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 classics.
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 as the Dlouha branch.
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. Pilsner from tank, honest Czech cooking, evening crowd.
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, with Czech classics.
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. The microbrewery upstairs makes X-Beer 33, the strongest beer ever brewed in the Czech Republic.
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 Bridge.
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. Chef Jan Puncochar cooks modern and traditional Czech with a focus on sauces and high-quality meat.
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, plus tank-poured Pilsner.
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 crowd.
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. Pho bo and bun cha at fair prices.
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 of mains.
Signature: Chlebicky, Egg-and-ham chlebicek
Order: A flight of chlebicky; the egg one.
Bistro 8 has been Letna and Holesovice's quiet European bistro since the late 2010s, with a single daily menu and a kitchen that buys at the Holesovice market.
Signature: Daily fish, Daily pasta
Order: Whatever the daily fish is; the wine by the glass.
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 the office crowd queues to grab.
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. The American-style hot dogs and sliders are taken seriously enough to fill a 15-seat room nightly.
Signature: Hot dogs, Sliders
Order: The classic with onions; the chilli fries.
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 garden.
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. Cheap, vegan-friendly, fast.
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 in advance.
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 daily lunch.
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 kitchens.
Signature: Pasta of the week, Saturday set lunch
Order: The pasta of the week; the Saturday set lunch.
Peak food season in Prague is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Prague rewards trust.