The food and beverage scene in Prague was excellent. As part of our culinary journey we specifically tried a variety of dishes that were part of a more traditional Czech cuisine.
Dinner & Beer
We had dinner at two restaurants close to the hotel which specialized in more traditional Czech food – one recommended by Andrew’s work colleagues and one recommended by the concierge at the Marriott.
When asking for recommendations at hotels in Vienna and Prague we were asked whether we wanted “American” food or more traditional “Czech” food. I am not sure why I would travel all the way to Europe to grab a 5 Guys burger and fries like I could get back in Richland, Washington – so we went with Czech food.
To each their own I guess.
We dined last night at “La Republica” which served traditional Czech dishes. In addition to Andrew and myself and a Korean couple – we were the only non-Czech people in the restaurant.
I enjoyed a delicious and filling Beef Goulash with slices of a “bread dumpling” that was a lot like bread stuffing at Thanksgiving. Andrew went with duck, a bread dumpling and red cabbage.
We washed all of this down with some excellent Czech beers – which were served in a 0.5L size at most of the restaurants we went to – although you could go for a larger 1 L beer if you wanted to.
Czechia consumes more beer per person than anywhere else in Europe – and it was fun to explore different beers everywhere we went – I do not believe I had the same beer twice over the course of nearly 3 days in Prague.
Cocktail Lounge
Andrew got us a reservation at a cocktail lounge/bar called the Hemingway Bar that serves speciality handmade drinks served in unique ways.
I expected a nice bar with an interesting and upscale decor that spent a bit extra time on the mixology for a few drinks.
I was wrong.
The drinks were unique and served with a dramatic flair – along with very unique drinking vessels.
We had to reserve our table for a fixed period of time – we chose 2 hours thinking that this was plenty of time. I mean – how much trouble could two Americans get into at an upscale bar for two hours?
Our first set of drinks consisted of a somewhat fancier Gin and Tonic with a local Bohemian gin with an “ocean theme” to it. The drink was split three ways into drinking vessels that looked like oyster shells served on a bed of ice. Andrew had an upscale Margarita-based cocktail – including a spectacular smoke bubble which made it look like a snow cone in a Martini glass.
Round one down.
Round two consisted of an interesting take on an old-fashioned. They brought an empty glass with a large rock of ice in it – along with a copy of one of Hemmingway’s books written in Czech. You opened the book – where there was a cut out with a glass flask inside that you opened and poured over your drink.
I had an absinthe-based cocktail that also had some fruit juice and kombucha (our server said it was the healthy one on the menu) that was served in a large container of ice with a spigot where you filled your glass – drank some – filled it again …
Round two down.
We had some food and sparkling water with our drinks – and had already eaten a light dinner. We had some time left on our reservation – so we both ordered a third round.
There is a unique herbal liquor (Becherovka) that is from Czechia – and my last cocktail was a riff on a whiskey sour with this local cordial. It was excellent and a great way to try something from Eastern Europe that I couldn’t get back in Washington.
Round three down – and we were out!
Overall – the dining experiences we had in Prague were outstanding – and I eagerly look forward to returning to sample even more great food, beer and cocktails in the future.
Kirk’s Travelogue 