Prague gastronomy – what to eat in Prague

Well, to be quite honest, Czech Republic is not wildly popular for it’s cuisine, but there are some nice meals that you want to try.

Side dishes

knedlíky (dumplings) – one of the most popular side dishes that you cannot avoid even if you try, since they are served with most Czech dishes. In my opinion, they taste just like bread but without the crust, so yeah, they are good, but I could just as easily eat a dish without them and enjoy it with bread instead of the dumplings. They have several types of them, the most common being houskové knedliky (bread dumplings) and bramborove knedliky (potato dumplings). If you will be able to choose, go for the potato one, as they offer, taste-wise, at least something different then bread.

Meat dishes

Svíčková (marinated beef sirloin) – this is one of the most popular Czech dishes, and is often served with cream, cranberry jam and bread dumplings. The meat is tender, the gravy is delicious and a little bit sweet and the dumplings are i guess useful to collect all the gravy from the plate.

Guláš (Beef stew) – served with fresh onions and of course, brad dumplings. The goulash is not quite their original recipe but they add something different so it’s good to try it. Anyway, the Czech people eat it a lot, so it must be good 🙂

Pečená kachna (Roasted duck) – this is one of my favorite Czech dishes. The meat is fantastic, I have no idea how they do it (I never had an interest in cooking), but the meat is very tender and delicious while the skin remains crispy. The side dish of this is, you guessed it, dumplings, but it comes also with sweet cabbage which I like a lot.

Snacks and appetizers

(not so great, but great with beer :)) – some pubs serve only those 🙂
Nakladani hermelin (marinated brie cheese) – maybe a bit too spicy for some, but you will get thirsty after it

Utopenec (marinated sausage) – A sausage with some spices and onions, you will not post this meal on facebook as the best meal you had, but it will help you to get the beer more easily down your throat.

Parek (wiener) – yep, the wiener is a Check delicacy. They eat it like crazy usually as hot dogs with mustard – they call it “Parek v rohliku” – wiener in a bun. Don’t expect something different than a classic hot dog, but yeah, why not eat it where they invented it.

Soups

– if you like soups in general – and not the type “I only eat clear and filtered soups” – they offer quite tasty and filling soups. The ones I like the most are listed here but they make good soups in general so you can’t go wrong:
česnečka polévka (garlic soup)

zelňačka polévka (Cabage soup)

Of course, Prague offers a lot of different restaurants and foods so you will not remain hungry, but as I always say, it’s better to try the local cuisine while you are there rather then going for pizzas and McDonalds – as cuisine is as much the part of the culture as the history and heritage.

 

Any other meal you thing should be on this list? What is your general experience with food in Czech Republic? Let us know in the comment section! 🙂

 

N.P.