Best Places to Eat in Prague? Head to Dlouha Street

25th May 2016

Prague in the Czech Republic is not only one of the most beautiful cities we’ve visited, it has to also be one of the most touristy. A popular weekend destination, this selfie stick capital of the world can feel overcrowded at times so it’s understandable that as travellers, we often had the urge to escape the busy centre to find some other areas off the beaten path. The most common time of day when this urge came across us would be at meal times.

The city’s centre has a huge amount of restaurants and specialty coffee shops to choose from but picking the right one can be tricky. Being from London, we are too aware that establishments filled with tourists do not necessarily mean good quality. In fact, it can often mean the opposite!

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We went on a mission to find eateries which are mostly frequented by locals because, in our experience, this usually equates to a better quality and authentic eating experience.

Dlouha Street

We were pleased to find out that you don’t have to go far from the very centre of the city to find what we were looking for. If like us, you also prefer to avoid overpriced tourist restaurants, then we recommend heading to Dlouha Street.

Just a block away from the madness of Prague’s main square, Dlouha Street is a refuge that offers a wide variety of local and international cuisine in a much quieter and local setting. Still located in the old town, the street is lined with attractive architecture but the tourist masses are nowhere to be seen, even in peak summer season!

Restaurants, cafes and shops in this area are popular with the modern, hip and young Prague crowd so makes a nice change when compared to other areas of the city centre.

Me trying 6 of the many beers on offer in Prague

Being so close to all the action, we spent a lot of time down Dlouha street eating and drinking with the locals. Here are some of our favourite places that we recommend everyone visiting Prague should try.

Lokal

The name says it all, Lokal is a huge hip eatery serving classic Czech comfort food washed down with the freshest tasting Pilsner we’ve ever tasted. The industrial looking restaurant/beer hall serves dishes such as schnitzel, beef neck, pork shoulder and roast chicken, served with bread or potato dumplings, potato salad, spinach and mashed potato. Czech’s love potato!

Lokal interior

You can’t visit Lokal without sinking a couple of cold local Pilsners. Served in a variety of ways, which we never did get our head around, the Pilsners here are as good as it gets. Our favourite was Kozel black, a dark stout like beer with a smooth and sweet taste.

If you have a sweet tooth then a great Lokal tip is to try one of the pastries on offer. These are made by nearby Cafe Savoy but on sale at much cheaper prices!

Nase Maso

At the entrance to a lovely up and coming shopping arcade is the unique Nase Maso. The popular wood panelled butcher shop sells top quality meats that they can prepare, cook and serve for you to eat on the premises.

Think juicy burgers, premium cuts of steak, various types of sausage and beef tartare. It was here where we had our first experience eating beef tartare. If you’re not sure what Tartare is, it’s basically raw mince meat. Once we got our heads around the unfamiliar texture of raw mince meat, it tasted delicious! We also tried a steak cut and two types of sausage served with fresh bread. Yum!

Meat window display at Nase Maso

Be prepared for queues if arriving in the afternoon. If you can stomach meat for breakfast then we recommend heading over in the morning to beat the lunch rush. And don’t forget to check out their other shop further inside the same arcade where they serve mouthwatering classic Czech hot dogs.

Sisters

Head just across the other side to the arcade entrance and you’ll find Sisters, a stylish little cafe selling chlebicky, i.e. traditional Czech open-faced sandwiches. These little works of art taste as good as they look and they use the freshest ingredients to create the moorish toppings.

Open sandwiches at Sisters

We tried the following creations:

king prawn/cream cheese/sliced egg
beetroot puree/goats cheese/walnut
pickled herring/radish/wasabi mayonnaise

They all tasted so good.

The rich and smooth coffee served here is also of fine quality and the various flavours of homemade lemonades hit the spot on a hot day. So go grab yourself a window seat at this little gem and watch local Prague life go by.

Bahn Mi Ba

For some non-traditional Czech food head to Bahn Mi Ba for a taste of Asia. Ever since we visited Vietnam, we cannot get enough of Bahn Mi, i.e. Vietnamese baguettes.

At the budget price of 20 pence each, we eat these spicy sandwiches almost every day in Vietnam so developed a bit of an obsession. When we come across them in other parts of the world you can guarantee that it won’t be long until we’re devouring them while smiling from ear to ear.

Shelley enjoying her Bahn Mi

The Bahn Mi at the minimal and cool Bahn Mi Ba are particularly good. They offer a good range of filling options, ten in total, using a variety of meats and vegetables. We always choose the traditional grilled pork, pork pate, pickled carrot, lemongrass, coriander and chilli, all crammed inside a light and fluffy Vietnamese baguette.

But it’s not all about the Bahn Mi here. They also serve a selection of flavourful noodle and pho dishes and of course the best traditional Vietnamese coffee sweetened with condensed milk. Since Prague was in the middle of a heat wave when we visited, we had our coffees over ice. You have to try Vietnamese coffee if you haven’t yet had the pleasure.

Fish and Chips

If you fancy injecting a bit of London into your trip to Prague then check out Fish and Chips. Not the most original of names for a Fish and Chip restaurant but be assured that the fish here is excellent. We should know!

Fish and chip dinner at Fish and Chips

Fish served London style is just as much about the batter as it is about the fish, and the light and crispy batter here does not disappoint. And what about the chips I hear you ask? Yes the chips, although not cooked quite in the same way as they do back in London, are a hit.