15 bars worth the trip across Czech Republic, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All Czech Republic guides.

Hemingway Bar ★ 4.7 · Prague

stare-mesto · Karoliny Svetle 26, 110 00 Praha 1

Hemingway Bar in the Old Town is Prague's serious cocktail destination, holding the city's largest absinthe collection and over 200 rums in a corner-room hideout near Charles Bridge.

Tip: Reserve ahead; the bartenders do classic cocktails better than anyone in the city.

BeerGeek Bar ★ 4.5 · Prague

vinohrady · Vinohradska 1342/62, 130 00 Praha 3

BeerGeek Bar in Vinohrady runs 32 changing taps of Czech and international craft beer. The owners brew Sibeeria themselves and curate a serious bottle and whisky list.

Tip: The Sibeeria stout is the house pour; trip across to Slavikova for the shop.

Black Angel's Bar ★ 4.4 · Prague

stare-mesto · Staromestske namesti 660/29, 110 00 Praha 1

Black Angel's Bar hides in the Gothic cellar of U Prince Hotel beneath Old Town Square, with a 1930s prohibition mood and an exhaustive list of pre-Prohibition cocktail classics.

Tip: Take the velvet booth at the back; bartenders work spec from the era's manuals.

AnonymouS Bar ★ 4.4 · Prague

stare-mesto · Michalska 432/12, 110 00 Praha 1

AnonymouS Bar in the Old Town runs a V for Vendetta theme with a menu revealed under UV light. The cocktails behind the gimmick are some of the city's best-spec'd.

Tip: Order the spec called Memory; the back room is quieter.

Lokal Dlouhaaa ★ 4.4 · Prague

stare-mesto · Dlouha 731/33, 110 00 Praha 1

Lokal Dlouhaaa pours Pilsner from tank in a 70-metre 1970s-style hall. The bar runs on the pace of a beer-tap-only Czech pub, with the same Pilsner you cannot find this fresh elsewhere.

Tip: Stand at the bar if no booth is available; the second tap pour is the smarter order.

Automat Matuska ★ 4.4 · Prague

praha-6 · Vitezne namesti 14, 160 00 Praha 6

Automat Matuska in Dejvice is the Krivoklatsko brewery's Prague taproom, opened 2019. American BBQ from the kitchen, Matuska IPAs and lagers on rotating taps, no-frills tap-room style.

Tip: Ask which Matuska pilsner is on; the IPA travels but the lager rotates.

L'Fleur ★ 4.3 · Prague

stare-mesto · V Kolkovne 920/5, 110 00 Praha 1

L'Fleur is AnonymouS Bar's small sister room, a tight cocktail bar with a Rorschach inkblot menu. Cocktails are designed around a single psychological theme each.

Tip: Smaller and tighter than Anonymous; the bartender's choice is the smart order.

Lokal U Bile Kuzelky ★ 4.3 · Prague

mala-strana · Misenska 80/12, 118 00 Praha 1

Lokal U Bile Kuzelky pours tank Pilsner Urquell in an 1862-era cellar near Charles Bridge. The Mala Strana Lokal of the Ambiente chain, with the same kitchen as Dlouha.

Tip: Sit in the front room; the back fills with the tour-group crowd.

Lokal Hamburk ★ 4.3 · Prague

karlin · Sokolovska 55, 186 00 Praha 8

Lokal Hamburk in Karlin is the river-harbour-themed Ambiente Lokal, the most neighbourhood-feeling of the chain. Tank Pilsner, big windows, the office crowd settles in evenings.

Tip: The terrace seats in summer go fast; book ahead Friday onward.

Vinohradsky Pivovar ★ 4.2 · Prague

vinohrady · Korunni 2506/106, 101 00 Praha 10

Vinohradsky Pivovar's house lager pours from tank in a glassed-in tap-room above the brewery. Outdoor beer garden in summer, classic Czech kitchen, neighbourhood book-ahead crowd.

Tip: The desitka is the smarter pour than the dvanactka with food.

Sad Man's Tongue ★ 4.1 · Prague

stare-mesto · Bartolomejska 12, 110 00 Praha 1

Sad Man's Tongue is the Old Town's rockabilly bar-bistro, cash-only, taking no reservations, doing American-style burgers and beer in a 1950s-styled room near Karoliny Svetle.

Tip: Cash only; the burger plate is the kitchen's main reason to exist.

Klasterni Pivovar Strahov ★ 4.1 · Prague

mala-strana · Strahovske nadvori 301, 118 00 Praha 1

Strahov Monastery has brewed beer since around 1400. The current brewery on the Castle hill pours its own Sv. Norbert beers next to a Czech pub kitchen and a quiet courtyard.

Tip: Skip the dark; the amber is the brewery's tightest pour.

U Fleku ★ 4.0 · Prague

nove-mesto · Kremencova 183/11, 110 00 Praha 1

U Fleku has poured beer since 1499 on the same Nove Mesto block. The dark 13-degree Flek lager and the eight beer halls inside the brewery make this Prague's beer cathedral.

Tip: Wave off the Becherovka shots; pay for the beer only.

U Medvidku ★ 4.0 · Prague

stare-mesto · Na Perstyne 345/7, 110 00 Praha 1

U Medvidku in the Old Town brews X-Beer 33, the strongest beer in the Czech Republic, in a microbrewery above the 1466 beer hall. Cellars are big, queues are real, beer is heavy.

Tip: X-Beer 33 is for one pour; the standard 12-degree is the keeper.

Manifesto Market Smichov ★ 4.0 · Prague

smichov · Namesti 14. rijna 82/16, 150 00 Praha 5

Manifesto Market Smichov is the open-air food and drink yard near Andel. Twenty-plus food stalls, four bars including cocktails and natural wine, DJ sets in summer.

Tip: Cashless; queue is real on weekend evenings, come Tuesday or Wednesday.