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.
TryTank Pilsner, Czech pub menu
TipLast 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.
DrinkTank Pilsner Urquell
FoodCzech pub menu
TipSit 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.
TryDark Flek 13, goulash, pork knee
TipAvoid 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.
TipX-Beer 33 is a one-pour experience; do the standard 12-degree alongside.
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