Bistros, trattorias and the everyday rooms where Prague actually eats.
Bistros, trattorias, taverns and neighbourhood rooms: the mid-tier places where Prague actually eats.
Lokal Dlouhaaa is the longest of Ambiente's Czech pubs, a 70-metre tile-and-wood room in Stare Mesto pouring Pilsner from tank and cooking honest Czech.
Signature: Tank Pilsner Urquell, Beef tartare
Order: The tartare with bread; tank Pilsner Urquell.
Lokal U Bile Kuzelky is the Ambiente Lokal closest to Charles Bridge, a 1862 cellar pub pouring tank Pilsner and cooking the same Czech classics.
Signature: Tank Pilsner, Smazeny syr
Order: Smazeny syr; tank Pilsner.
Lokal Hamburk is the Karlin outpost of the Ambiente pub chain, on the site of a 19th-century river-harbour inn. Order the vepro-knedlo-zelo; pour from tank.
Signature: Vepro-knedlo-zelo, Tank Pilsner
Order: Vepro-knedlo-zelo; pour from tank.
U Fleku has brewed beer on the same Nove Mesto block since 1499. The cavernous beer hall pours its own 13-degree dark lager, brewed exclusively on site.
Signature: Flek Dark Lager 13, Pork knee
Order: The dark Flek 13; the pork knee.
U Medvidku has poured beer since 1466 in the same Old Town building. Located in Stare Mesto. Order the the x-beer 33; the goulash with bread dumplings.
Signature: X-Beer 33, Goulash
Order: The X-Beer 33; the goulash with bread dumplings.
U Modre Kachnicky in Mala Strana cooks the old Czech repertoire, roast duck and venison, in two Baroque-era dining rooms a five-minute walk from Charles.
Signature: Roast duck, Venison goulash
Order: The duck with bread dumplings and red cabbage.
U Mateje sits in residential Dejvice and holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Located in Praha 6. Order the the wiener schnitzel with potato salad.
Signature: Wiener schnitzel, Beef cheeks
Order: The Wiener schnitzel with potato salad.
Kantyna is Ambiente's butcher-canteen, a stand-and-eat steak counter where you order at the meat case and pay by weight, two blocks off Wenceslas Square.
Signature: House tartare, Sirloin steak
Order: Tartare; sirloin grilled to medium rare.
Cestr is Ambiente's Czech-cattle steakhouse near the National Museum, serving cuts off the Czech pied breed alongside tank Pilsner and roast bone marrow.
Signature: Czech pied steak, Tank Pilsner
Order: Hanger steak; the tartare tableside.
Vycep is a modern Czech pub in Vinohrady with a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Chef Jiri Hrachovy brings a Wallachian touch to the Czech repertoire.
Signature: Halusky with bryndza, Tank Pilsner
Order: The Wallachian halusky with bryndza.
Pizza Nuova is Ambiente's certified Vera Pizza Napoletana room in Stare Mesto, baking margherita and house pasta a block off Namesti Republiky for the family.
Signature: Margherita, Antipasti
Order: The Margherita; the house pasta of the day.
Pho Vietnam Tuan and Lan opened in 2010 on Anglicka and was the first Vietnamese restaurant Prague's foreign press wrote about. Located in Vinohrady.
Signature: Pho bo, Bun cha
Order: Pho bo with brisket; bun cha if you brought a friend.
Sisters Bistro on Dlouha is Hana Michopulu's modern take on chlebicky, the Czech open-faced sandwich, with farm-sourced spreads and a small lunch menu.
Signature: Chlebicky, Egg-and-ham chlebicek
Order: A flight of chlebicky; the egg one.
The Eatery is the Holesovice Bib Gourmand from chef Pavel Bycek (formerly of Alcron), an industrial-style room with an open kitchen turning out contemporary.
Signature: Roast duck with cabbage, Beef tartare with house bread
Order: The duck if it is on the daily card; the house-baked bread.
Mistral Cafe sits in the Old Town near Staromestska, a bright modern bistro running all-day breakfast, daily soups and a popular weekday lunch menu.
Signature: Weekend brunch, Soup of the day
Order: The weekend brunch; the soup of the day.
Mr HotDog in Letna is a tiny counter the neighbourhood books a week ahead. Order the the classic with onions; the chilli. Kitchen leans american hot dogs.
Signature: Hot dogs, Sliders
Order: The classic with onions; the chilli.
Vinohradsky Pivovar rebuilt the 1893 Vinohrady brewery in 2014 and pours its own house lager alongside Czech pub classics in a glassed-in tap-room and beer.
Signature: House lager, Pork knee
Order: The house lager; the pork knee for two.
Beas Vegetarian Dhaba is the Vinohrady branch of a Prague vegetarian Indian counter where you fill a plate cafeteria-style and pay by weight.
Signature: Daily thali, Dahl
Order: A loaded thali with three curries and rice.
Lehka Hlava has cooked creative meat-free food in an Old Town room between Charles Bridge and Narodni since 2005, under a starry-painted ceiling locals book.
Signature: Mushroom risotto, Vegan burger
Order: The mushroom risotto; the daily soup.
Maitrea sits a minute off Old Town Square and is Lehka Hlava's sister room, a calm tea-room-restaurant doing full vegetarian Czech classics plus a cheap.
Signature: Vegetable goulash, Daily lunch menu
Order: The Czech-style vegetable goulash with dumplings.
Dejvicka 34 holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Chef Tomas Cerny cooks Italian-Czech bistro plates in Prague 6, drawing on twenty years in Italian Michelin.
Signature: Pasta of the week, Saturday set lunch
Order: The pasta of the week; the Saturday set lunch.