Restaurants in Prague - and a food tour

Writer: Helena Bergström

Restaurants in Prague are what we're talking about today. We recently visited the capital of the Czech Republic where we ate our way through a few different restaurants, and joined an exciting food tour. Here we collect our restaurant tips from both this and a previous trip to Prague.

Restaurants in Prague

There are of course plenty of restaurants of Prague. If you are looking for traditional Czech food, you don't have to look far, and you will quickly find a place that serves soup, dumplings, goulash, duck and various meat dishes. If you want some tips, you can look through our little list – or why not book a food tour!?

READ MORE: Czech food - 20 dishes and drinks in the Czech Republic

1. location

You can't talk about restaurants in Prague without mentioning Lokál. There are actually a bunch of restaurants with the name Lokál, so this can be said to be a chain. As we understood it from our guide, Lókal takes over previous restaurants and makes its mark, in the form of traditional Czech food and beer at good prices. We have been here on two different trips, both times at the restaurant located at Dlouhá 33 in the Old Town.

During our last trip we had duck with dumplings and two kinds of cabbage here. This time, we visited the restaurant during a guided food tour, and we had the chance to try several traditional dishes: Prague ham with horseradish cream, fried cheese with tartar sauce, sausage with mustard etc. or cream and marinated cheese with oil, paprika and garlic.

Both times we have been here we have been very satisfied with the food. A reliable restaurant when you want a classic Czech meal with a good beer.

Address: Dlouhá 33, Staré Město

2. kuchyň

Kuchyň is a nice restaurant located right next to Prague Castle, with a fantastic view of Prague from the outdoor terrace. Here the focus is also on traditional Czech home cooking, but with a slightly more modern touch in terms of both preparation and serving. We had meatloaf with mashed potatoes and chicken thighs with potato cake here. A nice break in a lovely environment!

Address: Salmovský palác, Hradčanské nám. 186/1

3. Oblaca

Restaurant Oblaca is located almost at the top of the spectacular Zizkov TV Tower in Prague. The tower itself looks like something from outer space, sticking up like a tall stick with rounded lumps on it. From here you can go up and see the dizzying view of all of Prague.

Zizkov is 216 meters high with 360-degree panoramic views. The tower is also famous for its ten giant babies climbing the pillars, created by artist David Černý.

If you want, you can also enjoy a really luxurious meal at the Oblaca restaurant in the tower. You'll have to pay a bit more than at a regular Czech restaurant, but if you want to experience a luxurious restaurant evening, it's much more affordable here than in Sweden.

The food at Oblaca is good. really high quality and service got the highest marks from us. We were here during our last trip to Prague when we ordered tuna with vegetables in teriyaki sauce, sweet potato mash and coconut foam for the main course.

This was the best thing we've eaten in a long time! There was nothing wrong with the dessert either: goat cheese cream with cookie crumbs, marinated figs and beetroot powder.

Address: Mahlerovy sady 1, Žižkov

4. ash

Eska is a restaurant with a modern feel, where traditional ingredients are mixed with new influences. The menu includes things like steak tartare, fermented vegetables and soup of the day, but also a varied lunch menu and a tasting menu with five different dishes.

We were here during a guided tour and got to try a dish that can roughly be described as roasted potatoes with smoked carp, dried egg yolk and kefir. Different but delicious!

It may also be worth mentioning that the restaurant has its own bakery, which helps to ensure that the bread served is fantastic. We also got to taste two really tasty pastries here!

Address: Pernerova 49, Karlín

5. Kro Kitchen

Kro Kitchen is a modern bistro and bar with dishes such as pulled chicken with jasmine rice, quarter chicken, salads and sandwiches. There is also a bakery and a wide selection of drinks.

Grilled chicken with fries tastes like grilled chicken with fries, but the kimchi (fermented vegetables) and potato pancake were a very good snack. A nice and relaxed place!

Address: Sokolovská 79, Karlín

6th Malostransky Hostinec

Malostransky Hostinec is a restaurant serving traditional Czech cuisine. Here you can find dishes such as beef goulash, grilled duck, pork knuckle or Wienerschnitzel.

This day we decided to have a hamburger with cheddar cheese, bacon and vegetables instead. It tasted great with a cold Czech beer. We were also lucky with the weather and were able to sit in the nice white wicker furniture on the outdoor terrace.

Address: Malostranské nám. 260/11, Malá Strana

7. U Císařů

U Císařů is a restaurant located near Prague Castle. This restaurant serves both traditional Czech dishes and more general ”European” dishes. You will find things like pork chops and steak, but also fish and risotto, for example.

We dropped in here because we thought the outdoor seating looked nice. Since we just wanted a light lunch, we decided on the ”soup of the day”, which this day was pumpkin soup. A very good soup!

8 U Krále Brabantského

We'll end by mentioning the U Krále Brabantského restaurant and pub, even though we didn't actually eat here. We passed this place several times on the way to and from our hotel, and after seeing a sign saying that this is Prague's oldest pub, we thought it would be fun to check it out. Then autumn was in a sunny mood, and since this medieval tavern couldn't boast any outdoor seating, we didn't visit.

The restaurant, which opened in 1375, says on its website that even then it catered for everything from thirsty kings to beer-hungry smugglers. Today you can sit down in the same medieval vault and enjoy a beer with Czech food or dishes such as grilled trout or 'meat plate'.

Address: Thunovská 198/15

More restaurants in Prague

Of course, there are many more restaurants in Prague. As in other big cities, you'll find everything from exclusive fine dining to burger joints, pizzerias, salad bars and sushi places. There are also, as mentioned, plenty of places serving traditional Czech home cooking.

Can you eat vegetarian food in restaurants in Prague?

Of course, Prague, like other European capitals, has plenty of options for vegetarians. In restaurants serving traditional Czech cuisine, the selection of vegetarian dishes can sometimes feel a bit limited.

A common dish is fried cheese with tartar sauce. It is also common to find various vegetarian vegetable soups, and we sometimes saw starters or salads with beetroot.

Bryndzové Halušky (Slovakia's national dish, also common in the Czech Republic) are potato dumplings usually served with sheep's cheese and bacon, but if you're lucky you can find a vegetarian version. Another option is Czech blueberry dumplings, which, while a sweet dish, is a stodgy one that is sometimes eaten as a main course.

Food tour in Prague

If you have limited time, but want to experience several types of restaurants in Prague, you can try a food tour. We went on a tour with the company Taste of Praguewhich was very nice.

In a total of 4 hours, you, together with a small group, will have time to visit four places. We will visit three of the restaurants we described above as well as the cozy wine cellar Bokovka (Dlouhá 729/37, Staré Město).

During the tour you can taste Czech food - both traditional and modern - and have the opportunity to talk to a local about food and other cultural phenomena.

Do you have more tips for restaurants in Prague?

Do you have more tips for restaurants in Prague? Feel free to share your tips in the comments section, and more readers will benefit from them!