Where to eat in Prague

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Prague local favorites: Dish Fine Burger Bistro

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Prague local favorites: Dish Fine Burger Bistro

We love the Dish Fine Burger Bistro, and we visit on the spur of the moment whenever we want to treat ourselves to a great, tasty, juicy burger. You know, the kind of burger that will make you want to cancel your dinner reservations for the month ahead and just come back again and again for seconds and thirds. We never have a reservation so our visits follow the same pattern. We come in, the staff looks at us with that didn’t-we-tell-you-like-the-past-twenty-times-you-should-make-a-reservation-before-you-come kind of face, and then we ģo for a walk around the block because the next table will hopefully be ready in 20 minutes but maybe later, too. Who knows.


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Prague Drinks Wine Festival 2015

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Prague Drinks Wine Festival 2015

We make a point of having a glass of wine on our tours. We have figured you will have the beer anyway. It’s cheaper than tap water in many restaurants here, and it’s so ubiquitous we would not believe you if you said you did not have one in Prague. But wines? No. Czech wine production is tiny and exports are rare, so most foreign visitors do not associate Prague with wine.

Well, we think that’s a mistake and that’s why we are trying hard to change that perception. Luckily, we are not alone. Far from it. There are other people in Prague working hard on the same thing. Take the good people of Veltlin, the wonderful local wine bar in the heart of the Karlin district. Mr Bogdan Trojak and his colleagues have long focused on the “natural” wines of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. (You can see the Empire painted on the wall that dominates the bar.) 

The very same people have decided this year to organize the second installment of Prague Drinks Wine, a festival of natural wines from the former empire in Prague, to be held on 6 and 7 June. The festival tries to follow on the long-forgotten tradition of meetings of Empire winemakers held before WWI. The festival will host about 50 Central European winemakers offering about 400 samples of wine. 


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Cheap Eats in Prague

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Cheap Eats in Prague

Believe it or not, we used to be students, too. And just like any students, even we had tight budgets. Zuzi, for instance, saved some money by hitchhiking to and from Prague for university. Jan spent ten years doing his masters degree simply because he worked throughout his studies to make some money on the side (oh, and also because he was pretty lazy… and drafted, but that’s another story). But that does not mean we did not care about what we ate. We always liked good food, but simply did not have the money for fine dining.

We know that many visitors who want to eat their way through Prague are on a budget. While we do sometimes visit fine dining venues on our own travels, we think you do not have to compromise on quality even if you have a budget that is slightly tighter. And many times going for the budget option actually brings you the local immersion travelers crave whenever they go. Because we want you to eat well in Prague even if you do not have a gold credit card, we bring you some tips for eating Prague on a budget.


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One-day in Prague: Best things to do in Prague?

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One-day in Prague: Best things to do in Prague?

Let’s get the disclaimer out of the way at the beginning: visiting Prague for one day only is not, ehm, the ideal scenario. Prague has so much to offer that you will definitely wish you’d stay longer. You’ll see. That said, we are well aware that we get far less vacation time than we all deserve, and sometimes you want to try to see as much as possible. 

Inspired by guests who have recently stayed in our rental apartment, we have prepared an emergency, one-day, try-to-see-it-all-in itinerary for Prague. Setting up an itinerary like this is about compromises. But we have tried our best to create an itinerary that will mix the local with the famous, and throw in some great bites on the way, of course. Just remember: Prague is a bit hilly and the streets are cobblestoned, so wear comfortable shoes and prepare mentally for a long walk. You’re in for a looong walk, but hey: you brought it on yourself. Visiting Prague in one day? Crazy.


Prague foodies: Where do they eat?

Prague foodies: Where do they eat?

OK, so we run the food tours here in Prague and all, but clearly, we are not the only foodies living in Prague. In fact, what makes the Prague food scene so exciting is not only the restaurants, delis, bars, cafes and shops opening every year, but it is the community that has been building around food and the dining scene here in Prague and that has been raising the expectations people have of good food.

There is a new generation of foodies now eating their way through Prague: people who travel for food, are in the know about global trends, can put what happens in Prague into a broader context and demand a bit more than what was “good enough” ten years ago. And because this site, and the entire Taste of Prague project, is about sharing experience with our fellow foodie travelers, we asked a few of our foodie friends or people we respect as foodies for their tips in Prague. Where do they go to eat? This is what they said.


Our Guide to Gluten-free Prague

Our Guide to Gluten-free Prague

Life is great when you don’t have any food allergies. When you are gluten intolerant, things have not been so rosy here in Prague. Typical Czech cuisine does use gluten rather than not, and choices have been limited. That said, things have been getting better even in the gluten-free food department. We have decided to set up a small guide of Prague for people with gluten intolerance. We have picked some places that are good in their own right but are also good options for celiacs. We have tried to avoid places that offer one gluten-free dish, instead opting for eateries that offer more variety even for a diner with gluten intolerance. 


Must-Eats in Prague (early 2015 edition)

Must-Eats in Prague (early 2015 edition)

When we travel, we spend lots of time researching, and we are grateful for every little piece of reliable information we can get, especially when it comes to food. We want to eat the best food available in each destination we visit. Time is precious when you are on vacation and it is easy to settle for the second best. But you shouldn't. And this article is written for you, our fellow foodie traveler, who wants to eat the most authentic and the best local food in Prague. We bring you the ultimate "listicle" for Prague: our "best bites" in Prague, simply the food we love in Prague the most. 

We already set up a similar list last year, but we thought it needed an update. Logically, all the items listed are served in really good establishments that we love and endorse. We actually think the whole Prague trip could be built around a list like this: it is short to make sure you can taste all of these things within a short period of time. It caters to all budgets and takes you to different parts of Prague (and outside of Prague in one case) so it can be easily mixed with some smart sightseeing. And the food is delicious and represents some meaningful facts or trends in Prague. And we stand behind every dish. Heck, we even taste some on our Prague food tours. So without further ado, here we go! Our favorite bites in Prague.


The best vetrnik pastries in Prague

The best vetrnik pastries in Prague

The vetrnik is arguably one of the best pastries in Prague, and the weak spot of many Czech and foreign men and women (us included). Incredibly rich and creamy, this choux pastry seems very light at the beginning, yet can become very filling at the very end. Heck, we even finish our tours with one, and it is one of the highlights. As our recents guests said it: “How come this is not famous?” (Yes, they went back to have seconds the next day.)

But just like with every great pastry, every pastry shop has its own recipe and the variables are aplenty. Which begs the question: which vetrnik is the best in town? To answer that question, we have set out to put some of Prague’s vetrniks to the test. We have reserved a table at EMA Espresso Bar one Saturday (they do not normally make reservations, but the owners clearly understood the severity and importance of the task - thank you for that) and invited esteemed judges. 


Prague local favorites: Simply Good

Prague local favorites: Simply Good

Our tours are sometimes tough. For instance, we were getting lots of visitors with Czech heritage from Texas, and they kept asking us where they could get the best kolachees in Prague. There was always an awkward pause and lots of hesitation. You see, we could not think of a place that would sell kolachees, yeast dough treats with various sweet fillings, the way we knew them from our family gatherings, the proper kolachees. And them Simply good opened. This little bakery in the Karlin district sold yeast dough kolachees, frgale, cakes with streusel and such so good we could not believe they were not done by Zuzi’s grandma in the Slovacko region of Moravia where Zuzi is from. No wonder they often run out of products early into the day as people from the surrounding offices flock by to sweeten their lives just a bit with something that tastes truly home-made. 

The heart and the soul of the establishment is Hanka, the lovely owner. Always busy but with a smile on her face, Hanka is really proud of what she does - and still retains a truly hands-on approach. She has no problem naming her favorite things in the shop and the story behind them. What we love about Hanka is her life philosophy: although she must have faced some challenges transitioning from her previous job to the career of a pro baker, she always looks at the bright side of life. Things will simply work out. It was a pleasure to stop by the shop and ask a few questions. 


Prague Restaurant Preview: Field

Prague Restaurant Preview: Field

When we first heard about the Field restaurant in early November last year, we had pretty high expectations. We were fans of Ola Kala and its executive chef, Mr Kasparek: the food was great and the restaurants did seem like one of the few hidden gems in the city - we always wondered why it was not on more people’s radar given how good we thought the food was. 

Then we saw Field's website. Full screen photos. Gorgeous pictures. Ambitious philosophy. We heard the first reactions. Great sauces. Lots of fun. We knew we had to go.


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