U Modre Kachnicky ★ 4.2
U Modre Kachnicky in Mala Strana cooks the old Czech repertoire, roast duck and venison, in two Baroque-era dining rooms a five-minute walk from Charles.
OrderThe duck with bread dumplings and red cabbage.
History
Pork, dumplings and cabbage became a daily Bohemian meal as Habsburg-era pig farming spread through the countryside in the 18th century. Bread dumplings turned stale rolls into the carbohydrate base; sauerkraut preserved cabbage through winter. The dish became the Czech national plate by the late 19th century and now anchors every pivnice menu, from U Fleku to Lokal. The classic Bohemian sauerkraut here is white (zeli bile), softened with caraway and stock until it reads as sweet-sour rather than pickly. The Moravian version uses red cabbage cooked with apple.
Common allergens: Gluten, Eggs
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1.5kg boneless pork shoulder (or bone-in for more flavour, 2kg)
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds, lightly toasted
- 2 tsp sea salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 yellow onions, sliced
- 500ml chicken stock
- 300ml dark Czech beer (Kozel or Krusovice, or any dark lager)
- For the bread dumplings (knedliky): 500g plain flour
- 1 large egg
- 250ml warm milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 7g instant yeast
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 4 stale white bread rolls cut into 1cm cubes
- For the sauerkraut: 800g good white sauerkraut
- drained but reserving 100ml of its brine
- 100g smoked bacon lardons
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 tsp caraway seed
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 200ml stock
- 1 tbsp plain flour and 1 tbsp cold water for finishing gravy
Method
- Score the pork fat in a 1cm crosshatch; rub all over with crushed garlic, caraway, salt and pepper. Place on top of the sliced onions in a roasting tin with the stock and beer.
- Cover tightly with foil and roast at 160 degrees Celsius for 2 hours.
- While the pork roasts, make the dumpling dough: combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt; whisk the egg into the warm milk and add to the flour; knead 5 minutes to a soft dough. Fold in the bread cubes, cover, prove 60 minutes.
- Shape the dough into two long sausage shapes about 5cm thick on a floured tea towel. Prove a further 20 minutes.
- Bring a wide pan of salted water to a simmer, slide the dumplings in (not boiling, just bubbling), cover and cook 25 minutes, turning once.
- Lift out, slice immediately into 1.5cm rounds with a long piece of cotton thread (a knife will compress them).
- For the sauerkraut: render the bacon, add onion and cook 5 minutes; stir in the flour, then caraway and sugar. Add the drained kraut, stock and brine, simmer 30 minutes until soft and tangy-sweet.
- Uncover the pork in the last 30 minutes, raise the heat to 200 degrees Celsius for a deep mahogany crust. Rest 15 minutes covered.
- Strain the roasting juices into a saucepan, whisk in the flour-and-water slurry, simmer 3 minutes to a glossy gravy.
- Slice the pork across the grain. Plate three dumpling slices, a pile of sauerkraut and three slices of pork; ladle gravy across all of it.
Tip from the editors. The dumplings must be cut with thread, never a knife; a knife crushes the structure and turns them gluey. The sauerkraut needs to taste round, not sharp; if too acidic, add more sugar a pinch at a time.
Where to eat vepro-knedlo-zelo
Vepro-knedlo-zelo in Prague
U Fleku ★ 4.0
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.
Lokal Dlouhaaa ★ 4.4
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.
Vycep ★ 4.3
Vycep in Vinohrady earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2025. Chef Jiri Hrachovy modernises Czech pub cooking with a touch of Wallachian sheep-cheese country.
OrderThe Wallachian halusky with bryndza; the Pilsner pour from tank.
Book1 week ahead
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