Food and Drink, Prague

Amuni

With so many excellent eateries in Prague, you may overlook the hidden gem that is Amuni, the first slow food pizzeria in the Czech Republic. Amuni use Italian flour that has been organically produced (by using the natural stone method), to ensure that the vitamins are retained in the grain; ensuring the pizza dough is deliciously light and airy.

A variety of toppings are available, including pumpkin with ham broccoli and tuna, burrata and figs, mozzarella di bufala, plus many more. The calzone filled with ham, olives and onions is absolutely delicious, as is the bruschetta with figs, cheese and honey. A variety of beers, wines and spirits, as well as soft drinks, are available here to accompany your meal.

There is a large glass window in the walls of the restaurant, offering visitors the chance to see into the immaculate and well-organised kitchen. So, you can watch your meal being prepared by the innovative chefs here. Amuni also has a stylish but cosy atmosphere and Luca, the owner and his staff are very welcoming, doing everything possible to make your visit enjoyable.

Bellevue

Bellevue Restaurant is housed within a delightful and elegant chateau-style building, in Old Town Prague – overlooking the Vltava River, with idyllic views of Charles Bridge and Prague Castle across the water. Bellevue offers an extensive menu with an excellent choice of starters and magnificent main courses.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons. Copyright Chabe01

This eatery incorporates top-quality, beautifully prepared cooked meats and fresh fish, served with locally sourced seasonal vegetables. The desserts are ‘to die for’, too. So, make sure you leave some room to sample a little piece of heaven. The international wine list is also extensive here, and includes some of the local top-quality, Moravian wines. A wine-pairing service is also available, especially handy if you’re looking to match your food with the appropriate wine, course by course.

You can choose to dine in the elegant, exquisitely decorated, intimate atmosphere of the restaurant or outside on the pleasant terrace overlooking the river. Whichever you choose, you can be sure of a superb meal in delightful surroundings.

Cheap places to eat

There are many charming restaurants, bars, and cafes in Prague – where can you get the best local delicacies and even international dishes, all for a great price.

If you like Italian food, one of the most popular restaurants is the Da Tarquinio, which serves generous portions of delicious pasta, big slices of pizza, and a selection of scrummy desserts. Or, if you’re looking to enjoy authentic local Czech dishes (such as potato and pork dumplings or goulash), then U Magistra Kelly is the eatery for you.

La Piccola Perla is a quaint and popular restaurant serving delicious Italian and Mediterranean dishes, too. The prices here are very reasonable and the portion sizes are very generous. Take note: you will need to reserve a table before you go, as this restaurant is a popular one.

However, if a snack is all you want, you should visit Sad Man’s Tongue Bar and Bistro which serves tasty burgers and delicious sandwiches.

Gourmet eateries

Prague has many exceptional restaurants serving delicious gourmet food, making dining out a real treat in this beautiful city of a hundred spires. The Michelin Star Alcron restaurant (in the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel), is known for its sumptuous seafood dishes, ranging from four to seven courses, featuring lobster bisque, scallop ceviche, tuna sashimi, and slow cooked octopus.

A mother and daughter-run restaurant: the Gourmet Pauza, sits nearby the popular Novy Smichov shopping mall, offering travellers all-day dining. Delicious breakfasts are available here, suiting all tastes – and the lunch and dinner menus are amazing. Choose from black tiger shrimps, coriander mayonnaise beef cheeks with red wine, purée with celery and apples, chilli spaghetti carbonara, basil gnocchi or grilled octopus with roasted root vegetables, to name a few. A truly gourmet experience.

Another fine restaurant is La Degustation, serving meals with six to eleven small-sized courses, inspired by 19th-century Czech cuisine. Choose from calf tripe with capers and black trumpet mushrooms, or radish with Prague ham and cauliflower.

Green Devil’s Absinth Bar

If you’re looking for an authentic absinthe tasting experience, try the Green Devil’s Absinth Bar in the old part of Prague – by the Old Town Square (and behind the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn). The bar itself is located in a dark cellar, featuring psychedelic green murals and artwork, a display case of cannabis products, green devils and artefacts everywhere you look.

At night, the bar is lit up with a green glow – adding to the already spooky atmosphere. Absinthe is made using two different methods in the Czech Republic: the most common and cheaper version is mixed and liquified. As it is quite bitter, it is often served with sugar, as the more expensive and rarer type is distilled and very potent.

The Green Devil’s Absinth Bar has a large supply of both versions for sale, but you are advised not to drink the absinthe without diluting it with water. The tasting sessions always dilute the absinthe with water and you can watch the clear liquid turn green, before you take a sip of the aniseed-tasting drink. Definitely a unique experience to explore in Prague.

Hemingway Bar

Hemingway Bar is located in the Old Town area of Prague, and is named after the world-famous writer – Ernest Hemingway. It is widely known that Hemingway was loved a mix of drinks and innovative cocktails, which is why this bar offers a wide variety of rums, spirits, sparkling wines (from the Champagne area) and top branded wines, as well as amazing cocktails.

The bartenders here are super friendly, experienced and knowledgeable mixologists – who are happy to explain exactly what is going into the cocktail, or even make one for you that doesn’t actually feature on the menu. Hemingway Bar also stocks the limited edition ‘Hemingway Absinthe’, as well as other varieties of this very strong liquor. The bar staff will explain the differences between these drinks, and tell you exactly how to drink it.

As the Hemingway Bar is small and quaint in size, it does get quite busy, so it’s best to get there early to ensure you get a seat. No standing is allowed here, so once all seats are taken – no one else is allowed in. It’s great to grab a seat at the bar, have a drink and simply watch the staff going about the business of making imaginative and delicious cocktails.

International cuisine

Prague has many fine dining establishments, offering an array of international dishes, many of which are situated in hidden courtyards, old cellars and Renaissance (or Baroque) palaces. One such place is the Artisan Restaurant and Café, which can be found at the bottom of Petrin Hill. The small, attractively decorated interior is a lovely setting to enjoy a delicious meal. The homemade ravioli (stuffed with lobster meat and served with saffron foam) is delicious, or perhaps opt for the confit of lamb shank with potato-marjoram purée and red wine sauce.

The Bastion Prague Restaurant is another great spot – located in the vicinity of Folimanka park, offering a unique view of Vyšehrad, the Vltava embankments, the Petrin lookout tower and many other historical buildings and churches.

The menu here offers luxury starters, such as the escargot with red wine – in a puff pastry shell, and terrine of rabbit liver with cherry jelly. The main courses are equally delicious, from roast pork cheeks with Kuba, to grilled fillet of pike-perch on saffron risotto with champagne sauce. Finish your meal off with one of the sumptuous desserts here, like the raspberry Bavarese with Madagascar vanilla creme fraiche.

Local cuisine

If you are visiting Prague, there are some wonderful local foods that you need to try. At the top of this list is the famed and delicious Czech pancakes – rolled up and served with fillings such as jam, fruit, cream or nuts. If you prefer savoury rather than sweet, you can choose various meat filings, or perhaps cheese and spinach. Yummy. Food carts and cafes serving these delicious pancakes can be found all around the city centre, too.

Another food often eaten on the go here is, grilované klobásy – grilled sausages in a bread roll, served with a variety of tasty sauces. You will easily find stalls selling this item in Wenceslas Square and the vicinity of Old Town Square.

If you prefer a more leisurely dining experience, why not try the Cafe Louvre? Here, they serve fantastic local dishes – including Svíčková with dumplings, marinated sirloin beef (covered in a root vegetable cream sauce and served with bread dumplings), a slice of lemon, cranberry sauce, and a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream? The combination of sweet, savoury, creamy and salty is amazing here.

L’Fleur Mixology and Champagne

L’Fleur Mixology and Champagne is a popular cocktail bar in Prague’s Old Town. Its classic and stylish 1920s décor, exposed brick, candlelit atmosphere and crystalline chandeliers, complete with a Mucha-inspired stained-glass window, towards the back of the bar gives it an air of glamour from a bygone era.

The bar has quite a few signature drinks and the bartenders are happy to advise you what is in each drink, as well as the history and the inspiration behind them. Why not try the Frontiere Belge, which is made up of jenever, malt syrup, butterscotch liqueur, egg white, and pear eau de vie? Or, The Decadente, which features V.S.O.P. cognac, house “opium syrup” and absinthe, all topped with a float of smoke clouds?

L’Fleur also puts its own spin on all classic cocktails served, offering barrel-aged blends – featuring gin, whisky, and mezcal, and also has a huge selection of champagnes to choose from. The ambience is very relaxed with soft music playing in the background, the staff are attentive, and the drinks are reasonably priced – an amazing bar to spend an hour or two in.

Steakhouses

If you are a red meat person (and like nothing better than a juicy steak), you are in for a treat when you visit Prague. Venture to the famed Steakhouse Jama – a nicely decorated restaurant, with friendly and welcoming staff – plus beautiful steak meals, what more could you ask for? Plus, if you can’t decide which steak to try – you could opt for the steak combination platter.

Another excellent steakhouse is the George Prime Steak, where you choose the cut of steak you want, as well as the size. Then, the steak is cooked to your taste and served with an array of delicious accompaniments. A popular choice is the boneless rib-eye with foie gras butter, fries, creamed spinach and mushrooms. Follow on from this dish with the coconut cream pie for dessert, and you will truly be in food heaven.

The BeefHouse Grill and Bar is a modern, contemporary, American style restaurant serving anything from local Czech aged steak beef, superb Argentinian rib-eye steaks to unbeatable USDA certified beef, all served with a choice of sauce and fries. However, if you don’t want steak, they also serve delicious salads and Mexican dishes, as well as pasta and grilled fish plates.