – four of the top five spots are occupied by pubs selling beers from microbreweries. We encourage you to sample some of these harder-to-find beers and pubs that are worth the search.

Where should you be heading for a pint then?

Zlý Časy is the perfect place to try some fantastic Czech beer - with 24 beers on tap and upbeat but still traditional Czech pub atmosphere. Due to the crowds of happy beer drinkers, it may be harder to get service at the bar.

Zubatý pes – with 15 beers on tap, 5 or 6 of which are foreign beers and the rest being some of the best Czech beers, you are sure to find a few that will suit your liking.

První pivní tramvaj - if you are looking for something a little more adventurous, try this odd little pub. Take the number 11 tram to the last stop at Spořilov. The tram will stop just a few steps from the pub's door. At first sight it might look like a dive, and maybe at second and third sight as well. But it has a unique atmosphere (seats from an old tram bench, tram handrails at the toilets, curious cartoon graffiti) and they serve some wonderful beers. Btw, have you heard of the fourth tap?

Bulovka Pivovar – a famous Czech pub that is almost always packed. Bustling and noisy, like a traditional Czech pub should be, U Bulovky has a very unique atmosphere which is very hard to find nowadays.  The beer is excellent – always fresh-tasting and rich, each beer has its own unique taste.

Prague Cafes: Going Local vs Playing Tourist

As far as truly ‘local’ activities go, relaxing with a book or a laptop and slowly sipping coffee in a café surely ranks near the top. Yet very few travelers allow themselves the luxury of spending time doing next to nothing in a café. There are simply too many other things to do and see. Therefore, kicking back in local cafés becomes something of a guilty pleasure for many. As much as I love to see people checking one sight after another in Prague, I have to confess that it also makes me a bit sad because relaxing in a café provides some unique insights into the local culture and should be something you do in between sights.

Luckily, there is a strong coffeehouse culture in Prague, and the city’s historic cafés have long been included among the must-sees. Almost every guidebook features top traditional coffeehouses, and if you google ‘Prague's Best Cafés’, you will get a lot of advice on the ‘best’ cafés.

However, this also means that cafés that once oozed with local atmosphere now hardly have anything to offer beyond  their history and their polished wooden floors, big picture windows, and unique interiors. And because these places are crammed with guidebook-carrying tourists, the waiter tends not to care if you are coming back. Ordering a cup of coffee in these establishments can be a huge mistake and the locals have moved on, and so did the atmosphere that made the cafés so appealing in the first place.

The Cafe Slavia, the atmospheric The Cafe Louvre and the only Cubist-style coffeehouse in the world, Grand Cafe Orient, are three examples of cafés destroyed by tourism. Established in 1863, Cafe Slavia became a meeting place for artists and intellectuals – it’s regular patrons once included Franz Kafka, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jaroslav Seifert and the composers Smetana and Antonin Dvorak. Today, it is packed with tourists hunting for pictures of beautiful Art Deco architecture and the astonishing views of Prague Castle.

Cafe Louvre is another café of this kind. The Parisian-style café with a billiard hall is part of the First Republic's heritage, and its famous patrons included Albert Einstein, Karel Čapek and Franz Kafka. However, the combination of crowds of tourists, coffee of poor quality and disinterested waiters makes me pass this establishment by without any regret.

The Grant Café Orient is another remnant of the past. However, for a rare chance to see cubist architecture up close, I recommend that you enter the fabulous geometric balustrade and climb the teardrop-shaped stairwell to the Grand Café just to see the really beautiful interior with many interesting details and a narrow terrace. Do not order anything, just look.

Two traditional cafés that we still like (although we would not order coffee there) are Café Imperial and Café Savoy. The former is an Art Deco gem with ornate mosaic and tile-covered interior. Ask for some Czech classics such as Braised Veal Cheeks or Marjoram Braised Lamb Shank and observe the steady stream of local businessmen and ladies, all wearing smart suits, having their lunch. The latter is a charming little spot to for a rich breakfast before a stroll around the Petrin Hill.

So, what are the atmospheric local coffee shops I want you to discover and spend some downtime in? My first-choice café is Al Cafetero. This small, non-smoking, family run café is true coffee lover’s paradise. The owner will be your most accommodating host, offering samples, souvenirs and a friendly chat. Try the delicious, awesome-tasting coffee made from a vacuum pot, but be prepared to be offered neither milk nor sugar with your coffee.

Můj šálek kávy ("That's my cup of tea") - This place is what a coffee shop should be: great coffee, good atmosphere, nice staff, convenient hours and it a really ‘local’ vibe. 

The baristas turn out some of the city's best espressos and drip coffee. You can stop by for breakfast in the morning, for a tasty lunch in the afternoon, or just sit down with your book/newspaper/laptop after dinner and catch up on your reading.

Café Lounge - This Malá Strana spot combines elegant interior (formerly a residential apartment) with nice food, friendly service and good-quality coffee. You can easily spend hours here reading, talking or just looking around and sipping some gorgeous Moravian wines. Besides, it is a non-smoking café with a lovely garden.

Dům kávy is a perfect place to purchase premium coffee beans, coffee makers, grinders, espresso machines, etc. Although more a shop than a café, Dům kávy serves one of the best cappuccinos in town.

What I like about these five cafés is that despite their appealing atmosphere, locals still far outnumber tourists, the coffee is great, the staff is friendly and reliable, and the cafés are still what they should be – places to linger over coffee rather than take photos. And I hope that doesn’t change.