The Saints runs a small Vinohrady bar a block from Termix, with multilingual bartenders, gay-press magazines on the counter and a regular rotation of drinks specials. It functions as the start-of-night meeting spot for the surrounding Vinohrady queer scene.
Tip: The bar shares ownership with Prague Saints travel; staff English-speaking and helpful on directions onward to other clubs.
Address: Polská 1352/32, 120 00 Praha 2, Prague
Cult runs the Czech Republic's reference Japanese-style listening bar from the basement of Café Tvaroh on Šmeralova in Holešovice, with Klipsch La Scala and Heresy speakers, an Isonoe rotary mixer and a Reloop turntable rig. Programming runs vinyl-only across jazz, ambient and electronic selectors.
Tip: Red neon outside indicates the door is open; conversation is kept low between sides. Only Thursday through Saturday.
Vzorkovna runs as Prague's reference underground dive, a labyrinth of low-vaulted rooms under Národní with mismatched furniture, a foosball table, a small live music room and several resident dogs roaming between the bars. Payment is loaded onto a bracelet at the door.
Tip: Load the bracelet with what you plan to spend; unused credit is non-refundable. The room peaks 23:00 onward.
U Vystřelenýho oka has run on the slope below the Žižkov hill since the 1990s, named after the one-eyed Hussite commander Jan Žižka. Pilsner Urquell from the tap, a fish tank built into the bar counter, a courtyard beer garden in summer and occasional punk and acoustic live sets in the back room.
Tip: Closed Sunday. The beer garden out back is the summer seat; cash only, smoking inside is part of the deal.
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.
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.