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Cheap Eats in Prague

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Cheap Eats in Prague

Believe it or not, we used to be students, too. And just like any students, even we had tight budgets. Zuzi, for instance, saved some money by hitchhiking to and from Prague for university. Jan spent ten years doing his masters degree simply because he worked throughout his studies to make some money on the side (oh, and also because he was pretty lazy… and drafted, but that’s another story). But that does not mean we did not care about what we ate. We always liked good food, but simply did not have the money for fine dining.

We know that many visitors who want to eat their way through Prague are on a budget. While we do sometimes visit fine dining venues on our own travels, we think you do not have to compromise on quality even if you have a budget that is slightly tighter. And many times going for the budget option actually brings you the local immersion travelers crave whenever they go. Because we want you to eat well in Prague even if you do not have a gold credit card, we bring you some tips for eating Prague on a budget.


Czech wines in Prague: the bottles you must try

Czech wines in Prague: the bottles you must try

Yes, sure. Prague equals beer. Of course. We get that a lot. But the fact that the Czechs have the biggest consumption of beer per capita in the world… by a wide margin, does not mean that you have to neglect that wine addiction you have worked so hard to build when you visit Prague. The Czech Republic actually produces some very nice and interesting wines, too. Heck, we even run our Moravian wine tours to promote that fact! The truth is you may not have heard about them: with about 18,000 hectares and a production that does not satisfy even one half of the Czech consumption of wines, it is hard to get your hands on a Czech bottle outside of the country.

But which wines should you drink in Prague? It is sometimes hard to pick that special bottle when you travel and you are not familiar with the territory, the tradition and the climate. Mind you, the sommeliers in the wine bars we like to visit in Prague are very knowledgeable and speak great English. Still, we wanted to know what some of the leading personalities on the Prague wine scene would recommend that you order in Prague. Here’s what they had to say.


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One-day in Prague: Best things to do in Prague?

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One-day in Prague: Best things to do in Prague?

Let’s get the disclaimer out of the way at the beginning: visiting Prague for one day only is not, ehm, the ideal scenario. Prague has so much to offer that you will definitely wish you’d stay longer. You’ll see. That said, we are well aware that we get far less vacation time than we all deserve, and sometimes you want to try to see as much as possible. 

Inspired by guests who have recently stayed in our rental apartment, we have prepared an emergency, one-day, try-to-see-it-all-in itinerary for Prague. Setting up an itinerary like this is about compromises. But we have tried our best to create an itinerary that will mix the local with the famous, and throw in some great bites on the way, of course. Just remember: Prague is a bit hilly and the streets are cobblestoned, so wear comfortable shoes and prepare mentally for a long walk. You’re in for a looong walk, but hey: you brought it on yourself. Visiting Prague in one day? Crazy.


Prague foodies: Where do they eat?

Prague foodies: Where do they eat?

OK, so we run the food tours here in Prague and all, but clearly, we are not the only foodies living in Prague. In fact, what makes the Prague food scene so exciting is not only the restaurants, delis, bars, cafes and shops opening every year, but it is the community that has been building around food and the dining scene here in Prague and that has been raising the expectations people have of good food.

There is a new generation of foodies now eating their way through Prague: people who travel for food, are in the know about global trends, can put what happens in Prague into a broader context and demand a bit more than what was “good enough” ten years ago. And because this site, and the entire Taste of Prague project, is about sharing experience with our fellow foodie travelers, we asked a few of our foodie friends or people we respect as foodies for their tips in Prague. Where do they go to eat? This is what they said.


Meet a Prague Local: Paul Day of Sansho and Maso a kobliha

Meet a Prague Local: Paul Day of Sansho and Maso a kobliha

It is really hard not to like Paul Day, the chef and owner at Sansho and Maso a kobliha, and the master butcher at The Real Meat Society butcher shop. What is actually really harder is to interview him in his restaurant: everyone who walks in is a friend or a fellow chef or a supplier or a regular. He may have stood up five times to greet guests and friends in the short time we interviewed him. His humor is dry and brisk and his laughter contagious. He’s the guy you would want to have a beer with.

He’s also the guy you would want to serve you meet: originally a butcher hailing from England, he has promoted whole animal butchery of organic and traceable meat from farms that let the animals live outside here in the Czech Republic. He’s also the man who has nearly single-handedly, with his partner Michaela, put the Prestik pig, an old breed of Czech fatty pigs, firmly back on the foodie map. He’s been serving fantastic breakfast sausages and buns at the farmers’ market from his white Land Rover Defender. And for us, he’s always been a great chef, steering Sansho and Maso a kobliha, two restaurants that really can stand up to the best establishments in the bigger cities to the west of the Czech border. We stopped by to interview him at Maso a kobliha after his lunch service.


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Czech sweets you should buy and try

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Czech sweets you should buy and try

A beautiful crystal chandelier? A larger-than-life painting of the Prague Castle? A 4-feet Moser vase? No. None of these are great gifts when you want to bring a cheap, fun souvenir from Prague to your colleagues, classmates or friends in your chess team. But some classic Czech sweets, candies and chocolate bars? That’s an entirely different story: they are cheap, fun and also unique to the Czech environment. Not something you’d give your loved one for Valentine’s Days, sure, but they are lots of fun for the right person.

Now, of course, you can go very, very wrong with choosing the right kind. Not all of classic Czech sweets taste great or - more importantly - have a story behind them. Because let’s be honest: story sells. Even gifts. You want a sweet or a bar that has a rich history, something that has a track record behind it, something that was the primary cause behind our first cavities, drilled without anesthesia when the whole school went to the dentist like we used to do in the last years of Communism (but that’s an entirely different story). You want some sweets we grew up with. You want sweets like those listed in this post.


Things to do and where to eat in Vienna, according to us

Things to do and where to eat in Vienna, according to us

We have a confession to make: we have this secret competition with Vienna. Many of the guests who join our food tours visit Prague and then continue to Vienna and Budapest, or start in Budapest and get to Prague via Vienna. And we always want them to enjoy Prague more than Vienna. (Budapest, you’re cool.) We don’t know what it is. Maybe because the people and the culture are so similar. We just feel this rivalry and we cannot put our finger on it.


Our Guide to Gluten-free Prague

Our Guide to Gluten-free Prague

Life is great when you don’t have any food allergies. When you are gluten intolerant, things have not been so rosy here in Prague. Typical Czech cuisine does use gluten rather than not, and choices have been limited. That said, things have been getting better even in the gluten-free food department. We have decided to set up a small guide of Prague for people with gluten intolerance. We have picked some places that are good in their own right but are also good options for celiacs. We have tried to avoid places that offer one gluten-free dish, instead opting for eateries that offer more variety even for a diner with gluten intolerance. 


Great sporting moments in Czech history

Great sporting moments in Czech history

The posts on this blog come from many inspirations: the food we eat, the countries we travel and, many times, the guests of our Prague food tours. While the itineraries might be similar in many cases, every tour is different… simply because the guests are. On one tour, we may talk about food exclusively, on others, the main topic can be travel, and on many more than you would have thought, sports. Yes, if you ranked the topics we discuss on the tours based on frequency, sports would end up fairly high. And, just like food, they are also a reflection of the society.


Must-Eats in Prague (early 2015 edition)

Must-Eats in Prague (early 2015 edition)

When we travel, we spend lots of time researching, and we are grateful for every little piece of reliable information we can get, especially when it comes to food. We want to eat the best food available in each destination we visit. Time is precious when you are on vacation and it is easy to settle for the second best. But you shouldn't. And this article is written for you, our fellow foodie traveler, who wants to eat the most authentic and the best local food in Prague. We bring you the ultimate "listicle" for Prague: our "best bites" in Prague, simply the food we love in Prague the most. 

We already set up a similar list last year, but we thought it needed an update. Logically, all the items listed are served in really good establishments that we love and endorse. We actually think the whole Prague trip could be built around a list like this: it is short to make sure you can taste all of these things within a short period of time. It caters to all budgets and takes you to different parts of Prague (and outside of Prague in one case) so it can be easily mixed with some smart sightseeing. And the food is delicious and represents some meaningful facts or trends in Prague. And we stand behind every dish. Heck, we even taste some on our Prague food tours. So without further ado, here we go! Our favorite bites in Prague.


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