Prague off the beaten path: the Zizkov district

Prague off the beaten path: the Zizkov district

Oh, the “Free Republic of Zizkov”. The Montmartre of Prague. No, this is not your daddy’s sightseeing district. It gets real in Zizkov. The district has always had a rough edge. Originally a workers’ district serving the booming industry of the 19th Century, it was seen as too hilly for high-quality architecture, and thus became home to cheaper developments with characteristic courtyards in the middle. And it has retained its edgy, working class feel until this day.

For most of the locals, Zizkov has become synonymous with Prague’s underground and classic beer pubs. This is a bohemian place that plays by its own rules, and a pub is never too far. Yes, Zizkov is definitely run down and probably not your first choice if you’re looking for a place to start a family, but it has its undeniable charm with vistas that oversee the cobbled streets and green areas. Most importantly, it can be a reality check and a more authentic alternative to the somewhat Disney-fied centre of the town that can be overrun by tourism. And today the lower rent and liberal attitudes have attracted younger crowds to move in and start new businesses. Zizkov is becoming alive again, and you can witness its rebirth in real time today. Here’s where we would go.


Prague Local Favorites: Sansho

Prague Local Favorites: Sansho

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, we don’t have to explain who Paul Day is. We don’t have to explain that he came here from London, single-handedly put the heritage breed of the Prestik Pig back on the map, and is the driving force behind the organic butchers of The Real Meat Society. We also don’t have to explain that Prague has a sizable Vietnamese community and that we have, as a result, great access to Asian ingredients from the Vietnamese Sapa market. So what is there to explain? Sansho is, with a big degree of simplification, what Momofuku is to New York City: a place where local foodies and chefs go for great flavors served in a casual, unfussy atmosphere and environment. 


Prague Local Favorites: Maso a kobliha

Prague Local Favorites: Maso a kobliha

Meat and donut. What a name for what is arguably the best bistro in town. And a very apt name for that. Maso a kobliha is, at its heart, a butcher shop of The Real Meat Society, that just takes things a bit further by processing the meat into some fantastic fishes and by selling, without a shadow of a doubt, the best donut in Prague. Can you argue with that? Of course you can’t.


Prague Local Favorites: Kurator

Prague Local Favorites: Kurator

One has to wonder how can you put so much soul into a space that many diminutive espresso bar owners would call "too small". But Martina and Jan, the owners of the Kurator shop near the National Theatre and the Bethlehem Square, clearly can. The winner of the 2014 Czech Grand Design “Shop of the Year” award, Kurator does exactly what its title suggests: looks at young, promising or otherwise interesting designers (mostly Czech but also some from abroad), and sets up a (roughly) two-month curated selection of their work. And you can buy it all! Yay! The exhibitions are always wrapped around a theme, be it proms (during the Czech senior prom season), ethical manufacturers, flowers or anything else. 


Prague Local Favorites: Metamorposis

Prague Local Favorites: Metamorposis

Sure, a flower shop does not relate to food or shopping or culture, but if we were to talk about the shops we love in Prague, Metamorphosis would be near the top of the list. Just walk inside and you’ll be immediately hooked: the eclectic, run down room is dominated by a large table full of various flowers, the ingredients for the florists’ creations. Just tell them how much you want to spend, and what color and flowers do you prefer, and watch as the wooden floors cover in twigs and leafs when the florists prepare the bouquets “a la minute” for you. Romantic and beautiful? You bet. Also, we are always surprised how much beauty and flowers we get for whatever we say our budget it. 


Prague Tour of Cool… Coffee

Prague Tour of Cool… Coffee

Don’t get us wrong. Summer is great, and Zuzi is a strong proponent of the idea that the monthly average temperature in Prague should be around 25C/78F all year round. But when it gets really hot, the high temperatures make it really hard to enjoy one of our primary passions and the fuel we need to get us going: coffee. 

Luckily, Prague cafes have been working hard to resolve the issue and are offering some interesting summer coffee specials. Virtually every specialty coffee venue offers cold drips, cold brews, iced filters and espressos, and we love ‘em. (Zuzi can’t seem to go through a single day without the shaken iced Aeropress at EMA Espresso Bar.) But you can also taste bona fide signature drinks that will get you cool, caffeinated, and sometimes a bit buzzed. And we like all these three things in the summer. 

To help you celebrate coffee in Prague in the summer months, we’ve created a small tour around Prague in search of great summer coffee drinks. You don’t have to worry about feeling tired. You just have a cool coffee drink in each stop. Problem solved. (And if you overdose on coffee, we’ve heard bananas help.)


Weekend update: Prague Street Food Festival and Street Food Jam

Weekend update: Prague Street Food Festival and Street Food Jam

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you may have noticed that the Street Food Festival was one of our last year’s favorite events, and it really only started last year. We liked the first installment so much that we drove to Brno for the Moravian version and got stuck on the highway, watching Instagrams from the event comments like “Hurry up!”, “The last fifty”, “You’re missing out if you’re not here” and so on. Oh well. First world problems.

And the people behind the Street Food Festival are not stopping there. From July 19 until September 13, they will be organizing the Street Food Jam, a biweekly street food festival in front of the Cross Club, the original venue of the event, in an attempt to create what we hope will later become a regular street food event similar to Smorgasburg in Brooklyn, NY, Maltby Street Market in London, or the Street Food Thursday in Berlin, for example.


Fine dining in Prague: where to splash on a meal?

Fine dining in Prague: where to splash on a meal?

Alright, we have a confession to make: we have been working on a small Prague foodie guide in the past few months. The progress has been slow, especially given the fact we’re working on the project during our high season. And let us tell you: it will be awesome. Just you wait. We’ll keep you posted.

We are nearly finishing with the texts, and that is why we have decided to revisit some of the places we have been considering for inclusion in the guide. We’re talking fine dining restaurants. While it is easy to revisit casual dining places on a regular basis, it gets harder with fine dining: who has the time and the money? We know we don’t. But we also know that when we travel, we like to include one or two really nice places to have a dinner at, so fine dining is a very important category and should be included in our, or just about any, guide. Here’s our small report on the state of fine dining in Prague. These are not all the fine dining venues in Prague; just our shortlist.


Prague Food Events this Saturday

Prague Food Events this Saturday

Oh boy, it seems that the weekends now seem to get busier than the weekdays, with all the events happening in Prague on a regular basis. Sure, we know it’s the summer season but can’t we all just go on a cleanse one weekend this summer or something? And this very Saturday will not be different. We wanted to get some work done today, but heck - these events simply won’t let us. Here’s where you’ll meet us today, trying to stuff our faces to forget we should have been sitting at home behind our laptops.


Prague events this weekend: Prosecco, beer... and gardens

Prague events this weekend: Prosecco, beer... and gardens

Another weekend, another failed attempt to roam the city and try everything Prague has to offer in two days, while getting some rest after a busy week. Oh well. That's life. But the summer is nearly here and the weather is getting better, so we just have to power through this and we’ll sleep at work later on. Sounds like a plan!

We bring you an overview of events that caught our eye for the weekend ahead. We will try to see them all, but we can’t make any promises. Especially mixing beer and Prosecco wines could be a pretty dangerous mix, but with the food and the culture you get along the way, we think we could keep it civilized. See you there!


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