Everything You Need to Eat in Prague

Prague’s charms are far from hidden. It’s the city where Franz Kafka wrote The Metamorphosis and The Trial. Albert Einstein temporarily called the city home. Mozart premiered a symphony in Prague (which earned it the title Prague Symphony). Famous composers Smetana and Dvorak hail from the region. And, though they separately immigrated to the US, Madeleine Albright and Martina Navratilova were born here too.

Today, crowds travel to Prague from all corners of the world to traverse the Charles Bridge, visit the Prague Castle and gape at centuries of architecture. Prague is a beautiful city left relatively intact by the ravages of World War II. Retaining its progressive and bohemian (no pun intended) spirit over the centuries, it’s now a mecca for waves of tourists as well as professionals who choose to live and work in the city.

Surprise! The food in Prague is great too.

We created this Prague food guide after scouring the city to find the best Prague eats. For ease of use, we’ve separated it into the following four categories:

And, since traditional Czech food is the most popular food in the Czech capital, we recommend starting your Prague food journey here.

To people who’ve visited Central European countries like Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, Czech food will looks familiar. There’s sausage! There’s schnitzel! There’s goulash! This all has to do with the region’s geography. Czechia, Bohemia specifically, was occupied by most of those countries over the centuries and Czech food reflects these occupations.

As for these dishes, there’s no getting around the fact that traditional Czech cuisine skews heavy on meat and potatoes. One of the most iconic Czech dishes, svíčková, is basically a braised slab of beef served with root vegetables, bread dumplings and creamy sauce. And the Czech national dish, vepřo knedlo zelo, is essentially pork with dumplings (again) and sauerkraut.

After eating a lot of traditional Czech food in Prague, these are our favorite traditional dishes:

Be prepared to encounter a lot of pork in Prague. The ‘other white meat’ represents more than half of the meat consumption in the Czech Republic and a lot of it is sausage.

There’s an important question you’ll need to answer when you eat Grilované Klobása (i.e. grilled sausage) in Prague. Do you want to eat it on a roll or with utensils? Your answer will likely depend on whether you’re eating at a sit down restaurant or on the go. Either way, you’re practically guaranteed to get mustard and horseradish on the side.

However, there’s no question when it comes to the best thing to drink when you eat Grilované Klobása. It’s practically an unwritten Prague rule that you must drink Pilsner beer when you eat grilled sausage. However, how many beers you drink is up to you.

Where to Eat Grilled Sausage in Prague
You should find grilled sausage at most if not all pubs and traditional restaurants in Prague as well as at many of the city’s beer gardens and street food stands. After eating tasty grilled sausages at Lokal, Naše Maso, Pork’s and U Zlatého Tygra, we recommend them all.

Smažený Vepřový Rízek, which translates to fried pork cutlet, is essentially schnitzel. But, unlike the more famous wiener schnitzel served in Vienna, Czech schnitzel is typically made with pork cutlets instead of veal.

Schnitzel‘s origin isn’t clear. Some people believe that it roots are with the Lombards in Northern Italy while others believe the breaded, fried meat came from the Austrians, specifically in Vienna (hence the name wiener schnitzel).

We’ve personally eaten versions in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary and Italy. That being said, we love the Czech version which involves breading pounded pork cutlets and pan-frying them until they’re crispy on the outside. We also love the potato salad which is often served on the side.

Where to Eat Schnitzel in Prague
Head to one of Prague’s many traditional restaurants to eat schnitzel. We’ve eaten schnitzel at Cafe Imperial, Kuchyň, Pork’s and U Zlatého Tygra. They were all tasty.

Czech bread dumplings have a drier texture than Austrian and German knoedel. Plus, they have a different name – knedlíky.

Finding knedlíky in Prague’s traditional restaurants is easy. Deciding on your favorite knedlíky is a different story. Savory dumplings include houskové knedlíky made with bread and bramborové knedlíky made with potatoes. Then there are sweet dumplings, called ovocné knedlíky, that are filled with fruit.

We like to eat savory knedlíky with meaty dishes since they’re great for sopping up sauce. However, we never say no to fruit dumplings made with fresh apricots, plums or berries when they’re offered to us.

Where to Eat Dumplings in Prague
Instead of finding dumplings in Prague, they’ll find you when you order a savory dish like meatloaf or goulash at a traditional restaurant. That’s what happened to us when we dined at Cafe Imperial, Kuchyň and Lokal.

Kulajda isn’t the only soup in Prague but it’s the city’s most unique soup. Originally eaten in Southern Bavaria and made with dill, mushrooms, sour cream and potatoes, the creamy soup gets its finishing touch from a quail egg.

Vaguely translated to ‘dill soup’ on the menu at Prague’s grand Cafe Imperial, Kulaida has flavors that are creamy sweet, sour and herbaceous. In other words, the soup is a luxurious, creamy bowl of Central European yumminess that hits the spot on a cold afternoon in Prague.

Where to Slurp Kulajda in Prague
You may have to look at a few traditional restaurants to find Kulajda in Prague. We found and ate a highly slurpable version at the historic Cafe Imperial.

It’s no wonder that Prague is a happy place for Daryl considering his deep and enduring love for duck. We’re not talking about Donald or Daffy. We’re talking about duck that’s seared, pan-fried or slowly roasted.

Pečená kachna is the latter – slowly roasted until the skin is crispy and the meat falls off the bone (similar to duck confit in France except that it’s not poached in fat). The best versions of pečená kachna are served with with dumplings (knedlíky) and cabbage (zelím) at traditional Prague restaurants and homes. The dish is especially popular during the holiday season.

Where to Eat Roast Duck in Prague
Pečená kachna is served at traditional restaurants like Kuchyň which is where we ate the dish.

Vepřové koleno (pork knuckle or pork knee) is another dish that’s not unique to Prague. (We’ve eaten pork knuckle in both Bucharest and Strasbourg.) But that lack of uniqueness doesn’t detract from the wow factor that occurs when a hunk of pork knuckle arrives at the table.

Not for dainty diners or vegetarians, pork knuckle is a carnivore’s fantasy since it’s basically a big piece of meat served on the bone. Some Czech cooks marinate the pork knuckle in beer for extra flavor. In Prague, vepřové koleno is served with condiments like mustard and horseradish.

Where to Eat Pork Knuckles in Prague
Beer halls and traditional restaurants are the best places to eat pork knuckles in Prague. We flexed our culinary muscles when we shared a pork knuckle at Pivovar Narodni.

The French may have perfected beef tartare, a dish that pairs raw ground meat with ingredients like diced onions and capers. However, Czech people have adopted the dish as their own and call it tatarák. In Prague, locals have no qualms about eating raw meat served with equally raw egg yolk.

We similarly have no qualms about ordering tatarák in Prague just like we have no problem ordering tartare in Paris. Prepared with meat sourced from the city’s finest butchers, both Prague versions we ate were full of flavor.

Where to Eat Beef Tartare in Prague
Tatarák is so popular in Prague that it’s almost impossibel to find a restaurant that doesn’t serve the dish. We ate excellent versions at both Štangl Restaurant and Kantyna.

You may do a double take when you see chlebíčky in Prague. The colorful open-faced sandwiches look like Danish smørrebrød which look like Basque pintxos which look like Austrian belegte brote which look like Italian cicchetti.

To be clear, chlebíčky aren’t identical to those other global sandwiches that we’ve eaten in Copenhagen, Madrid and Venice. They were more similar to ones we ate in Graz, which makes sense considering Austria’s proximity to the Czech Republic.

Prague’s version starts with small slices of white bread and continues with layers of various spreads, meats, eggs, and veggies on each slice. Although they’re small enough to be a snack, you can also eat a few for breakfast or lunch. Or, even better, you can nibble on one or two during a Prague food tour .

Where to Eat Chlebíčky in Prague
You should be able to find chlebíčky at traditional Prague sandwich shops and delis. We ate chlebíčky at the modern Sisters Bistro.

Fried slabs of breaded cheese, typically Edam or Gouda, called smažený sýr are impossible to resist after drinking a few beers in Prague. This is not a speculation. Rather, it’s based on our real-life experience.

We were unaware that we were ordering a meat-free Prague food favorite when we ordered the dish. We simply couldn’t pass on eating the decadent dish served with tatarská omáčka (tartar sauce) and a side of bramborový salát (potato salad) after an early evening drinking session.

Where to Eat Fried Cheese in Prague
You’ll find smažený sýr at street stalls and traditional restaurants as well as at some more upscale restaurants. We scarfed the decadent dish down at Lokal.

Popular at festivals and fairs, bramboráky look like potato pancakes we’ve eaten in cities like Hamburg, Trento and Vilnius. They also look like potato latkes we cook at home each December.

As it turns out they’re not exactly the same since bramboráky are traditionally cooked with carraway, marjoram and other spices. Either way, we love all potato pancakes unless they’re cold and Prague’s bramboráky are no exception.

Where to Eat Potato Pancakes in Prague
While street fairs and Christmas markets are prime spots to eat bramboráky, you should be able to find fried potato pancakes at traditional restaurants too.

November is a great time to visit Prague. Not only do Christmas markets open at the the end of the month, but it’s also the month when restaurants offer special goose menus in conjunction with St. Martin’s Day.

While Svatomartinské wine is the star of the holiday, it’s also tradition to eat roasted goose. We certainly weren’t going to fight tradition during our November visit. Instead, we ate roasted goose with cabbage (zelím) and dumplings (knedlíky). It was a sacrifice we were more than happy to make.

Where to Eat Roasted Goose in Prague
Better Prague restaurants serve special goose menus each November. This is the month when we ate the dish at Cafe Imperial.

As you may guess, pivní sýr, which translates to beer cheese, is obviously a dish that’s most often eaten at pubs. However, you’d be wrong if you were to guess that this simple Czech bar snack is made with beer.

Typically paired with beer (hence the name), the dish’s pungent soft cheese is served with extra bits like butter, mustard, paprika and chopped onion. It’s up to you if you want to mix it all together or not.

Where to Eat Beer Cheese in Prague
You’ll should be able to eat beer cheese at most Prague pubs and beer halls. We ate the stinky starter while drinking beer at U Zlatého Tygra.

The challenge isn’t finding desserts and pastries in Prague. Not only do they seem to be at every coffee shop and cafe in the city, but they also look and taste great. That’s the actual challenge.

These are our favorites Prague pastries and the ones not to miss:

The Czech Republic’s věneček isn’t nearly as famous as France’s Paris brest but maybe it should be.

Like the Paris brest, the věneček, which translates to wreath in Czech, starts with two wheels of choux pastry. But, unlike the famous French pastry, the wheels of a věneček are filled with pure vanilla cream and finished with an opaque white sugar glaze.

You may be tempted to eat an elegant věneček with utensils. However, its perfectly fine, though maybe a little messy, to eat this Czech pastry with your hands. It’s also fine to pair it with coffee – a bitter sweet combination that we highly recommend.

Where to Eat Věnečeks in Prague
You’ll find this iconic pastry at most traditional bakeries and cafes. We ate our first věneček at Cukrárna Myšák and returned four years later to eat another.

The větrník looks a lot like a věneček. Both pastries are round in shape, are made of choux pastry and have cream fillings. But that’s where the similarities end.

Unlike the věneček, the větrník doesn’t have a hole in the middle. It’s also topped with a caramel glaze and its filling includes both vanilla cream and caramel cream.

Oh, in case there’s any confusion, the větrník appears to be just as popular as the věneček. We saw the caramel pastry choux pastry at both specialty coffee shops and traditional pastry shops all over Prague. They both taste great too.

Where to Eat Větrníks in Prague
You won’t have to look hard to find a větrník at Prague’s best pastry shops and coffee houses. We ate excellent versions at Cukrárna Myšák and Dos Mundos Cafe.

Unlike schnitzel (see above) and strudel (see below) which have roots in other Central European countries, buchty has Bohemian roots. So, while you can eat buchty in cities like Budapest, the better option is to eat them in Prague. But what are they?

For the uninitiated, buchty are pan baked, sweet yeast rolls. Typical fillings include fruit jam, poppy seeds and quark. Plum jam, called powidl, is the most popular filling and our personal favorite. As we quickly learned, plum buchty taste especially great when they’re hot out of the oven.

Where to Eat Buchty in Prague
Many of the best Prague coffee shops serve buchty in the morning. While we spotted buchty at various Prague cafes, we liked the buchty at Eska so much that we returned for more.

Czech immigrants introduced koláče pastries to Texas and they became a big hit. But, as happens over time and oceans, versions of the yeasty puff pastries have diverged over the years.

While traditional Czech koláčes are typically made with apricots, berries, prunes or poppy seeds, Texans, as they often do, went bigger by making meaty versions of the pastries in addition to fruit koláčes.

We didn’t miss meat when we ate koláčes at two different Prague cafes. One was topped with cream cheese and apricot. The other was topped with poppy seeds. Both were divine.

Where to Eat Kolaches in Prague
While Czechs are more likely to eat freshly baked koláčes at home, you should be able to find them at cafes all over Prague. We ate two – one at Eska and one at Kolacherie.

Leave your impressions behind when you eat pancakes in Prague. The Czech version, known as palačinky, are more like French crêpes than the buttermilk stacks that Americans eat for brunch. They’re also rolled into a cigar-like shape. We liken them to the blintzes, an Eastern European dish that we ate at family events when we were kidsd.

Unlike American pancakes, palačinky are more of a dessert than a meal. Since they’re typically filled with sweet jam and topped with whipped cream, we’re okay with this difference.

Where to Eat Czech Pancakes in Prague
You’ll find palačinky at grand cafes and casual crêpe stands. They’re everywhere in Prague!

Kremrole literally translates to cream roll which is an ideal description for this tasty pastry. It’s essentially a tube-shaped puff pastry that filled with either cream or meringue. A sprinkle of powdered sugar completes it.

Sure, the kremerole isn’t unique to the Czech Republic. We previously ate a flaky cream-filled schaumroll in Austria that was pretty similar to the flaky cream-filled kremerole we ate in Prague. We’ve also eaten similar pastries in Italy.

Where to Eat Kremroles in Prague
Roll into a traditional Prague pastry shop when you’re craving a kremerole. However, you’ll likely find the cream-filled puff pastry at coffee shops too. After seeing them all over the city, we ate one at Eska in Karlín.

The first known recipe for apple strudel wasn’t in Bohemia. That honor goes to Austria. However, we don’t know the true origin of the classic dessert since it’s baked all over the European continent with versions and variations in the Balkans all the way to Hungary.

Modern Prague bakers fill layered pastry with sweet apple filling just like they do in Austria. The resulting jablečný štrůdl is an ideal dessert to eat after dishes like schnitzel and pork knuckle (see both above). It’s even more ideal when the flaky, fruity dessert is topped with vanilla sauce and/or whipped cream.

Where to Eat Apple Strudel in Prague
Most classic cafes have jablečný štrůdl on their menus. We gobbled down a slice at Cukrárna Myšák.

Based on the vast number of trdelník vendors in Prague’s Staré Mesto (Old Town) neighborhood, trdelník seems like it should be a traditional Czech pastry. It is not. Its origins are elsewhere, likely in Hungary, Romania or Slovakia depending on who’s telling the story. However, after a couple centuries, give or take, it’s understandable why it’s become a local favorite in Prague.

You may know trdelník as chimney cake. Eastern Europeans prepare the dessert by spinning a conical spit wrapped with sweet, sugary dough over fire-hot charcoal both in big cities and in small towns. In Prague, some trdelník vendors take the extra step of filling the tubal treat with ice cream.

Where to Eat Chimney Cakes in Prague
You can’t miss trdelník vendors when you walk around Prague’s touristic Old Town Square. It’s worth stopping at one to see the spinning spits whether you purchase a trdelník or not.

Things have dramatically changed in Prague since the iron curtain fell in 1989 and we’re not just talking about politics. Food options have expanded exponentially too.

These are our favorite global foods to eat in Prague:

We didn’t notice any Vietnamese restaurants in Prague during our initial 1995 visit. We were too early. Things changed at the end of that decade when SAPA opened 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Wenceslas Square. Many of the city’s original Vietnamese restaurants were at SAPA. Today, they’re all over Prague.

More than 60,000 Vietnamese people currently live in the Czech Republic, with most residing in Prague. France and Germany are the only other European countries with more Vietnamese residents. It’s an interesting statistic to be sure. It’s also the reason why there’s so much Vietnamese food in Prague.

Vietnamese food options in Prague include bun cha and banh mi sandwiches. Our favorite Vietnamese food, pho, is especially easy to find. The only decision is whether to order pho ba (beef pho) or pho ga (chicken pho). We ordered both plus an order of bun cha.

Where to Slurp Pho in Prague
Unless you have the time and motivation to travel to SAPA by bus or Uber, the best option is to slurp pho at one of Prague’s many Vietnamese restaurants. We accomplished this food goal at Pho Vietnam Tuan and Lan.

We used to have a rule about not ordering hamburgers in Central Europe. They rarely failed to disappoint us with their meatloaf-like textures and slightly odd condiments. However, based on the hamburgers we recently ate in Prague, that rule is now out the window.

The people in Prague get hamburgers. They get how to cook them and they get how to serve them. Perhaps they learned the ropes at American fast food chains like McDonalds and Burger King. We don’t know. But we do know is that ordering a hamburger in this meat-focused city, if you know where to go, is a recipe for success.

Where to Eat Hamburgers in Prague
While hamburgers are easy to find at pubs and casual eateries, the smart move is eat better burgers at spots like Kantyna and Naše Maso. We’ve eaten excellent burgers at both Ambient restaurants and can’t decide which was better.

It only makes sense that Prague would have great hot dogs. After all, Prague chefs are masters when it comes to grilling sausages. And, at the end of the day, it’s a slippery slope between sausages and hot dogs.

One of the most prolific Prague cheap eats options, hot dogs are readily available at street food stands, food trucks and gas stations. However, the best Prague hot dogs are served at dedicated eateries away from the city center. That’s where you’ll find find more creative toppings including some that will look familiar to fans of the American food favorite.

Where to Eat Hot Dogs in Prague
True hot dog lovers will want to head to Letná or Prague 6 to eat hot dogs at Mr. Hot Dog or Dogfather respectively. Everybody else can eat hot dogs at the nearest street food stand, food truck or gas station.

We always look for great pizza when we travel to cities around the world and we’re not alone. Pizza isn’t just an Italian food favorite any more. It’s now a food favorite period.

Lucky for us and our fellow pizza people, Prague has a number of pizzerias. Most stick to the basics by serving Neapolitan and Roman pies while others go rogue by serving Hawaiian pizza and even Detroit-style pizza.

Where to Eat Pizza in Prague
While Pizza Nuova is Pragues’ most lauded pizzeria, it’s not the only pizzeria in town. That being said, we chose to eat pizza at Pizza Nuova based on it’s Neapolitan pizza approach and the fact that the pizzeria sources its meats from Amaso, Ambiente’s excellent butcher.

While Merriam-Webster defines brunch as “a meal usually taken late in the morning that combines a late breakfast and an early lunch,” this definition doesn’t fully capture the global phenomenon that brunch has become.

We’ve encountered people queuing for brunch every day of the week, especially on weekends, in cities like Amsterdam, Lisbon and Paris. (True Confession – we encountered them while we were in those queues.) We can now add Prague to our list of awesome European brunch cities.

Typical Prague brunch options include eggs, avocado toast and pancakes. Many incorporate local ingredients. The best ones serve well-crafted coffee drinks too.

Where to Eat Brunch in Prague
Not longer a niche meal, brunch is served at both restaurants and cafes throughout the city. We ate brunch with benefits (i.e. specialty coffee) at Eska and Etapa in the Karlín neighborhood.

Summer days get hot in Prague despite the city’s seemingly temperate location. Heck, it even got balmy during our visit in May. When temperature hits their daily peak, it’s time for ice cream. Or, even better, gelato.

Prague has several gelato shops that provide respite from the heat. Plus, it’s way cooler to eat artisan gelato than ice cream shoved into a trdelník.

Where to Eat Gelato in Prague
Prague gelato shops serve a rainbow of gelato flavors. We ate gelato at Crème de la Crème, a highly rated artisan gelato shop located just a few blocks from the iconic Prague Astronomical Clock.

Drinking in Prague isn’t just for hydration. It’s one of the best things to do when the sun sets until the wee hours of the morning. And we’re not just talking about weekends. Prague pubs and bars stay busy seven days of the week every month of the year.

While beer is the most popular Czech beverage, it’s not the only beverage worth drinking. We recommend starting your explanation of Prague drinks with the following libations:

Pilsner beer is available around the world but there’s nowhere better to drink it than its home city of Pilsen. And, since Prague is less than 100 kilometers (approximately 60 miles) from Pilsen, Prague is the second best place.

Without leaving Prague, you can visit a beer spa or partake in an interactive beer experience at Pilsner Urquell. You can also drink Pilsner the traditional way – in a stein at a bar.

We recommend drinking Pilsner at any and every bar in Prague. People have been doing this very thing since 1842 when brewers first crafted the sweet, malty beer. And, since Pilsner beer is relatively low in alcohol, you might as well drink a few, assuming that you’re not driving of course.

Where to Drink Pilsner Beer in Prague
The better question is where not to drink Pilsner beer in Prague. The Czech beer is available just about everywhere.

We get that some people prefer wine over beer and that’s okay in Prague where the local wine is Moravian wine. You’ll find Moravian wine at restaurants and bars and – surprise – it’s good stuff. Brno, Moravia’s largest city, is just 200 kilometers (approximately 125 miles) from Prague.

Sure, you can also drank global wines in Prague but you can drink those anywhere. The better option is to sip Moravian in the country where it’s produced. Typical white varietals include Chardonnay, Gruner Veltliner, Muller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. Look for Blaufränkisch, Cabernet Moravia, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Zweigelt if you’re partial to red wine.

Where to Drink Moravian Wine in Prague
You’re drinking local wine when you drink Moravian wine in Prague. That’s what we did at spots like Michelin-starred Field and Ambiente’s funky courtyard wine bar, Bokovka.

Lemonade is a great option in Prague for those times that you crave a non-alcoholic refresher. Just don’t assume that all Prague lemonades actually contain lemon juice.

We drank a few different ‘lemonades’ in Prague and our favorite was made with mango and lime. There was nary a drop of lemon juice in the glass.

Where to Drink Lemonade in Prague
Most restaurants and cafes include lemonade on their menus. Some include lemons in their lemonade but that’s not a given.

Coffee is nothing new in Prague.

Activists and artists have shared important ideas while sipping coffee at Prague cafes for more than three centuries. And, while a few centenarian cafes remain vital to this day, you’re more likely to bump into a tourist than the next Kafka when you visit one.

Classic cafes aren’t the only places to drink coffee in Prague. The city has a burgeoning specialty coffee scene where flat whites play leading roles and pastries are supporting characters. Even without Kafka in the mix, it’s an exciting time to drink coffee in Prague.

Where to Drink Coffee in Prague
While you may prefer to drink coffee at classic Prague cafes, we prefer the city’s more modern coffee shops.

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