My wife and I are going to Prague in May. We'd like any information on authentic, real pubs frequented by locals, not just the tourist driven U Flecku. Any tips would be appreciatyed. Same goes for inexpensive restaurants where real Praguers dine.
Hi Joe, If you don't mind getting out of the center a bit, I'd recommend Na staré kovárně v Braníku and Pivovarský dům. These both fall in the pub/brewpub category. You can read about them on the Prague Pubs and Breweries page. Some good restaurants frequented by the locals are U Kašpárka (take a look at this post) or Kuře v hodinkách (The Chicken in the Watch) at Seifertova 26 in Prague 3-Žižkov. And lots of others. The secret behind finding a good, inexpensive, non-touristy restaurant is to leave the center and venture out into Prague 2, 3, 7... Lots of restaurant reviews are published in the Prague Post on a weekly basis. I suggest you buy an issue, it comes out on Wednesdays.
I have not been in Cz. for three years, but hope that menus are still hanging on outside of restaurants (you get menu when you sit down too). It is great help to see what they actually have and the price. Restaurants used to be divided into categories I. skupina (posh and most expensive), II. skupina (usually Czech meals) skupina III.(basic local eatery) skupina IV. (local pub with usually Czech pub dishes available). I found that skupina I. had way too many french-fries (pomfrity) which was considered "fancy" and too many "minutky s oblohou" - fast grilled slice of meat with some picked veg. Menus are also in English and German. Skupina II. was our favourite, because most of their dishes were local. Price was right too. Menus are usually only in Czech. Learn names of Czech dishes you want to try and I am sure you will find them there. Skupina III. Budget, very basic eatery (self serve), but local like home-made food is to be found in "Zavodni kuchyne". If you can read some Czech, there are places where locals eat their lunch. Menus are usually available on outside or inside on black board where you have to ask for it so they can dish it out for you. Food is really authentic and very inexpensive. In most places they also serve outsiders. If your Czech is limited, have names of dishes written down so you can recognize what you are ordering. These places are usually hard to find, but some are even in centre of Prague as people who work there have to have lunch somewhere. Their lunches are usually subsidised by company they work for. IV. (always great draft beer!) Local pub can be quite a dive full of noisy, sweaty and smoking locals, or clean basic place somewhere in suburbs, where beer is good and food is very inexpensive and real traditional pub (fried rye bread with garlic, tripe soup with rohlik, goulash soup). You have to stick your head in and see if it is to your standard. Perhaps we can set up new section and list Czech meals (in Czech) with description for those who are interested in exploring Czech food. It would be very helpful to those who don't read Czech, but want to try. This is link to restaurant reviews, however, it would be great to hear from our members how they actually enjoyed meal in their favourite restaurants. http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2004/Art/ ... stview.php
Hi magan, That's a great answer, very informative! I also like your suggestion of offering the names of Czech meals in Czech. We already have something like that in our Czech Phrasebook on Local Lingo - see Dining Out. We can sure add more in there. Some other food terms can be found on the Czech Food and Drink page on this website. Dana
