Where can you have a salad in Prague?

The heat is presently boiling Prague and its people, making a stay outside very exhausting. And if we trust the weather forecast, we’ll still have to suffer through the heat wave the next week (well, the temperatures should drop with thunder storms on Tuesday). With temperatures this high, it can be difficult to imagine yourself doing anything outside, let alone eating.

The only thing we crave during these days is watermelon and salads. Unfortunately, for many restaurants in Prague salads are still sort of an afterthought. In too many places you can still find the following only: chopped iceberg lettuce, a tomato cut in six wedges, some cubes of cucumber, add a bit of salty cheese and four green olives and voila - you have a Greek salad! Luckily for you, we have some tips because a good salad is hard to find.

Imperial – The Imperial Café offers a great selection of salads. This is the place if you love your food in a Belle Epoque interior. Although essentially a hotel restaurant, Imperial has a great reputation among the locals, and their menu includes classics like the Caesar salad but done right: not with iceberg but romaine lettuce. Other salads include goat cheese salad or the endive and orange fillets salad.

La Bottega di Finestra– The sister restaurant of the next-door La Finestra di Cucina restaurant, La Bottega di Finestra, the more casual bistro, offers a nice selection of salads. You can mix whatever you like on a plate, order some bread baked in house, have their cucumber lemonade, and eat it there or have it wrapped to go.

PastaCaffe – This is a great option when you crave something simple and decent. The salad with Gorgonzola and avocado has a nice orange dressing, but we usually go for a salad with tuna, which, although canned, is of good quality. Go to the Vodickova branch or watch the Czech nouveau riche in the branch near the Old Town Square.

Muj šalek kavy– A very popular café, Muj salek kavy offers smaller meals and at least two salads in their menu. Complex, fine dining dishes? No. Quick, tasty meals? Yes. Don’t forget to have one of their ice-creams made by 2AD in Tuchlovice, a small village about 15 miles off Prague, or combine it with their delicious coffee in a cup of Affogato.

Café Lounge– Another one of our favorite cafes, this time on the Castle side of the river. In addition to great coffee, they prepare full meals for lunches and dinners. However, we return there for their grilled vegetables and goat cheese combo. Two additional perks: tap water is served without any obstructions, and their lovely garden in the courtyard offers a shady, cool environment, and an intimate contact with the medieval Hunger Wall that runs through it.

Café Savoy – Just two minutes by walk from Café Lounge, Café Savoy is slightly upscale, and we usually recommend it for a rich, plentiful breakfast. Perhaps not the lightest of meals in these hot days, but their French toast is to die for. That said, they also have a small selection of nice salads, some adding cheeses or meat to the mix.

Home kitchen – One of the most popular bistros in the centre, Home Kitchen changes their offer daily. Their daily specials usually include a salad and they are open to adjust it to the client’s tastes. In addition, their summer soup menu includes a cold soup daily. We also love their breads with different toppings.

Cestr – We can hear you say it: “Salad in a steak house? Are you crazy?” No, according to our doctors, we’re not. Čestr makes salads using locally sourced products from local farmers. In addition, they really know how to season even a plain salad: we get great responses from our guests about the simple garden salad, too. We recommend the salad with the cheese from the Krasolesi farm, or the sheep cheese salad with oregano, or the roast beef salad (obviously). And don’t forget to have a scoop of their delicious beer ice-cream.

Dish fine burger bistro – Just like in Cestr, Dish’s forte is in meat, namely burgers. However, this should not deter you if you crave a salad. They offer two salads as we write this: one with watermelon, tomatoes and feta, and another one with marinated fennel, citruses and mint. Their older salad, arugula with caramelized garlic and ricotta cheese, remains Zuzi’s favorite to this day – quite logical, given that she was born in a village known as the “garlic capital of the Czech Republic”.

Pizza Nuova– Are you really hungry and crave something more substantial? Than we recommend Pizza Nuova’s all-you-can-eat salad and tapas bar, which offers good value for decent food, ranging from salads, smoked fish, cold cuts, olives and so on to cheeses and other Italian products.

Pho Vietnam – If Asian flavors is what you are looking for, head over to the Vinohrady district for a plate of Bún bò Nam Bộ, Vietnamese beef noodle salad. Head over to the branch at Anglicka street, which offers seating.

No matter of what eatery you visit, remember the three Hs of summer: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Enjoy the sun... and the salad!

Picnic in Prague

Our lovely guests joining our todays' tour, Eleanor and Max, have expressed a wish to have a picnic in Prague. What a great idea! To be honest, having a picnic in one of Prague's plentiful parks is one of our favorite things to do in Prague when the heatwave hits. "Why?" We hear you ask. We'll tell you why!

First of all, having a picnic in a park among locals is a great way to relax after you've had enough of the crowds occupying the main sights in Prague. Second, Prague is a hilly town so many parks offer splendid views of different parts of the town. Many of our guests ask where they can get a romantic meal with a view, and for some, a picnic may be the answer and the memorable experience you will be bringing home with you. Third, it is perfectly legal to have a drink or two in public places; therefore, nothing stops you from enjoying a nice bottle of Bohemian or Moravian wine with the picnic, or enjoy a chilled lager or ale from a beer specialty shop. Finally, some really nice food can be had in the shops surrounding some of our favorite spots for picnic, so you won't be hauling heavy loads across the city. The only slight niggle you may have about the whole experience is the fact that you may, at times, be eating your food about two feet from a hungry labrador staring at you with those hungry, sad eyes. But they never stay for long, trust us!

And because we want our guests, including Eleanor and Max, and you to make the best out of your stay in Prague, we have put together a small map of our favorite places for a nice, calm and tasty summer picnic. The map does not stop at the recommended spots for picnics but goes beyond that: it shows the suggested shops where you can find some delicious food to bring with you.

Kampa park

Ah, the Kampa park… Jan used to spend all his high school days over there, hanging out with his friends… usually not studying. The Kampa is a very hip, local park in the centre. Just a few meters off the Charles Bridge, one of the most crowded sights in Prague, it has still retained its local character. You will find everything there: dogs running around, people throwing frisbees, practicing tai-chi, playing the drums etc.

Petřín hill

The ultimate picnic with a view. We have been recommending this place for a picnic for over a year now, and it still is hard to beat when it comes to the view. After you're finished eating, you can follow on to the Strahov monastery and the Prague Castle. And if that hill seems intimidating or you're not feel like climbing steep hills in hot weather, there's a solution: simply buy a ticket for the funicular car and get off at the middle station. Easy!

Letná park

The Letná park is a place where people in Prague love to go for jogging, roller-blade skating, riding bikes or simply having a cup of beer in the local beer garden. The whole park becomes alive with the first spring days, and stays that way until the fall. The park is a place that makes you realize there's more life in Prague than just the centre, and may invite you to explore some other districts, including the Letná itself.

Stromovka

If you want to have a picnic like a local, you must visit the Stromovka, the biggest park near the centre of the town. The Stromovka actually includes designated picnic areas where grilling is allowed, including benches and tables. Nothing will disturb you there, save for the occasional train running through the park. If you'll see horses, don't panic: there's is an equestrian centre near the park. Follow the horses and then follow on to the Prague ZOO and the Troja chateau.

Riegrovy sady

A very popular park that is the perfect place for a late picnic: the park offers a great view of the Prague Castle and the Old Town in the sunset. You don't have to bring beers along, with a wildly popular beer garden just a few steps away. The park also doubles as the gateway to the Vinohrady district, which offers lots of great food and architecture.

Vítkov hill

The Vitkov hill may not be on the first pages of your guide book but we think it is an absolutely awesome place for several reasons. First of all, you'll find solitude there, if you want it: the slope offers many hidden parts and small areas that offer at least some privacy. Second, you will see Prague from a different perspective - either the centre over a huge railroad track coming out of a tunnel underneath the hill, or the Zizkov district from one of the designated picnic areas along the old-railway-now-turned-into-a-cycling route. Third, you can visit the awesome National Memorial at the top of the hill, and enjoy one of the most stunning views of anything you've ever seen.

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A Food with a View

Our guests often include couples who want to share a romantic meal together, so we are always asked about Prague restaurants with a great view. Our response is always the same: you pay a premium for a scenic view, and, as a rule of thumb, you can get better value elsewhere. Still, we do understand why people love them: Prague is a beautiful, romantic place with hills, so you want to take advantage of the scenic views.

Yesterday, we tasted the lunch menu at a restaurant with a view, too. But a different view. Located on the top floor of a high rise building, lovingly called the "House of Evil" by Zuzi (she used to work there before we started Taste of Prague), Aureole presents itself as a high-end Asian fusion, which for us would mean it is a direct competitor to SaSaZu, another great outfit in Prague. Both Aureole and SaSaZu have received the Bib Gourmand award from Michelin, which means great value for money. But let's not fool ourselves: it is an upscale restaurant.

We tried the lunch menu, which comes at CZK 390 for a three course-menu, or CZK 590 for a five-course menu. Reserving a table was rather odd: when we called the day before for a 2pm slot, we were told the restaurant was fully booked. However, when we called at 1pm, we were informed we could come at about 2:15pm, and when we did, the restaurant was virtually empty (there was, truth be told, a rather large graduation party going on in the restaurant). Anyway, we recommend reserving the tables soon, and for a later lunch.

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Let's clear one thing out upfront: the view is phenomenal, especially on a beautiful day. You see everything, including - a nice bonus - the traffic situation around the entire city. This is Prague how we like it: not just the picturesque old parts of the town, but Prague as a modern, present city. The restaurant offers indoors tables and terrace tables under large shades. The terrace seating is the only smoking area of the restaurant. The music is a nice mix of unobtrusive-electro-meets-Asian-wellness-spa kind of tracks.

The starters: cream of asparagus with poached egg and whole grain croutons, and yellow fin tuna tartar, mango chutney, green leaves salad and Ponzu sauce. While the tuna tartar was nice, offering a nice combination of flavors (especially the sorrel leaves adding nice acidity), the cream of asparagus was the star. We agreed that sometimes it is hard to remember a particular dish even from a very expensive, Michelin star restaurant. We will definitely remember the cream of asparagus: it was light, delicate and tasted like asparagus (unlike many other asparagus soups we have tasted this year).

The mains: Salmon filled and grilled cuttlefish, parsley tagliatelle with spinach leaves and baby Pak Choi, lime skim and prawns chili reduction (which was sold at a CZK 195 surcharge), and pork leg stewed with greed curry, vegetables and baby Pak Choi, jasmine rice. The salmon dish was the winner if we compared the mains. The curry was nice but had no kick whatsoever (and we mean absolutely no kick, even by Czech standards), and we both agreed that the curry dishes at SaSaZu usually add another layer of flavor. While this curry was nice, we did not find it special. The salmon was fresh, had a great taste (just as the calamari and squid) and the tagliatelle were perfectly cooked and had a nice taste.

The dessert (white Paris whipped cream with fresh strawberries and strawberry sorbet) was disappointing: while the cream looked fluffy and light, in reality it was heavy and dense. It was more white chocolate than whipped cream. The strawberry sorbet was delicious, though. Zuzi left the cream barely touched on the plate, and the waitress took it away without asking if everything was ok - that's a big no no, in our eyes. We also had a glass of wine and a Crodino, which were, well, not cheap.

Now, the reservations we may have had are really just niggles: all in all, we liked the lunch, and for CZK 390 (or EUR 15), we definitely recommend it: you get some really good food, which is really nicely presented, a wonderful view, and more. Based on the short impression we got during our lunch, we would stick to the more European style of cooking, and visit SaSaZu for Asian fusion cuisine. The wine is on the expensive side (which is not surprising for a fine dining restaurant) but - lo and behold - you get tap water for free, which is almost a miracle for a place with a view in Prague.

The Aureole restaurant is located near the Pankrac subway stop (the red "C" line), four stops (less than 10 minutes) from the Muzeum stop (i.e. top of the Wenceslas Square).

Introducing: Our Taste of Prague apartment for rent!

Our Prague apartment is not just a place to sleep and store your luggage. You can relax, stay in late or come in early, breath in and out, and soak in the atmosphere of the place and the city. With us, you'll have breakfast in the local cafe, see a movie in the local cinema, ride bikes through the local parks, and enjoy Prague as only the locals can.

Our lovely Prague apartment on the fourth floor (don’t worry, there’s a lift) of a functionalist building in Prague is available for holiday and short-term rentals. The two-bedroom flat is located in the Letna district of Prague 7, just a few steps from the Prague Castle, the National Art Gallery, Incheba Expo Prague, Sparta football and ice-hockey arenas and the recently reopened National Technical Museum and within walking distance from the historical and business centre of Prague. The apartment is situated in one of the city’s most favourite, atmospheric and vibrant neighbourhoods. There are two wonderful outdoor oases within walking distance of the apartment – the Stromovka Royal Deer Park, great for picnics and sports, and Letná Gardens with beer spots and excellent views of the Vltava riverbank and the spires and towers of the historical centre. The building is easily accessible by the public transport system.

The interiors are just as interesting as the surroundings. Seasoned travelers ourselves, we have been taking close notes wherever we stayed and then brought them to Klara and Hana of the SMLXL architects. Together, we have created a place that has everything you may need, and more. And because we wanted to connect the interiors with the exteriors, we have asked Ilona and Luke of Tomski & Polanski to create a map of the district on our wall.

The amenities:

• 57 square meters / 614 square feet, fourth floor with a balcony
• Custom-made king-size bed for two (180 cm wide) in the bedroom
• Custom-made sofa-bed for two (170 cm wide when unfolded) that matches the main bed
• Free unlimited wifi
• iMac computer with online access and printer/scanner for your use [perfect for Skyping, printing your boarding passes or e-tickets you may purchase]
• Digital cable TV [about 80 channels, including all major international and US channels]
• Overhead projector and screen with home theatre/stereo system with a BluRay/DVD player, iPod/iPhone dock, and a nice selection of Czech and international DVDs and CDs
• Full kitchen with induction hobs, oven, microwave oven, dishwasher and Nespresso coffee machine
• Czech designer tableware, all the pottery you may need
• Washer/dryer with all the detergents; electric steam iron and board
• Bathroom with a shower and two sinks, hair dryer
• Linens and towels
• World power adapters

Lost in Translation: Czech Dishes Explained

Ordering food in a foreign country can be tricky, to say the least. Nowhere was this clearer than when we visited the Basque Country two years ago: dish after dish, every meal was a surprise - we were thinking we knew what we were ordering until the meal actually arrived. Thought we were ordering beef? Nope, it was fish. Fancy chicken? No, you'll be having duck. And although we think the level of English in Prague generally ranges from ok to high, sometimes the actual dish may surprise you, too. This post will try to clear some of the mystifying items in Czech menus.

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Lesson 1: When cheese is not cheese.

Our guests have often commented on two items that caused some confusion: pickled cheese and head cheese. Pickled cheese ("nakladany hermelin") does not sound really appetizing but in reality it's quite delicious and all our guests who had the opportunity to taste it really liked it, we think. It's basically Czech Camembert-style cheese cut in half, stuffed with spices and herbs and marinated in oil. It's a good way adding some additional flavors to the cheese. The cheese thus marinated is more flavorful and gets a very soft, almost gooey texture. Why "pickled cheese", then? Easy: the Czech language uses the same word for pickling and marinating, and the pickling is the first equivalent you find in a dictionary. Therefore, "pickled cheese" is a lazy translation, or mistranslation, of what should be "marinated cheese". In any way, there is no vinegar involved.

Head cheese is quite different, though, and an item that causes serious confusion. Head cheese is not cheese at all: it's a meat product, sometimes called, in a joke, the "Czech carpaccio". Basically, you boil a pig's head, which creates a stock in a gel structure. You add meat and, according to some recipes, other ingredients (like root vegetables), and you let it cool in a form or a thick salami tube. When cooled, you cut the resulting "salami" in thicker slices and serve them with vinegar and raw onion (hence the carpaccio reference), and it sourdough bread with it. Now, Zuzi and I agree to disagree on that one: while I absolutely love it, Zuzi is not a fan.

Lesson 2: A metaphor goes a long way

Another problem faced by many foodies in the Czech Republic is the fact that the Czechs have sometimes preferred metaphorical over descriptive names of their dishes. The result? Dishes names like "Spanish birdie", "Moravian sparrow" etc. Don't worry - no birds were harmed in the making of these dishes. "Spanish birdie" is basically a stewed beef roll filled with bacon, a pickle, sausage and hard-boiled egg, usually served with bread-roll dumplings or with rice. The name of the dish was coined by Mr Rettigova, the author or probably the most famous Czech cookbook ever written (which dates back to 1826). "Moravian sparrow" are roasted pieces of pork belly or shoulder marinated in garlic and caraway seeds and then served with dumplings and sauerkraut. Again, something that the name would not imply. The metaphoric approach to naming Czech dishes finds its peak with the "drowned man", which means nothing more than pickled sausages (this time they are really pickled), served with pickles and bread and served with beer.

Another classic example is the "Basta", which is basically an assortment of meats served with various kinds of dumplings and usually sauerkraut and red cabbage. This dish is quite heavy but great if you want to taste a bit of everything in the Holy Trinity of Czech cuisine: pork - dumplings - sauerkraut. Czech classic dishes with slightly confusing names also include "svickova": beef with root vegetable and cream sauce served with a slice of lemon, cranberry compote and dumplings. Here the confusion is subtle: "svickova" means "tenderloin" although in reality cheaper cuts are mostly used. The same goes for pastries: virtually none of them have a descriptive name. Some of the most famous are included in the glossary below

Lesson 3: A brief glossary of term

Because Taste of Prague is primarily an educational project (ok, not really, but we'll go ahead with this argument when we apply for EU funding sometime in the future), we provide below a brief summary of very brief classic dishes and their explanations:

Czech termLiteral English translationDescription

Nakládaný hermelínPickled cheeseCzech Camembert-style cheese marinated in oil and stuffed with herbs and spices

TlačenkaHeadcheeseSlices of meat and collagenised stock served with bread, vinegar and raw onion

Španělský ptáčekSpanish birdieStewed beef roll filled with bacon, a pickle, sausage and hard-boiled egg

Moravský vrabecMoravian sparrowRoasted pieces of pork belly or shoulder marinated in garlic and caraway seeds

SvíčkováTenderloinBeef with root vegetable and cream sauce

BaštaDelightAssortment of meats with an assortment of dumplings with sauerkraut and red cabbage

VěnečekLaurel wreathChoux pastry filled with vanilla cream and covered in sugar glaze (sometimes with lemon)

VětrníkWindmillChoux pastry filled with caramel and vanilla cream with caramel glaze

RakvičkaLittle coffinSweet oblong and hollow biscuit, usually served with whipped cream

This list is far from exhaustive, of course. There are many, many other dishes with names that may confuse you. And this is where we turn to you: have you ever had a surprising experience when you ordered Czech dishes? Have you ever seen a puzzling name of a Czech dish? Let us know in the comments!

Letna Apartment DVD Collection: Waiter, Scarper!

As you may know, we have a cool, newly refurbished rental apartment in the Letna district available for rent. However, the apartment goes beyond providing mere accommodation. We have conceived it as more than just a place to store your luggage and sleep in during the night. We want our guests to get immersed into the Czech local culture and society, to get an insight into how the locals live and how they think. In short, we want our guests to understand the Czechs.

That is why the apartment includes many audio CDs and films on DVD that will help them understand the "Czech experience" in the 20th Century and at the beginning of the new Millennium. In a series of posts, we will be introducing some of these films and albums because we think they would make for a cool souvenir that truly goes beyond mere tourism and we do not want to keep the movies that we love to ourselves and the guests that visit our apartment only.

The first movie we will write about may not seem like the first candidate (having won no Oscars and so on) but if you talk to any Czech, they will be able to pull out quotes from that movie on the spot and confess it's one of their favorite movies of all times.

Vrchní, prchni! (English title: Waiter, Scarper!)

IMDB link

We used to give this movie on DVD to our guests on the tour as a present, until we bought off all the cheap copies originally sold as an insert in a magazine. We do not know if any of the guests have actually watched it, but we still think that the movie is a great window into the ordinary lives of Czechs and Slovaks under Communism in the early 1980s.

The plot is very simple [spoiler alert!]: Mr Vrana, a book seller, is a victim of his own sexual fantasies. Even the title sequence, in which women in bathing suits swim in a pool, turn out to be the creations of his imagination. And Mr Vrana is not afraid to act on these fantasies. This has a sad effect for Mr Vrana: he has to pay a lot of alimony payments to various women around Prague. In a desperate attempt to get more money, he begins posing as a fake waiter cashing bills in restaurants and cafes in Prague, and later throughout Czechoslovakia.

Now, we have to set one thing straight right away: this is not drama - this is a laugh-out-loud comedy. We see the main character first getting mistaken, by a mere coincidence, for a waiter in a motorway restaurant, then seeing him embarrassed when comparing his life to all his successful classmates at a high school reunion, and finally the first, shy tryout "jobs" in a few restaurants. What follows is a transformation into what becomes known as the "Phantom of Restaurants and Cafeterias" (to explain: "Restaurants and Cafeterias" was the quite apt name of the only company in communist Czechoslovakia that owned and operated… you guessed it… all the restaurants and cafeterias). He has to hide his "side job" from everybody, including his friends and family, and, of course, the police. This leads to many funny situations, especially as he keeps bumping into his rather obnoxious and nosy neighbor. We won't spoil the ending for you, you'll have to watch it for yourself.

While being primarily a comedy, this film offers a serious glimpse into a much larger problem that has plagued the Czech and Czechoslovak society to this date: corruption and back-hand deals. After the Soviet occupation, it seems that the people turned to themselves and just focused on playing the system and the black market to their own advantage. The aim was to take and to take. A very popular saying at the time proclaimed that "who does not steal from the state, steals from his own family", and, unfortunately, many people have failed to abandon this policy after the old regime collapsed. There is a perfect scene in the movie where the main character twists a very popular fairytale (pigs in the rye) to his children: the pigs who disobeyed the orders and ate the rye were killed. But so were the other pigs, and the pigs who ate the rye could at least say they got a taste of the rye. Get rich or dye trying.

Consider the following scene (please fast forward to 8:20 in the video): at a high school reunion, an old classmate explains how he makes big money by striking backhand deals and bribing his suppliers. We are proud to be independent ourselves and are strictly against any bribery and backhand deals, but we are afraid half of the tourist industry here in Prague still works along the same lines.

Anyway, the movie is a real gem and we definitely recommend it (heck, that's why we chose it for our DVD collection in the rental apartment). If you decide not to stay in our apartment, you can still buy it on DVD with English subtitles (which range from inspired to just ok). We probably recommend the Bonton store at the bottom of the Wencesas Square. Enjoy!

Have you seen a Czech movie you liked? Let us know!

Paternoster elevators

It's important to enjoy the small things in life. While some visitors to Prague love the big cathedrals, the splendid vistas and the baroque palaces (and there's nothing wrong with that, of course), we actually have a small, hidden gem, that some of you may enjoy too. Not the latest or the flashiest thing in Prague, or even the oldest or the most valuable things you will see in Prague. But still, it surely has a place in our hearts. Yes, we are talking about the humble, old paternoster elevator. What is a paternoster elevator, we hear you ask? A “paternoster” is an old-timer elevator that consists of a chain of open compartments that move slowly up and down in an infinite loop (which reminds you of a Rosary, hence the title "pater nosher", "Our Father"). To get to the floor you need to get to, you hop in a compartment and, on reaching the required floor, you just hop off. To see what it's about, have a look at this video:

We have also made a small video how a ride in the elevator looks like. We are sorry for the quality: we have made it using the iPhone and it was the first video we have ever made, so we won't win any awards with this one for sure:

You cannot stop the elevator, you cannot call the elevator. This just goes and goes in an infinite loop. With the European Union energy label going from A to G, this would probably get... something like a W: this must be incredibly energy-inefficient, going 24-7, day and night. On seeing one of these, one of our Jewish guests actually suggested it would make a great Shabbat elevator (the Jews may not start any electric current throughout the Shabbat), and we agree.

If you have ten minutes to spare, we really recommend hopping in when you're in Prague because... they're the best ride this side of the Disney World! Don't be intimidated: these are much slower that they look. We would liken this to an escalator - it may be a bit scary when you ride them for the first time, but you become a pro rider very soon.

So if you're in Prague, forget about the hop on, hop off bus and ride the hop on, hop off elevator. We have put together as small map of these gems. You're welcome.

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