Czech fried cheese: a thick slab of Edam or Hermelin breaded and deep-fried, served with tartar sauce, fries and a slice of lemon. Beer-hall food at its most direct.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Smazeny syr is a 20th-century Czech invention, popularised in the communist era when meat was scarce and cheese was not. Local Edam-style cheese took the schnitzel treatment: floured, egged, crumbed, deep-fried to a golden crust. It became late-night pub food, the dish you order at 23:00 with a Pilsner. Lokal serves the canonical version, listed on every Lokal menu since the chain opened in 2009. Older pivnice often serve a version with hermelin (Czech camembert) instead of Edam for richer interior melt.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs
Tip from the editors. The Czech standard cheese is eidam (Czech Edam); a young gouda or low-melt mozzarella block also works. Hermelin must be fully ripe (the centre soft when pressed); under-ripe stays chalky inside even after frying.
Lokal Dlouhaaa stays open to 01:00 weekend nights, pouring tank Pilsner and serving classic Czech pub food until last orders. Located in Stare Mesto.
Try: Tank Pilsner, Czech pub menu
Tip: Last food order is 30 minutes before close; the smazeny syr is the late dish.
Lokal U Bile Kuzelky pours tank Pilsner Urquell in an 1862-era cellar near Charles Bridge. Sit in the front room; the back fills with the tour-group crowd.
Signature drink: Tank Pilsner Urquell
Food: Czech pub menu
Tip: Sit in the front room; the back fills with the tour-group crowd.
U Fleku's eight beer halls stay loud until 23:00. The 1499 brewery's dark Flek 13 is the late-night pour; the kitchen runs full Czech mains until last orders.
Try: Dark Flek 13, goulash, pork knee
Tip: Avoid the Friday and Saturday late shifts unless you booked a hall in advance.
U Medvidku has poured beer since 1466 in the same Old Town building. X-Beer 33 is a one-pour experience; do the standard 12-degree alongside.
Tip: X-Beer 33 is a one-pour experience; do the standard 12-degree alongside.
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