Bukowski's has run on Bořivojova since 2008, named after Charles Bukowski with smoke-fogged candles, cocktails and cigars across a small wood-panelled room. The bar trades on a downbeat-but-friendly Žižkov atmosphere and a cocktail list cheaper than the Old Town options.
Tip: Cash only at the door; the room fills after 22:00. Smoking inside; the back room is quieter.
Address: Bořivojova 689/86, 130 00 Praha 3, Prague
U Hrocha pours Pilsner Urquell from gold taps in a vaulted Malá Strana room a five-minute walk below the Castle, with exposed brick arches and a regulars-first culture that holds the room against the surrounding tourist trade. One beer on tap, traditional Czech bar snacks.
Tip: Arrive at opening for a seat; tables fill with locals by 17:00. Cash only.
Cross Club fills a labyrinth of rooms in a Holešovice industrial building near Nádraží Holešovice, with sculpted scrap-metal interiors and a programme of drum and bass, dubstep, techno and live alternative acts across two stages. The cafe upstairs runs all day; the underground club opens nightly from 20:00.
Tip: The smaller second stage opens earlier than the main floor. Tram or metro C to Nádraží Holešovice is two minutes away; cash bar.
Roxy occupies a vaulted Old Town cellar on Dlouhá and has booked Prague's longest-running electronic music programme since 1992, alongside live indie and rock shows in a four-bar room beneath medieval brick arches. Bookings run from local residents to international touring DJs.
Tip: Tickets on GoOut; the queue moves fastest before midnight. The NoD theatre upstairs runs separate programming.
Mecca opened in 1998 in a former Holešovice factory and runs three floors with two music stages and five bars, programming house and techno on the main floor and broader hip-hop and pop on the smaller stages. Open on event weekends rather than nightly.
Tip: Tram to Dělnická is the easy way in. Programming is event-driven so check mecca.cz before turning up.
Duplex sits on the seventh-floor roof of a Wenceslas Square tower, with a glass-cube club and an outdoor terrace that runs through summer and a heated dome through winter. Programming runs house and electronic on the main floor with pop and dance on the rooftop bar.
Tip: The terrace is the draw; arrive before midnight for the city-view bar before the floor packs. Heated dome stays open in winter.
Lucerna Music Bar opened in 1995 in the basement of the Lucerna Palace arcade between Vodičkova and Štěpánská, booking touring indie, rock, hip-hop and electronic acts plus the long-running 80s and 90s video party that fills the room every Friday and Saturday until five.
Tip: Enter through the arcade off Vodičkova; the 80s-90s video party is the easiest weekend ticket. Cloakroom moves fast.