elaine

Hi
I went through the inyourpocket.com website (excellent for Prague, by the way) and found these recommended eatery listings, wondering if anyone knows them (all in Prague 1)

Beograd, Vodickova 5/12

Baracnicka rychta, Trziste 23

Patriot X, V celnici 3

Seven Angels, Jilska 20

Chez Marcel, Hastalska 12 (this one I've seen listed in other places also)

thanks

Christina

oh, sure, I hang out in Chez Marcel in Prague because it's right next door to my hotel (the Maximilian). They are nice guys in there, and we can speak French, and they even have some French newspapers, which is an improvement in conversation for me as I don't know much Czech. I get simple French bistro food, a steak, stuff like that. It's a nice crowd, and stays open late so I don't have to worry about a place to eat if I go to the opera or something and then it's right next to my hotel so no worries.

Also, there is a good French restaurant on the other side of Maximilian's, the Jules Verne, which I think has the same owners. It's a little more upscale (not as upscale as the one in Paris, of course), but is a very nice atmosphere, good wine, and good food. Just more of a restaurant than a cafe/bistro like Chez Marcel. Even there, you can probably dine with wine for maybe US$30.

I don't know if they have typical Czech grub in Chez Marcel's, as I'm not that fond of it, so was glad to find something different. I think they might as a lot of ethnic restaurants in Prague seem to always end up with some Czech stuff on the menu, even when they are Italian or something. I wouldn't call Chez Marcel's a destination restaurant, though, it's very low-key, but good enough for that price range. It is casual dining and is open later than many Czech restaurants. No place in Prague is that fancy I've been in, the Jules Verne is nice, also, and still casual that you could wear almost anything in there if you wanted with no fear of feeling out of place. They have never been completely full when I was there, so you didn't need a reservation (things could have changed, though), so you could check both out if you went over that way. It's not really a 15 min. walk from Wenceslas Square exactly -- it's not too far from Namesti Republicky metro stop, though.

I do really like Cafe Imperial near Namestic Republicky, also, and it would be casual dining. There is a really casual Italian place also over near Hastalska square, it's on Dlouha just around the corner of Rybna. I think they have some Czech dumplings and stuff, but mainly Italian.

papagena

Seven angels is a good place for Czech food, the dining room is very atmospheric (it has an open fire, vaulted ceiling and frescos). It's very close to the Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge, so pretty convenient.

elaine

thanks for the additional replies

Christina, I've read about Cafe Imperial, sounds pretty inside.

Christina

yes, Cafe Imperial is wonderful and I think would be a great choice for you if you want casual and inexpensive. They have a website with menus and some photos, so you can see
http://www.hotelimperial.cz/cafe/home.asp

I've only had breakfast there, but this is a place that will be memorable and gives you a real sense of place and is very special. They also have live jazz/swing music on Fri and Sat nights (program on web site). I see they have beef stroganoff for only 156 KC, Moravian cabbage soup for 39 KC and strudel for only 25 KC.
One interesting thing about their menu is they have a couple vegetarian choices, like lentil curry, which isn't common. They are also open until 1 am on M-F. YOu know that's only a couple short blocks from the Namesti Republicky metro stop.

I like Prague Post's reviews and recommendations, have you seen their list:
http://www.praguepost.com/resthome.html

This is useful if you want a specific type of cuisine or location. I see they say Jules Verne is expensive but avg. French cooking, good wine. I'd say that's true, but expensive for that list starts at 900 KC for them.

If you like Indian (I love it), the Rasoi Indian restaurant mentioned on that at Dlouha 13 (not far from Old Town Square) is very good and casual.

elaine

Hi Christina
Indian food is not a cuisine I've ever learned to appreciate, to my loss I'm sure.
Cafe Imperial sounds wonderful, is it a walk-in kind of place, or do you have to reserve (for dinner)? I didn't see any dinner hours posted on the website, but the cafes seem to have pretty much continuous service all day.

Yes, I've been scanning the Prague Post listings. The Prague Post, and
livingprague.com seem to me to be very important resources for planning a Prague visit. Livingprague isn't that outstanding for restaurant listings nor for hotels, but for little daily details like buying metro tickets or using ATMs or ordering beer in a restaurant, etc, it is an amazing effort.

Christina

I'm not real sure about needing reservations at Cafe Imperial for dinner because I didn't go at that time. I think it is advised if you want to go Fri or Sat when they have music (they do have an email address on their website). Otherwise, I don't think you'd have to, but I'm guessing that based on similar cafes for dinner (Cafe Slavia) and other things I've read that say you don't. Now that Marriott has opened two new hotels on that street, I suspect they might be busier than ever. You aren't going in peak summer season when there really are a lot of tourists, so I would think it would be no problem. It's a large room. I think dinner hours are from 7:30 and later, 7 on Saturday (that's in the Prague Post, though, but sounds right). It's a casual place where people sit around playing chess, drinking coffee, etc.

They have this joke where they keep a tray of day-old stale donuts on the counter and you can pay to throw them at people in the cafe, if you are over 21 and not drunk. So I guess that is casual dining. I think the price is too high for people to really do that, though. That is a joke from a popular Czech novel, which you might want to read about -- especially if you go there so you know the allusion. Here's info on that:

http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2003/Art/1030/featu2.php

I don't think you can eat anything you want all day long there, they do have hours for breakfast vs. dinner and lunch. They have good prix fixe deals at lunchtime, but that's on the web site, as you can see (midday menu--I can only see it in Czech).

elaine

I enjoyed that story about the donuts, thanks.