12 Best Restaurants in Czech Republic

Literally translated as "A Coffee Shop Looking for a Name," this achingly hip café-cum-gallery serves great coffee, tempting cocktails, and excellent food—including top-notch breakfasts and brunches until midday on weekdays and 3 pm on weekends. The gallery space showcases work by local artists and hosts pop-up events.

The home-baked sourdough bread, the huge selection of delicious pastries, and the lovingly brewed coffee make this café-bakery a local favorite. It's so popular that there are now two other branches in Prague, including a second one in Smíchov (at Štefánikova 31).

It may not look too salubrious from outside, but this tucked-away fine-dining restaurant has a wonderfully warm and welcoming interior, all roughly plastered walls, sturdy wooden furniture, soft golden lighting, and autumnal wall hangings. What's more, the food is great: the seasonal, five-course degustation menu (1,590 Kč) has a mix of influences but really comes to life with main courses built around classic Czech ingredients like rabbit, pork, dumplings, and cabbage. Note that the portions are small, courses are quite spread out, and there are few extras (including no bread), so you may leave feeling not entirely full. Opt for a wine pairing (955 Kč) with dinner or add something a little different to your dining experience with a non-alcoholic pairing (480 Kč) of kombucha-like fermented lemonades. They vary in level of acidity; some are pleasantly subtle, others are more of an acquired taste. As well as dinner, the restaurant serves three-course prix fixe breakfasts (480 Kč).

High-quality meals at not-too-high prices are the order of the day at this elegant, Viennese-style café, which dates back to the 19th century. Diners can enjoy everything from cream of green pea soups to crisp seasonal salads and Parisian steak tartare to classic Wiener schnitzel, all complemented by fresh breads from the in-house bakery. The selection of cakes and pastries make for the perfect sweet finish. For the very best of Café Savoy, come for breakfast during the week or for brunch on weekends; you'll need to book ahead.

Having settled into its role as a leading light on Prague's culinary scene, the kitchen here dwells on crafting definitive Italian fare, overseen by chef Marco Veneruso. The comfortable Four Seasons restaurant and terrace (which has fantastic river views) graciously serves some of the finest Mediterranean cuisine in Prague. Even fish, the bane of many a Czech restaurant kitchen, arrives here as intricately flavored John Dory with a Champagne sauce. It pairs nicely with the hotel's own vibe, that of unquestioning luxury. Servers move seamlessly, the courses are expertly timed, and the sommelier eagerly suggests his recommendations. Despite the high prices and reverent treatment of the ingredients, the light, airy dining room is quite welcoming. And in a nod to the many family guests, there's a kids' menu, along with staff who love to pamper them.

An upmarket restaurant with a casual carefree vibe, Eska has been a big hit since opening its doors in 2016. The restaurant is located within a converted fabric factory, and it maintains the original industrial aesthetic through bare brick walls and exposed pipework, while also adding modern touches like Scandi-style furniture and a gleaming open kitchen. The food is also a blend of the old and new, utilizing age-old Czech techniques of fermenting, pickling, and marinating to create modern, minimalist dishes. Many of the dishes are sumptuous—in particular, seek out the to-die-for beef tartare—and even those that don't quite hit the same heights are still fun and innovative. What's more, every dining experience begins with crusty sourdough bread, baked in the downstairs bakery and served with salty, lovage-infused butter. Breakfast and lunch are available à la carte, while dinner is a choice between the five-course "chef's choice" tasting menu (985 Kč) and your own choice of two courses (685 Kč): either way, it's far better value than an equivalent restaurant in the Old Town. 

 Don't have time for a full meal? Pop into the downstairs bakery for a loaf of the delicious sourdough to go.

This small and stylish bistro, run by mother-and-daughter team Zuzana and Pavlína, offers a casual, family-friendly atmosphere in which to enjoy a delicious meal. Open from breakfast to dinner, the place is busiest at lunch, where the good-value daily menus feature some of the restaurant's best dishes (like the gnocchi with salmon and sun-dried tomatoes) at half the usual price. Save space for dessert; the cakes are superb.

This little bakery was set up by a Danish chef in 1999, which means predictably good Danish pastries and brilliant breads, including the house special, rye bread with sunflower seeds.

At the edge of Jarni Park, near Sladkova, is this aptly-named café serving a small array of house-made baked goods like chocolate tart and carrot cake. There's also soft-serve ice cream, juice, coffee and tea, and lunch options that change every couple of days—sub sandwiches on whole grain rolls, small salads, and quiche. This is a lovely place to relax with a book or your computer (they have free Wi-Fi) while the kids play in the sandbox.

With its hip signage and location, you could be forgiven for assuming that Piknik is style over substance. But the lines to the counter would quickly set you right, as customers line up for delicious pastries, cakes, sandwiches, breakfasts, and coffee. There are some tables, too, but as the name suggests, it's a good spot to load up on provisions to take to Letenské sady (Letná Park) just across the river or farther afield. It opens at 7:30, for those who want to get ahead of the tourist hordes.

Cold beer, hot pizza, and a location right on Peace Square sounds pretty idyllic, but Pizza XXL ups the ante by serving ice cream, too. Next to the Regional Museum/Old Town Hall and with a good view of the square, it has 31 pies, with meat and vegetarian options roughly in balance. Old favorites like the margherita, the mushroom, and the four cheese make appearances, and so too does a delightful white ricotta pie and a couple with prosciutto and pancetta.

If you're too tired to leave your hotel, Pizza XXL delivers.

The Golden Pheasant, as its name translates, is a popular tavern on Peace Square that serves three square meals almost daily (it opens at 11am on Sunday). The lunch menu changes daily and, alongside traditional Czech fare like chicken legs served on stewed red cabbage with potato dumplings, there's always a vegetarian option, such a baked eggplant stuffed with vegetable risotto and herb couscous. Nice desserts include tiramisu, which pairs well with dark beer. The restaurant has a garden, which is a nice spot to sit and sip one (or more) of its many local wines. On Friday and Saturday evenings, especially in summer, either go early or book a table.