Kolkovna

We loved the look of this place from the outside. We were almost certain that the book would match the cover and we would find reasonably priced Czech food and a fun, relaxing atmosphere. We entered and the waiter pointed us toward the smoking section and told us to go over there. I looked and noticed that there were empty tables downstairs in the non-smoking section. He said that it was booked out for a private party and that we had to sit in the smoking section. With a smirk on his face he said, "that should be no problem". First, I will judge for myself what is a problem and what isn't. I don't need the waiter to inform me about what kind of experience I should have. Second, my wife is pregnant, and second-hand smoke is kind of a problem for us, particularly in Prague, where people smoke like chimneys. We should have left just then, but we made the mistake of staying. Generally the waiters (they were all men, as far as we noticed) were not very helpful and gave a really annoyed attitude when we asked for some clarifications on the menu. My wife spoke to them in Czech and they just smirked, smugly laughing at her behind his smile, and answered in English. Also, if you want the hamburger, note that when it says "french fries or potato chips" they do not mean you get a choice, they mean that you will get french fries and some English people call them chips. In any event, the food was hot and delicious and the chef did a wonderful job. They should keep the chef because without him or her, the place will sink like a surf board shop in Switzerland.

Then came time to pay the bill. The waiter placed the bill on the table and told us, "tip is not included", in a loud voice. So we paid and tipped around 8%, which I thought was generous given the overall crappy experience. He did not think so. He asked, "where is the tip? tip is not included!". We threw him another coin of minimal value and got the hell out of there. I will never go back. I also don't think our poor experience was due to cultural issues. Our friends from Uruguay were also not impressed, and just down the street we had a great dinner and great service at a place called Lokal. I would go there anytime instead of this smokey den filled with arrogant and condescending waiters.

Like many places in Prague, the bar was upstairs, and the restaurant in the basement.

We found it very humerous that the baseement was decorated, for real, in the same exposed-brick-walls ways that restaurants in the U.S. try to recreate.

Seems to be a traditional Czech menu. Our onion rings (what were we thinking when we ordered these) were like, well, onion rings. My duck main course was large and a little over-cooked, though the cabbage with it was delicious. The dumplings that came with it were not so good, though my son liked them. My husband's fish was good, as was my son's farmer's omelet.

This was a decent choice for traditional food in Prague

The Fried Cheese was awful but the sausages & beer were very good. We had a difficult finding it with our maps.