Pork wrapped in betel leaves | Courtesy of Pho Vietnam Tuan & Lan
Tree-lined streets full of beautiful buildings? Check. More craft beer bars than anywhere else in town? Check. Prague’s Vinohrady neighborhood has it all, and that includes some of the best restaurants in town. From fine dining to casual bistros full of interesting tastes, Vinohrady has you covered, and now we do too, with a list of our 10 favorite restaurants in the neighborhood.
If high class Italian dining is what you’re in the mood for, there’s no better place to go than Aromi. They take the time and effort to do things exactly how they would be done on the Italian coast, and what you’ll find here is an excellent selection of Italian food with an emphasis on seafood. For a real treat, take advantage of their three-course lunch special. If you visit at dinnertime, you’ll be amazed by the sheer beauty of the entrées, which are so artfully put together that you’ll hardly want to eat them.
Right across the square from Aromi you’ll find Bruxx, a Belgian seafood restaurant with a slightly different focus—mussels and beer. This lively place is the best establishment in which to find Belgian food in Prague, and of course with good Belgian food comes good Belgian beer. The stars of the menu, of course, are the mussels and oysters, which come in all sorts of tasty sauces. If you’d like something a little more substantial, there’s plenty of that too, all crafted by an award-winning chef. To go with your meal, they’ve got eight taps pumping out a range of beer, from Delirium Tremens to a Belgian Lambic.
The competition to make the best burger has been heating up all across the city for the last couple of years, but Dish has consistently held a place at the top. Their burgers run the gamut, from a fairly standard cheeseburger (with, of course, a couple of their own twists to it) to regionally themed specialty burgers that will have you reminiscing until you go back for your next one. For a really fun Czech burger experience, try their Olomouc & Porto burger, which will give you a taste of the famously flavorful Olomouc cheese from Moravia, along with the sweet taste of port wine.
La Bibiche is another recent addition to the Prague foodie scene, and it’s filling a niche as the only pastrami bistro in the whole city. Prague may have a long Jewish history, but until now, typical Jewish delis like those that populate the streets of New York City were entirely absent. This is no longer a problem, and La Bibiche is a very stylish take on the idea. A favorite here is the pastrami sandwich, along with daily specials consisting of other delicious, filling meals.
The meat-and-potatoes-heavy Czech cuisine has, along with Prague, developed a lot in the last decade or so, and U Bulínů is a very good example of that. Their menu is deliciously Czech, but whereas you’ll often see the same dishes repeated with the same flavors over and over, U Bulínů is pushing the cuisine to its limits and making it grow. Their lunch menu is always changing and therefore gives the chefs room to play around with traditional dishes. This is also a very good place to try a different kind of meat, as they serve, among others, deer, rabbit, and wild boar.
Pork wrapped in betel leaves | Courtesy of Pho Vietnam Tuan & Lan
A little-known secret about Prague is that it’s one of Europe’s top destinations for Vietnamese food. Thanks to an exchange program the two communist governments had in the second half of the last century, the Vietnamese are one of the largest minority groups in the country, which means that there is great Vietnamese food to be had all around. Pho Vietnam Tuan & Lan, which has both a sit-down restaurant and another bistro on Jiriho z Podebrad square, is the absolute best in the city. Their service is always fast and friendly, and their food always fresh, delicious, and completely authentic.
Another sizable population in Prague is the American contingent, so it’s no surprise that there are a significant number of American restaurants—or at least, restaurants that claim to offer American food. Bad Jeff’s Barbeque, however, is the real deal. They start with barbecue as the basis, but also give themselves the space to get creative with their menu, which includes a sizeable number of substantial vegetarian items. If you’re new to the scrumptious world of American barbecue, start with their tasting platter to learn what it’s all about, and then you can move on to the rest.
Bakery, Pastelaria, French, Pastries, Dessert, Vegetarian, European
Located on the picturesque Jiriho z Podebrad square, Le Caveau finds itself right on the border of Vinohrady. Their bright, bustling atmosphere gives you many delicious options from which to choose—a fresh, healthy lunch with a coffee for a pick-me-up, freshly made desserts, and an excellent selection of French wine for a luxurious break during the week. While you can’t really go wrong with any of their food, their soups and quiches tend to be especially good.
Blue Wagon, which recently found itself on the list of Michelin-recommended restaurants, is a real Vinohrady hotspot for fine dining. Their focus is on seasonal, fresh food, and they always have something new to offer. The items on their menu are not merely versions of dishes you’ve already seen, but instead totally new concoctions put together so beautifully they look like works of art. The atmosphere is anything but stuffy—you’ll find it warm and welcoming whether you’re here for a romantic night out or a lively family dinner.
Bílá Kráva’s motto is “At our place, you know what you’re eating and you know what you’re drinking.” What they mean by this is that they take extra care to source their ingredients from trusted suppliers who focus on quality above everything else. Their aim is to recreate the spirit of the French countryside, and they do this with the restaurant’s decor, wine list (which includes Czech and other wines, in addition to French ones), and, of course, the menu. Steak is their specialty, and they offer a huge variety of cuts—the largest selection in the city.
