266999 Tue Oct 25 13:27:43 -0700 2005 9 26 International 0 1407940 Friends of mine and I are taking a Spring trip to Prague and London this May. London is no problem but none of us have ever been to Prague and it's a culinary mystery to us, so any information would be a great help. Some of us are watching our calories but, hell, it's a vacation. Thanks in advance. Tue Oct 25 13:27:43 -0700 2005 0 georgeb 1 1407941 you can get some pretty good food in Prague, but most of what you want to have in Prague is less about good food, and more about the experience. there are some great pubs that serve simple czech food with great beer, what you want to try, at least once, is gulash with bread dumplings - which is basically slices of steamed bread dough that you use to sop up the gulash. there are also several really nice cafes- try the cafe empirial - not great food, but great design and esthetics. for a good meal, try the "municipal house" which has both a cafe and a fancy resteraunt, and Paris hotel, both down town. Tue Oct 25 13:32:33 -0700 2005 1407940 0 zach 1 1407942 You'll walk so much you won't have to worry about calories. My guilty pleasure is the sausage from the food stands near Wenceslas Square. Some think it's nasty, but when in Rome! Also, we have had good luck in the "burbs" (Praha 3, 4, etc.) at local places. Nothing like a good spinich and eggs for lunch sitting at the communal tables. We have tried the trendy places (Hogo Fogo) and always left dissapointed. Day trip it to Karlstein and eat at the restaurant near the castle. Great German-Czech mix and a wonderful atmosphere. Tue Oct 25 14:20:39 -0700 2005 1407940 0 MidtownCoog 1 1407952 Like others said, Prague is really more about the atmosphere than the food, but there's good food to be had there. Press Ctrl+F and enter Prague to find some older threads - I go to Prague about 4 times a year and always post about it. The sausages from the food stands in Wenceslas Square are not great but harmless I think, but I'd stay away from those hamburgers... My favorite informal/moderate restaurant is Cafe Savoy & my favorite cheap place to eat is the Cafe Slavia. Cafe Imperial is gorgeous but skip the food, just have a jelly donut with your coffee. My fave high-end place on food merits alone is Cerny kohout, www.cernykohout.cz, do a tasting menu if time allows; as far as I know they are just about the only restaurant in Prague that is does serious Czech-inspired gastronomy (though not everything they do is Czech); the other high-end restos do other cuisines. For food/atmosphere, the French rest. at the Municipal House (which Zach recommends) is gorgeous and the food is good if pricey. The cooking at Kampa Park is superb, but it's a very un-Czech experience (save for the views). Pravda is always a good choice too. The new LaScene is supposed to be hot but I haven't been yet... www.lascene.cz. Note: Service is usually OK but can be slow. But you will certainly not feel rushed anywhere :P And don't forget that VAT is 20% on food and NOT included in the price. Tipping 10%+ is the norm. Tue Oct 25 18:40:21 -0700 2005 1407940 0 Sir Gawain 1 1407973 Try U Fleku. It's a very, very old brew pub (about 600 years) with an excellent dark beer and good hearty Czech food (dumplings, pork, potatoes, rye bread). It is often thought of as a tourist place for German tourists, but it is a fine place. The potato soup in Prague is often very good. Also, try some Czech wine. Wed Oct 26 09:35:06 -0700 2005 1407940 0 ChowFun 1 1408021 Was in Prague last week for the football. On the recommendation of this List we tried Cafe Savoy and I was disappointed. Food OK (give the veal in cream sauce a miss even tho' its on the menu as real....)but it looks like a cafe rather than a resto. Stand out restaurant of the trip was Bistro Sripek (sp?) on Valentinska in Josevo/Old Town. Very good French food at a reasonable price. Weird decor (artfully hollow cutlery and half a side plate!)but generally excellent. Thu Oct 27 10:46:46 -0700 2005 1407940 0 alex james 2 1408039 Sorry to hear you didn't like Café Savoy. I haven't tried that many things on the menu, but all of the soups and several of the desserts were very good, and I love the steak tartare & the fruit dumplings. It is a café/restaurant. You can go just for coffee or you can eat. I wish there were more places like that in the US. Personally I love the look. Which is not to say your comments aren't valid... Image: http://www.ambi.cz/images/savoy/02foto.jpg Thu Oct 27 19:32:43 -0700 2005 1408021 0 Sir Gawain 1 1408115 Funny you should ask! We just got back from Prague last night and I can tell you what we found: 1) Ate at Mylnec (the Mill) at the suggestion of our concierge. Don't recommend this restaurant. Just ok. Food was some good/some less than. Service was friendly. But the setting was a bit depressing... 2) Ate at Le Colonial for lunch one day. Very good soups (esp. the vegetable/meat ball)and salads (esp. the chicken caesar). Warm and comfortable atmosphere. Highly recommend. This is right near the Jewish Museum area, so a good place for lunch before or after. 3) Ate at Pravda at the suggestions of this board. Had lunch there twice we liked it so much. The borsh (without a "t") was the culinary highlight of the trip according to my husband. Lovely room. Very friendly service. Worked in every way. 3) Ate at V. Zalatsi at the suggestions of this board. Again we went twice (highly unusual for us)! Full dinner one night, and then a light late dinner after the opera another night. The food here is excellent. Ravioli starter that was as good as anything I've ever had anywhere. Venison main course that was tender and extremely tasty. Although was warned on this board against the Moravian wines, I had a late-harvest Reisling that was outstanding (at the recommendation of the waitier who brought several wines for me to try). 4) Ate at Allegro also on the recommendations of this board. It was our 21st anniversary, and this dinner filled the bill. Wonderful in every way. Although all the food was excellent, I must make mention of the 3-way salmon starter! One of the best dishes anywhere. I had originally ordered the scallop starter, and found it too salty for my taste. They could not have been more accomodating in bringing me something different, and I ordered the salmon after having tried my husband's! Wine by the glass, and the waiter brought several for us to try---such a nice touch. The cheese course here was outstanding, with cheeses that had been stored perfectly (so they were gooey when they should have been!). Also, we tried in vain to find an inspiring bakery (had visions of what is ubiquitous in Vienna) and didn't have too much luck. The best we found was Panerai, which happens to be a chain. I mention this because you'll see several of these around the city and they are a good option for that afternoon break! Hope all this helps! Lisa Sun Oct 30 17:54:18 -0800 2005 1407940 0 LisaG 2 1408142 Yes, to find a decent bakery/patisserie in Prague truly is a challenge. Paneria is a chain, but they buy from different companies, so it depends on the branch. I hate to say it but I prefer French bakeries when in Prague. Au Gourmand, on Dlouha street off of Old Town Square is good. As is Bakeshop Praha. Paradoxically, sometimes you find good non-fancy baked goods in supermarkets. They tend to be fresh too, thanks to the turnover. Odkolek makes good poppyseed kolace. Mon Oct 31 11:54:58 -0800 2005 1408115 0 Sir Gawain 3 1408768 Sir Gaiwan is bang on the money. Those are my favourite cafes in Prague. At Bakery Praha you can even get a peanut butter and fluff sandwich, as well as oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies and skinny lattes. It looks like a NYC style bakery. Tue Nov 22 17:47:17 -0800 2005 1408142 0 London girl