7 Exciting Places to Find Great Czech Food and Beer in Prague—Plus One Restaurant in Ricany!
Czech food is known for being heavy and highly satiating. That’s because the fare centers on meat, potatoes, and a side of beer! When I was in the Czech Republic in late May/ early June, it was a little hard for me to eat their heavy foods because it was super hot outside, but the nice thing is that it kept me full most of the day.
Besides meat and potatoes, another staple is beer! Some say that the country started to produce beer in the 1000s, one of the world's most well-known beers. The most famous beer is Pilsner Urquell since it is the original Pils Lager, brewed there since 1842. A couple of other famous beers Prague has (that I also had) are Staropramen and Budweiser Budvar. At my hostel, they served Breznak Lezak, an easy-drinking beer. One interesting thing about Prague is that beer is legit cheaper than water. I will say that after my lovely European trip, I had to take a break from drinking beer since I didn’t drink as much water as I should have.
Let’s examine the places I ate and drank and what foods I tried so that you know the best places to go when visiting Prague!
1. Anonymous Bar
Before I go into the local dishes, I must start with this bar. It’s my favorite bar in Prague, so much so that I went three times; the third time wasn't planned. The first two times I went, I went solo. The second time I went was my last night in Prague. I wanted to end Prague on a high note. I accomplished that goal really well since I came back 4 hours later with random people I met on my hostel’s rooftop. I swear that rooftop was magical on meeting really cool people.
This mysterious bar is hidden in the streets of Old Town; it took a lot of work to find it with Apple Maps ( I hate Apple Maps). When I found it, I walked through a courtyard and waited to be seated. I wanted to be seated inside, and I was glad I did. The bar was decked out with Guy Fawkes, and everything had this dark, sexy, relaxed vibe. This concept bar has three—in their words— souls. You have guy Fawkes, V for Vendetta, and the Anyoumous movement (the hackers).
Each drink you order on their special menu has a theme or a show. Now, I don't want to ruin the different surprises, but my favorite is called "Remember." The drink was excellent, but what you get with it is a nice extra touch to make you remember the night!
2. Street Vendor Dessert Stands
You can’t forget the street vendors, an important part of every big city! You can find a dessert called trdelník on every street in Prague. It is traced back to the Kingdom of Hungry and the Moravian-Slovak border.
Vendors roll them into thin strips wound around a spindle called a "truly." Then it is glazed with sugar and grilled over open coals until the dough is cooked brown and the sugar caramelizes. It smells like cooked sugar! After the cooking is complete, the vendors roll them in trays containing a mix of sugar, cinnamon, and chopped nuts before being served, or if you want to be super fancy, you can add ice cream and other toppings.
My friend and I had it with ice cream, which was so good, but I recommend getting one that doesn't have ice cream since that is the “true” version of the dessert. My friend told me that they just added the ice cream in the last ten years or so! And if you’re traveling to Hungary at some point, you can get them there too!
3. Jureček (in Ricany)
This was the first restaurant I visited because of a dear friend I met years ago in DC. She is originally from Prague and was my tour guide for my first full day in the city.
After touring, we went to her town Ricany for lunch. It’s a 30-minute drive or 20-minute train ride from Prague. She took me there because there was a lake we could swim in, and they had the best Svíčková na smetaně (Czech's national dish). She was eager for me to try it. Svíčková is sliced beef sirloin, braised in the oven and served in a cream sauce with a garnish of cranberries and a dollop of whipped cream. It pairs nicely with a Czech Beer.
She was delighted when I told her I loved it, though I didn't have to eat until 7 pm. You don’t have to go to Ricany for this dish, either. You can get it anywhere in Prague!
While at the lake, my friend introduced me to Birell Pomelo, a non-alcoholic grapefruit beer. She told me on a hot day, especially by the lake, many people drink this to refresh themselves. It was a good non-alcoholic beer, I was pretty surprised I liked it.
4. Prague Beer Museum
Despite the use of the word "museum" in the name, it is, in fact, a beer bar with a large selection of beer. It has four locations in the city, each with over 30 beers on tap. I came here for a light dinner because I was still full of svíčková. I picked this place since they had pickle cheese, which was on my list of things to try since it's a classic Czech bar snack. They used a type of cheese called Hermelín. It's soft and creamy, like brie. It gets pickled in oil, peppers, garlic, and spices for a few days. If you get this with a flight of beer, you will have a really yummy light lunch or dinner!
5. Restaurace U Dvou velbloudů
On my last night in Prague, I was on a mission to have goulash, one of their main dishes.
There are two different types of goulash.
The Prague kind consists of big chunks of beef meat in a thick onion-based gravy with dumplings.
The Hungarian version resembles a stew with noodles, potatoes, or bread.
I stumbled upon this restaurant; the goulash and beer there are terrific. They have indoor and outdoor seating, and I sat outside. And honestly, I’d come back here again. It's a perfect spot to people-watch and immerse yourself in eating good food!
6. Vinohradský Parlament
I took two walking tours with 100 Spires City Tours. After each tour, They emailed 15 pages of free recommendations for food, bars, and things to check out. This was on the food recommendations. This place piqued my interest since they declared they made the most traditional Czech dumplings, a.k.a. Knedlíky, from scratch. And I confirm they were the most delicious dumplings I had in Prague. The cool thing about this location is that you can watch the whole baking process if you sit inside. I opted to sit outside, though, since it was a beautiful day.
7. Lokál Dlouhááá
This local pub is what you’re looking for if you want good food and beer. They have these all around the city since their specialty is their half-dark beer. It was also on the recommendations list. If you are near the Lein Wall, a big tourist spot, they have a location there that I went to after my walking tour.
8. Döner Kebab
I give credit to this discovery to this one American I met. When I checked in, I ran into two Americans, and we became friends. I came to find out this one guy actually lives down the street from me. After a night of drinking on our hostel’s rooftop, I was craving food, and so was his friend. He took us to Döner Kebab since it was close to our hostel, and he used to live in Prague, so he knew what places to go. When we got there, the place was actually closed, but the guy inside allowed us into order. Sometimes I am not the biggest gyro fan, but this night I was. It was honestly the best one I ever had. Probably biased since I was filled with Cezech Beer!
I returned again and had the same gyro sandwich. It was indeed the best one I ever had. These sandwiches were huge and at a really great price!
Which of these recommendations sounds most enticing to you? What do you look for when trying new places in different locations? As for me, I like experiences like the Anonymous Bar and feeling like I am a local.