Why is music in Prague restaurants so bad?

Why is music in Prague restaurants so bad?

Yeah. We know. We’d like to know, too.

We have to answer lots of questions during our Prague food tours but some of them are asked more often than others. “Why do they only play old American music in restaurants here? And why is it 80s or 90s music?” Oh, if we had a nickel for every time somebody asked us this question on the tour, we’d have… well, it would be enough to buy a discounted Ace of Base CD for sure.

The truth is that if Prague lags behind other cool cities around the world in something, it’s the soundtracks played in Prague restaurants. Whenever we travel abroad and visit a cool place, that’s the first thing that hits us. Sure, there are exceptions: The Tavern plays a killer soundtrack whenever we come in, and SaSaZu can play some cool tunes on a night (and pretty bad ones on another). Kavárna Místo can find a nice playlist on most of the days. But the rest? It gives you the standing to sue for pain and suffering. At least if you are as sensitive to it as we are.

But it’s high time somebody did something about it, or at least identified the worst crimes against taste and humanity committed in Prague restaurants and cafes. And offered suggestions. That’s what we’ll try to do in this post.


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Must-eats at Prague's Vietnamese Sapa Market

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Must-eats at Prague's Vietnamese Sapa Market

You may have heard that Prague has a sizable Vietnamese community, and the plethora of Pho and Banh Mi places, and the convenience stores run by Vietnamese owners, only bear witness to the fact. Due to the shared Communist past and the educational exchanges arranged during these regimes, the influx of Vietnamese students to the Czech Republic has created a healthy community that serves as the basis for new Vietnamese immigration. 

What you may not have heard (unless you watched the Prague episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations show) is that Prague is home to Sapa market, a.k.a. “Little Hanoi”, a fairly large warehousing complex on the outskirts of Prague that houses one of the biggest Vietnamese markets outside of Vietnam. A bit of Vietnam in Prague. Is it a must-see? Probably not if you’re in Prague for three days. Not many people travel to our city to have a bowl of Pho or buy cheesy plush toys. But if you’re here for a week, why not? Is the place beautiful? Nope. Is it welcoming? Not if you want to take photos. But is it interesting? OMG yes! On a sunny day, and especially if that day is over the weekend, a visit to Sapa can really feel like a visit to another country, and the market becomes a vibrant place with a friendly atmosphere that stimulates all the senses, good or bad.

Now, making sense of Sapa can be a bit of a challenge. The place is very busy with vans and cars unloading and loading goods, and shops with big signs luring you in. To an untrained eye or to a first-time visitor, Sapa can be quite confusing, and it is hard to pick the good places to eat or drink. That is why we have asked four people who have detailed knowledge and run tours of the Sapa market to share their secret tips for their must-eats in Prague’s Vietnamese market. This is who they are and what they wrote.


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Ten things to do in Prague on a budget

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Ten things to do in Prague on a budget

Oh, the things you make us do. A while back, we posted about budget eats in Prague. We took some of our Prague’s great restaurants that meet our stringent standards of quality, found what cheaper options do they offer and wrote about them on the blog, adding some insider tips. The crowds went absolutely mad. "Too expensive", they said. "Are you crazy?” they asked. “Somebody should do a list of eateries under CZK 100.” Oh well, haters gonna hate.

We thought, “This is preposterous. Nobody is going to do a list of things that cost less than CZK 100 in Prague. What would you write about? Sure, Prague is affordable, but CZK 100?” 

Well, today, we bring you our ten fun things to eat and do in Prague if your budget is CZK 100. Sigh. Obviously, we do take requests. The list includes some food, some activities, and some souvenirs, too, because even if you’re on a tight budget, you should think about your loved ones. So without further ado, here we go: Ten things to do and eat in Prague on a budget. A budget of CZK 100 or less.


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Our guilty pleasures in Prague

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Our guilty pleasures in Prague

We really love food here at Taste of Prague. You may have noticed that already. We do try to eat healthy: Zuzi prepares green smoothies for breakfast, we try to eat seasonal vegetables and Zuzi barely uses meat in her cooking. We try to use organic and local products. We love it. Eating healthy makes us feel good and light. But then, once in a while, we just go and have something really bad for us. Can't help it. It's delicious. Our guilty pleasures.

Our guests joining us on our tours often ask me about OUR favorite things to eat in Prague. What a mistake! We can talk for hours and will not stop. Our pleasures may be guilty but we don't feel particularly guilty when I talk about them. They are simply delicious. We actually think that people connect through their guilty pleasures. We all have them if we truly love food. And in addition: calories don't count on vacations, right? So if you like your food just like we do, here's a small list of our favorite guilty pleasures in Prague for your enjoyment.


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Prague Food Events Coming to You This Fall

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Prague Food Events Coming to You This Fall

There’s no denying it. The summer holidays are over. The schools reopen. The cars and the traffic gets back. Everybody’s a bit gloomier. But don’t worry. It’s not all that bad. If you have the case of a pre-autumn blues, there are a few food-related events that will cheer you up. And yes, most of these serve alcohol. Jeez, why do you always ask about that? This is where we’d go.


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Introducing Taste of Prague Foodie Guide!

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Introducing Taste of Prague Foodie Guide!

You may have noticed we have been neglecting this Prague blog a bit. It’s a mix of various factors. First, we’re now in the middle of the high season for our Prague food tours, and our time to write about the nice places we’ve found is quite limited these days. Also, the heatwaves did not help. We get super lazy above 35C/95F, and honestly, you can’t blame us. And then there was another thing. A (not so) secret project, if you will.

It is not every day we get to introduce an entirely new product here. But this is the day. For a few months now, we have been slowly working on a small foodie guide for Prague. We’re 99% there, and with a bit of luck and effort, the guide will go to print next week. It should be ready and out some time in September. Question: have you ever worked on a project, spent seven days doing the first 80% and then the next seven months trying to finish the remaining 20%? This is that project for us. Trust us - we can’t wait to see it in print.


Prague's Best Hangover Food

Prague's Best Hangover Food

"If you want to get great value from your Prague vacation, you should start boozing up.” That’s what we like to say to the guests of our Prague food tours, and we still think this assertion stands. With beers cheaper than sodas or tap water, a glass of good wine for less than EUR 4, and signature cocktails in Prague's best bars well below EUR 8, it is very hard not to succumb to the temptations of the city. We repeat, very hard. We’ve been there. We actually grew up here, so we know what we’re saying.

The cheap and high-quality drinks come at a price: the mornings are sometimes less happy than the nights that precede them. And that’s where hangover food comes to the rescue. But there’s another reason we write about hangover food. Sure, we like to eat healthy, but sometimes - and sometimes more often that we’d like to - there’s a craving, an itch, that only some greasy, fatty food can scratch. And that’s where hangover food comes to the rescue, again. 

Whatever your particular case may be - hey, this site does not judge - here’s our tips for some of the finest hangover food in Prague. If we can agree that you can use the word “finest” and “hangover food” in the same sentence.


Our Prague Summer Guide

Our Prague Summer Guide

Yes, let's face it: this summer in Prague has been extremely hot so far, and is likely to remain so for at least the next week. It is hard to do anything in Prague in temperatures that reach 35C/95F: eat, walk, or even sleep. But that does not mean your vacation in Prague has to be ruined by great weather. No, we think you can use the heat to explore Prague in a slightly different way. Searching for shade can take to you places that are less exposed to tourism and more local. And that's not a bad thing. This is where we'd go.


Tasties on the Road: Helsinki

Tasties on the Road: Helsinki

Oh, Helsinki. We spent about four days in Helsinki, and it was not enough. We’ll say it right at the beginning: we loved our short stay. We had very little expectations coming in. (Your standard stereotypical stuff: Finnish design, long summer nights, cold, Marimekko, Mika Häkkinen, Matti Nykänen, Ittala, Tom of Finland.) One thing was sure: we would not understand absolutely anything. And you know what? It proved to be absolutely right. If you’re a European, you kinda expect to understand at least something when you travel abroad. Not in Finland. That said, English is widely spoken on the streets and in the restaurants. And the people are friendly.


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