Lokal "Worst place for food that I have ever been."

[christie21]

I just got back from Prague and enjoyed excellent meals based on the recommendations on this board. We had dinners at La Finestra, V. Zatisi - which was superb and Kolkonov. My husband remained behind to attend a conference and asked me to recommend a place for dinner where he could go with his colleagues. I suggested Lokal since it gets such rave reviews here. I just received a text from him saying that it is the worst place for food that he has ever been and his colleagues blame him. They are afraid to even use the bathroom. These are not people who don't appreciate good food. Most of them are sophisticated foodies. What gives? Is there more than one Lokal? Did they go to the wrong one?

[vanderb]

There are two Lokals, I go to both quite often because the food is of a high caliber for Czech pub food. I've never had a bad dish, meal or beer there.

As others commented, without more info, I'd have to assume these folks need security blankets to go anywhere but the golden arches...there's nothing frightening about Lokal, their food or indeed their toilets. I'm wondering if the post was a joke to get our collective goats.

I've got family going to Lokal tomorrow and will get their thoughts.

[hblnk]

This is too harsh and based on wrong assumptions, in the best of cases.
Lokal is a no frills beer hall, with very good but simple food. They use top class products for very down to earth meals.
No, indeed, no service like in a starred establishment. It is slow food from poor pedigree products and poor people's traditions, like in the days that no refrigeration existed at homes and meats were cooked in communal kitchens.

Lokal does not do foam of ginger over shadow of pigeon with green pea mouse with the waiters complimenting you on your new Jimmy Choo shoes.

What makes we wonder is that the people who now point fingers at your husband, seemed to like Kolkovna. That would be very telling.

[sasicka]

Hi Christie,
Maybe as you've never been to Lokal, you might have misunderstood what it actually is. It's a pub. Not a modern sleek gastropub with a Michelin star. Just a pub. In the evening, it can be hard to see through smoke. People are sitting together on benches and since the tables are close together in a cavernous interior, the noise can be intense. The interior is very basic. Tables for 8 persons, no tablecloths, no views, no decor, not pretty or too comfortable. A down to earth pub. I would never bring my colleagues there for a work lunch or dinner unless they were Czech.
The food is similar. If you've been to La Finestra or V Zatisi, these are uncompareable to Lokal. Lokal is the very basic of Czech cooking - heavy dumplings with heavy sauces, cabbage, fried cheese, potatoes, pork. It is a very good example of true Czech cuisine, done with fresh ingredients, care and love, but you won't find any lightness or greens in it. For lots of foreighners this might be inedible, especially if they are sophisticated. Lokal is as unsophisticated as you can get.

[christie21]

Thanks for the clarification sasicka - wish I had known this before :(

[kukubura]

I would not say it's "as unsophisticated as you can get" by a long shot -- it's clean, friendly, etc... But it's far from fine dining. And there are in fact two Lokal locations, but I doubt that they are that different (for example, I doubt one is "nice" and one is "awful.")

I hate to say this but without having a more detailed recap from the people who said that it was literally the "worst" I'm thinking that they were just being babies.