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.
Food program: Czech pub menu
Tip: Sit in the front room; the back fills with the tour-group crowd.
Address: Misenska 80/12, 118 00 Praha 1, Prague
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.
Signature drink: Tank Pilsner Urquell
Food: Czech pub menu
Tip: The terrace seats in summer go fast; book ahead Friday onward.
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.
Signature drink: Craft cocktails and natural wine
Food: Twenty-plus food stalls
Tip: Cashless; queue is real on weekend evenings, come Tuesday or Wednesday.
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.
Signature drink: Absinthe cocktail with rum reduction
Food: Snacks
Tip: Reserve ahead; the bartenders do classic cocktails better than anyone in the city.
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.
Signature drink: Pre-Prohibition classics
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Take the velvet booth at the back; bartenders work spec from the era's manuals.
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.
Signature drink: UV-revealed menu cocktail
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Order the spec called Memory; the back room is quieter.
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.
Signature drink: Rorschach-themed cocktail
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Smaller and tighter than Anonymous; the bartender's choice is the smart order.