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.
Address: U Božích bojovníků 606/3, 130 00 Praha 3, Prague
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.
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.
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.