Prague, Czech Republic Hotels and City Guide

Prague - Restaurants

Dining - Local Cuisine & Customs

Czech cuisine is hearty and filling and it would appear that Czechs are not too concerned about cholesterol! They are meat eaters so vegetarian restaurants are few and far between. However, vegetable soups and various pancakes would be suitable for vegetarians.

Soups are very much part of Czech menus as a first course, either with or without dumplings. Possibly because they live in a landlocked country, Czechs are not big fish eaters, although trout and carp do appear on restaurant menus. Roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut is a Czech staple, followed by sliced beef sirloin in a cream sauce. Goulash is also enjoyed, accompanied, of course, by sliced dumplings. Beer is normally drunk with a meal, there being a wide selection.

Fried potato pancakes and deep-fried cheeses are popular snack dishes and also suitable for vegetarians. Desserts are normally fruit dumplings, sweet dumplings with vanilla cream, apple strudel and rolled crepes with rich fillings.

Western-style fast food is sold at main chain stores and Czech hamburgers and hotdogs are sold at street stalls in the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square, alongside mulle wine. Most beer halls serve light snacks or meals.
Old Town Square has several more formal places with outside seating on the square– great for people watching

Anything brought to your table will be charged (bread, ketchup, etc.) If presented with a hand-scrawled bill at the end of the meal, do clarify the charges with your server.

Top Restaurants

The Alcron
Radisson SAS Alcron Hotel, Štepánská 40, Prague 1
Tel: 2228 20038

Prague’s finest seafood restaurant is situated in a splendid semi-circular room in the Radisson Hotel.Reservations are essential as it caters for 24 diners only. It is open only for dinner Monday-Friday.

Francouzská a Plzeñská Restaurace
Obecní Dum, Námestí Republiky 5, Prague 1
Tel: 2220 02770

This French Restaurant mixes Baroque, Renaissance, Western and Oriental influences with Czech art nouveau.Glass and gold chandeliers oversee the lavish setting. Seasonal dishes include grilled Breton lobster with herb butter, artichokes filled with roasted vegetables and potato-fennel purée. Reservations are essential. For a real gastronomic treat, the ‘Degustation Menu' is excellent.

Pálffy Palác Club
Valdštejnská 14, Prague 1
Tel: 2575 30522

Situated in Malá Strana, the Pálffy Palace was built in the 17th century and is one of Prague's best-kept secrets.Over the centuries it has been an archives, a Communist propaganda centre and the Prague Conservatoire until the restaurant on the top floor opened in 1994. The Baroque atmosphere is maintained with period antiques, prints of composers on the walls and fresh flowers. The restaurant holds 60 but this is doubled in the summer when the terrace with its superb views is open.

Restaurant Flambée
Betlémský Palác, Husova 5, Prague 1
Tel: 2242 48512

In8thcentury vaults beneath the Betlem Palác in Staré Mesto, this is one of Prague's finest restaurants with a Baroque atmosphere and a piano in the evenings. Dishes include roast foie gras with truffle artichokes, stuffed lamb saddle under a piecrust, or young duck carved at the table. The three course pre-theatre menu is excellent value. The wine vaults offer an exceptional and rare selection. Guests have included many heads of state, as well as Hollywood and music stars like Tom Cruise and the late Michael Jackson.

U Maltézskýchrytíru (At the Knights of Malta)
Prokopská 10 (off Karmelitská), Prague 1
Tel: 2575 30075

Situated in Malá Strana in three Gothic and Romanesque cellar dining rooms, this candle-lit restaurant is cosy and cheerful, despite rumours that it is haunted. Dishes include venison chateaubriand and roast saddle of boar. The desserts are renowned, including homemade apple strudel. Reservations are advised.

Business

Hybernia
Hybernská 7, Prague 1
Tel: 2242 26004

Providing substantial portions at modest prices in Staré Mesto, Hybernia has a big lunchtime following, which includes heads of state and their bodyguards. A 14thcentury basement vault caters for large parties, as does a quiet courtyard in summer. Dishes include good steaks and pork knee muskateer.

Koliba Praha
Gregorova 8, Prague 11
Tel: 2729 41340

This traditional restaurant offers good views over the city outside the old centre, as well as hearty Czech cooking. Authentic beef, game and fish dishes are cooked over an open fire. Leave room for homemade desserts.

Posezení U Ciriny
Navratilova 6, Prague 2
Tel: 2222 31709.

This restaurant has dark yellow walls decorated with old prints. It serves Hungarian/Slovak specialities like fillet of pork with Hungarian salami and Niva (Czech blue cheese) and pork cutlet filled with chicken liver and bacon.

U Prince
Staromestskénámestí 29, Prague 1
Tel: 2242 12807

Just south of the famous clock tower in Old Town Square in Staré Mesto, U Prince offers outdoor dining under canvas and a large indoor dining room with chandeliers and old prints on the walls. A wide range of dishes is available, including teriyaki beef sirloin, pork fillet mignon and chicken breast, roasted courgettes with Niva (Czech blue cheese) on herb butter. Seafood is also a speciality and the hot salad of lemon sole is a highlight. The view from the rooftop terrace is reason enough to come.

Trendy

Maze
V Celnici 7, Prague 1
Tel: 2218 22300. 
www.gordonramsay.com/mazeprague

British chef Gordon Ramsay's first venture into the Czech Republic has been a success with its inventive cuisine and well thought out décor. The highlight is the seven course tasting menu, while the cocktail bar tempts with some of the city's best cocktails.

Restaurace Jama
Jama 7, Prague 1
Tel: 2242 22383

Popular with the local younger crowd, bright and breezy service comes with the best burgers in Prague and free Wi-Fi.

Budget

Ambiente
Mánesova 59, Prague 2
Tel: 2227 27851.

This very popular chain of restaurants offers inexpensive fresh food. The eclectic international menu covers Mexican fajitas, a massive range of Italian pasta and gnocchi dishes and perfectly cooked steaks. The chocolate brownies and tiramisu are divine.

Prícný Rez
Prícná 3, at Reznická, Prague 1
Tel: 2222 33283

Situated on a corner site with a balcony and large windows, the atmosphere is contemporary but cosy. The basement becomes a dance club most nights. Good dishes include steaks, breast of duck in a tarragon lime sauce or salmon on a bed of fettuccine with Gorgonzola and capers. Service is excellent and the Sunday brunch well worth a visit.

Sama
Vladislavova 18, Prague 1
Tel: 2249 49305.

Sama in the New Town exudes Tex-Mex décor and food. The menu includes burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas and huevos rancheros, as well as a few Czech dishes like roast pork fillet in a potato pancake. The Czech fritters with plum sauce and whipped cream are delicious. No credit cards are accepted here.

Sate
Pohorelec 3, Prague 1
Tel: 2205 14552.

Just up the hill from Malý Buddha and near Prague Castle, Sate is an excellent Indonesian-inspired restaurant featuring a large aquarium. Signature dishes include nasi goreng and opor ayam. Try the eminently quaffable Bintang Indonesian beer.

Thrakia
Rubešova 12, Prague 2 (behind the National Museum)
Tel: 6033 88860.

A budget basement Bulgarian restaurant, Thrakia serves inexpensive tasty meals in the city centre. Mešenaskara (four types of meat roasted on a lava grate) is a good option. No credit cards.

Tipping

Tip restaurant, café and pub staff 10% - 15% for good service. However, if a service charge has been levied in a restaurant, it is not necessary to tip. VAT of 19% is included in bills. Restaurants in tourist areas often add a cover charge to your bill, but if this is not stated on the menu, question it. In cafés and pubs it is acceptable to round up to the nearest Kč.

Hotels in Prague, Czech Republic