Prague Cafés, Tearooms, and Restaurants

I like good tea and coffee; simple, wholesome and reasonably priced lunches; locally grown and organic stuff; small privately owned venues. I don’t like cigarette smoke and incompetent personnel. I eat meat occasionally (only high-quality and super tasty).

I try to keep this up-to-date and add new entries every once in a while. Most of the places are located in either Vinohrady or Staré Město and Malá Strana. If you understand Czech, you may also want to read my reviews at Scuk.cz or follow the Scuk links below. All addresses link to Google Maps (☛). I will also add more details over time. To do: More price info and cute icons.

29 April 2012: Updated tearooms “I like too”.

Places I like

Cafés (all non-smoking):

• Cup Up, free Wi-Fi, open Mo–Fr 9–18, Sa 10–15.

  A really small coffee shop with great coffee (espresso and espresso-based stuff from Doubleshot) and desserts. Feels homey and professional at the same time. (No french-press, filtered coffee, not a place for tea, etc.) Note: if you want to stay a longer than to 6 PM, fear not, Cup Up stays open as long as there are any customers.

  Sázavská 19, Praha 2-Vinohrady, near náměstí Míru, reservations: 736 445 962.

• Bio Zahrada, free Wi-Fi, lunch menus, open except Sunday.

  Great coffee, variety of other beverages and food, combined with an organic shop. Serves filtered coffee (french press, mostly from Doubleshot) and espresso (from La Bohème). Quality teas. Very versatile without compromising on quality, you might stop there for a coffee, for a glass of wine, for a lunch, or to do a little shopping. Somewhat busy during the day due to the shop. The lunch menus are usually vegetarian.

  Belgická 33, Praha 2-Vinohrady, near náměstí Míru, reservations: 222 518 698.

• Al Cafetero, free Wi-Fi, open except weekends.

  Top-notch coffee, top-notch service. One of the few cafés in Prague that offers coffee made in a vacuum pot (used to be the only one). Also serves french press filtered coffee and espresso. If you order a croissant or a strudel, they will bake it for you, which takes a little time but makes a big difference (they certainly do have it frozen ready-to-bake, but that’s alright).

  Blanická 24, Praha 2-Vinohrady, near náměstí Míru, reservations: 777 061 161.

• Café Kafíčko, no Wi-Fi, poor cell phone reception, the “first non-smoking café” (in Prague).

  A calm and simple place, homey, with great service. They have several freshly roasted single-origin coffees. Their espresso is really good (no french press). I’ve also had a teapot of Darjeeling and other teas (unknown origin and harvest), which were alright (this is not a tearoom): generous volume, candle to keep warm, and a small biscuit. Bottled beer and other more or less interesting beverages are available too. I especially recommend their cakes (strudel is usually alright, but nothing special). The coffees they have are most likely from Mamacoffee and Ebel.

  Míšeňská 10, Praha 1-Malá Strana, not far from metro Malostranská or from Malostranské náměstí.

• Leica Gallery Prague, free Wi-Fi.

  Good espresso, usually good desserts, OK tea, variety of other beverages and snacks. A stylish place if a little impersonal.

  Školská 28, Praha 1, a few steps from Vodičkova, metro Můstek.

• Mamacoffee

  A coffee shop and a café. A wide selection of organic and fair trade coffees of relatively good but varying quality. Serves espresso and filtered coffee (french press). They also have two blends, I like the more recently added one: Beautiful Maladies. Hot chocolate is outstanding. Both Londýnská and Vodičkova are great places, each a bit different. Londýnská is my favourite, although it’s become a bit shabby over time, it’s smaller of the two and often full. Service often so-so.

  Londýnská 49, Praha 2-Vinohrady, reservations: 773 263 333.

  Vodičkova 6, Praha 1-Nové město, separate web site, reservations: email.

  (Also other places.)

• Ebel Coffee (after a Flash “intro”: Czech, English), free Wi-Fi.

  A coffee shop and a café, more African coffees than Mamacoffee, not organic or fair trade oriented. Serves only espresso.

  Kaprová 11, Praha 1: really small, just two tables, usually full.

  Templová 7 (“Vzpomínky na Afriku”), Praha 1: slightly bigger, not that busy.

  (Also in Řetězová 9, Praha 1: smoking, lacks good ventilation. I recommend the two above Kaprová. Alas, the café at Templová is no longer there.)

Tearooms (all non-smoking of course):

• Jedna Báseň, (since 10 October 2011: open Mo–Tu 10:10–22:22, Sa–Su 13:13–22:22).

  This tearoom has grown on me. I feel really good there, whether alone or with friends. Teas ranging from exceptionally good (these are the same ones as offered by Bílý Jeřáb) to OK for the price, great soups-of-the-day. Cannot recommend coffee (espresso) and some other drinks, though. Desserts vary, but are very good most of the time.

  Pod Zvonařkou 14, Praha 2-Vinohrady (tram Nuselské schody), reservations: 608 764 530.

• Bílý Jeřáb

  Exceptionally good tea, a modest offer of other kinds of drinks. Vegetarian cuisine, tea sweets. Very stylish if somewhat austere compared to most Czech tearooms. Also has two Japanese-style rooms with tatami.

  Štefánikova 51, Praha 5 (tram Švandovo divadlo), reservations: 257 215 934.

• Čajovna ve věži

  Not as interesting tea-wise as the two above (as far as I can tell, been there just a couple of times), but a fascinating place. It’s located in an old water tower. Cozy.

  Korunovační / Na Výšinách 1, Praha 7.

Restaurants:

• HamTam, restaurant, daily menu at Lunch Time. Yum.

  Voroněžská 19, Praha 2-Vinohrady.

• Miyabi, Japanese cuisine.

  Navrátilova 10, Praha 1, reservations on their web site. Obento menus 300–400 CZK, not cheap, but you pay a fair price for what you get.

• Lehká hlava, vegetarian, non-smoking, lunch menu from 11:30 (but menus not as good as other dishes).

  Boršov 2, Praha 1, reservations: 222 220 665.

• Maitrea, vegetarian, non-smoking, lunch menu from 11:30 (but menus not as good as other dishes).

  Týnská ulička 6, Praha 1, reservations: 221 711 631.

• Dhaba Beas, Indian vegetarian cafeteria-style restaurant, non-smoking.

  There are several Beas restaurants in Prague and each is a bit different. The one in Týnská is my favourite place for lunches.

  Týnská 19, Praha 1 (near Staroměstské náměstí or náměstí Republiky).

  Sokolovská 93, Praha 8 (metro Křižíkova).

  (Also Vladislavova and Bělehradská. Be warned: Bělehradská only serves precomposed menus.)

Pubs:

• Nota Bene, non-smoking “restaurant & beerpoint” (opened 2012).

  Excellent selection of beers from small breweries. They call themselves a restaurant, but for me this is what pubs should be like. More pubs like this! Meals seem slightly more expensive but good quality, have yet to try eating there.

  Mikovcova 4, Praha 2-Vinohrady, near I. P. Pavlova.

• U Zavěšenýho kafe‎, Úvoz 6, Praha 5-Hradčany.

• U Vejdů, Budečská 28, Praha 2-Vinohrady, open except Sunday.

Places I like too

Cafés:

• Dobrá trafika, has a non-smoking area.

  Coffee not bad, quality and freshness varies. Variety of other beverages including Primátor beer on tap, snacks. Low prices, cozy. Cannot recommend them for tea.

  Újezd 37, Praha 1 (tram Hellichova), reservations: 732 852 364.

  Korunní 42, Praha 2, reservations: 737 907 635.

• Starbucks, non-smoking, free Wi-Fi. Every fifth beverage for free (plain paper card).

  They’re just next to our faculty building. Their daily drip brew coffee is a great offering for the price, especially if you bring your own mug (spring 2011: they’ve started to rotate different-origin coffees again, great!). Good if somewhat pricey desserts. The place at Malostranské náměstí is also quite nice for a Starbucks.

  Malostranské náměstí 28, Praha 1. (Also other places.)

• Týnská literární kavárna.

  Nice place, but you’ll be disappointed by the coffee, has Bernard on tap. Low prices.

  Týnská 6, Praha 1.

• Krásný ztráty, has a non-smoking area, free Wi-Fi.

  Náprstkova 10, Praha 1, reservations: 775 755 143.

• V Sedmém nebi, has a non-smoking area IIRC, serves Lavazza espresso, but I like the place anyway, also has Pilsen on tap.

  Zborovská 68, Praha 5, doesn’t accept reservations.

• Káva Káva Káva

  The Platýz courtyard that connects the boulevard Národní with a small street Martinská is one of a few calm places in the area. The staff seems to change a lot, and so does the quality of beverages. Generally not bad, but I’ve been disappointed a few times. They offer a wide choice of coffee-based beverages, most of which are too sweet for me. In the summer, when you can sit in the courtyard, it’s nevertheless worth stopping by if you happen to be around.

  Platýz, Národní 37, Praha 1. (Also in Lidická 42, Praha 5.)

Tearooms:

• Na cestě, a tearoom with wateripe.

  Waterpipe smokers are in a separate room, but you can smell it nevertheless. The tea is good, and the waterpipe – for those who like it – too (good quality charcoal and tobacco).

  Kateřinská 4, Praha 2.

• Dejvická, Hradčanská & Vinohradská čajovna, tearooms with wateripe.

  V. P. Čkalova 12, Praha 6, “Dejvická čajovna”.

  Muchova 4, Praha 6, “Hradčanská čajovna”.

  Mánesova 55, Praha 2-Vinohrady, “Vinohradská čajovna”.

Restaurants:

• Country Life, vegetarian (maybe vegan) cafeteria-style, non-smoking.

  The food is usually a bit bland for my taste, but definitely not bad and definitely healthy. The Country Life organic shop next to it is much more interesting.

  Melantrichova 15, Praha 1.

• Home Kitchen, a kind of gourmet bistro, choice from a few meals varied daily.

  Great service and simple food from high-quality ingredients. Crowded, busy, but for a good reason. The normal serving of soup a tad too large, the main course/entreés a tad too pricey. Offers tasty meat-less food, but not really with vegetarians (or people who eat meat only occasionally) in mind. Let’s see where it gets over time. The segment of gourmet bistros definitely needs more competition.

  Jungmannova 8, Praha 1, reservations: 604777363.

• NineStarKi Studio.

  Organic vegan lunch menus following the principles of the five elements and malt-extract based desserts. Surprisingly yummy.

  Sarajevská 25, Praha 2-Vinohrady.

Pubs:

• Zahrádka u Kristiána, outdoor pub/grill at Vltava river bank.

  What’s great about this is the place. But the service and beer seems alright if somewhat pricey. Staropramen 12° on tap (yay!).

  Smetanovo nábřeží, Praha 1. (Facing Vltava, right to Most Legií.)

Places ranging from OK to tolerable

Cafés:

• Le Court, free Wi-Fi (does not reach into the farther corners of the café).

  The waitress was nice, the home-made lemonade super sour. She apologized. Might be worth revisiting.

  Haštalská 1, Praha 1.

• Coffee Lovers, free Wi-Fi.

  Staff not exceptionally forthcoming, but at least they do bring the coffee to your table. Asked about their (higher priced) organic coffee: Are there multiple choices? Origin? Any difference in taste between organic and the regular blend? Could not get any reasonable answer. Their regular espresso is pretty drinkable, cakes OK. Most customers are tourists.

  Kaprova 9, Praha 1 (next to the small and usually full Ebel café, see above).

• Kaaba, free Wi-Fi.

  Hot chocolate: substandard, cofee: varies, couscous: bearable, desserts: vary. Also has Staropramen and Hoegaarden on tap. This place is a bit of everything, and still I think there’s something it lacks. Atmosphere among other things.

  Mánesova 20, Praha 2, Vinohrady.

• Coffee Heaven, free Wi-Fi.

  Another Starbucks-style coffeeshop chain. Seems to serve coffee only in disposable cups, duh. Why am I listing it: the Coffee Heaven at Provaznická has a great historical wooden ceiling in the first floor. That’s it.

  Provaznická 1, Praha 1 (metro Můstek).

Pubs:

• Baba Jaga, has Kozel, Pilsen, Radegast on tap.

  Slezská 32, Praha 2-Vinohrady.

• Mlsnej Kocour, has tank Pilsen on tap, two pubs next to each other, one non-smoking.

  Náměstí Míru / Belgická 42, Praha 2-Vinohrady.

• Pastička, has Bernard, Pilsen, Guiness on tap. A bit pricey. I would call the service uninterested at best.

  Mánesova / Blanická 25, Praha 2-Vinohrady.

Restaurants:

• Pizza Einstein, 2 for the price of 1 student promotion (ISIC, selected meals), pizzas tolerable, pasta bad, Krušovice on tap.

  Štefánikova 2, Praha 5-Smíchov (tram Švandovo divadlo). (Also other places.)

• Himalaya, Indian (not only vegetarian). Not particularly bad, not exceptionally good, I’d say too expensive for what they have to offer.

  Soukenická 2, Praha 1.

• Loving Hut, good vegan Asian-style cuisine, more expensive than Beas. Not bad, except for the creepy Supreme Master thing.

  Londýnská 35, Praha 2-Vinohrady.

• Gopál, vegetarian, not too bad if you don’t mind a little Hare Krishna chants and all that stuff.

  Nerudova 32, Praha 1-Malá Strana.

• Culinaria, gourmet shop and restaurant, non-smoking.

  There’s a choice for each component of the menu. The food is agreeable, but a bit pricey for what you get (99 CZK for the menu, a rather small serving, water not served automatically). I haven’t seen toilets anywhere. A bit cramped, high chairs, but worth a try if you happen to be nearby and hungry. Lot of info on their web site. See Home Kitchen above for a better, if more pricey take, on a gourmet bistro.

  Skořepka 9, Praha 1.

Places I do not like

• Profesní dům, restaurant in the same building as our faculty. Been there a few times, cannot recommend. The positives are its location, and acceptable prices for daily menus, but that’s it.

• Gloria Jean’s Coffees, non-smoking, free Wi-Fi.

  Been there three or four times, mostly a bad experience. They advertise filter coffee “of the day”. Stopped there in the morning to have my mug filled, turned out they prepare it in a french press and you can choose between espresso blend and variously flavoured coffees (had one—yuck, the blend—OK). I had to wait more than fifteen minutes for it. Another time, the waitress asked me if I don’t mind my coffee in a paper cup (they do have mugs of course, but she “would have to wash one”—uh huh…). Also, do not expect them to bring the coffee to your table under any circumstances whatsoever. Cherry cake is awful.

  Klárov / Letenská 2, Praha 1 (metro Malostranská).

• Na Prádle, note: the menu and other info on their web site is outdated.

  It’s a pity, but the menu has changed and got more expensive, Bernard beer replaced by Krušovice (except for dark lager), free Wi-Fi no longer offered. Almost dead around noon.

  Besední 3, Praha 1 (part of the theatre Na Prádle).

• Tlustá koala, a pub built in “Victorian style”.

  Too bad: the selection of beers is great, but there’s always too much smoke and a strong smell of fried meals (even when seemingly nobody is eating), food is too expensive (for what you get). My friends seem to like it, though, and it’s close to Hlavní nádraží.

  Senovážná 8, Praha 1.

• Bakeshop, bakery and café.

  Good breads, if slightly overpriced, also—reportedly—good bagels. First impression: an expensive buffet for tourists. I’m prepared to give it another give it another try some time later.

  Kozí 1, Praha 1-Staré Město.

Other places I have been to, some of which I like, but have not added them to the list yet

Still quite a lot of them.

Places I have been to long ago

• Kavárna Velryba, Opatovická 24, Praha 1.

Some places I have not been to

I’d like to visit these some time:

In/Around Říčany

• Bread Garden Café, open 7:00-15:00 except weekends.

• Coffee’s Říčany.

  Masarykovo náměstí 68, Říčany.

• Cappuccini.

  Pod Zastávkou 1, Praha-Kolovraty.

In Prague

• Tonbo, Japanese restaurant.

  V Tůních 14, Praha 2-Nové Město.

• The Tavern, bar & burger restaurant, open 18–22 Thu–Sun.

  Chopinova 26, Praha 2.

• Jiná krajina, restaurant, lunch menus look nice, opens 11:00, Svijany on tap.

  Řeznická 4, Praha.

• Binh Minh, Asian fast food.

  Dukelských hrdinů 27, Praha 7.

• U Chlupatýho ducha, restaurant and café.

  Konviktská 6, Praha 1-Staré Město.

• Café Archa

  Lunch menus look nice. It’s actually another Mamacoffee café (see above).

  Na Poříčí 26, Praha 1.

• Kari Bazar, Malé Náměstí 13, lunch menu 11:30-14:30.

• Manni restaurant, Seifertova 11, Praha 3-Žižkov. Lunch menu 11:00-15:00.

• MoKKa Café, Vodičkova 16, Praha 1.

• Mansson Bakery, Bílkova 6, Praha 1-Josefov.

• Marmeláda, Roháčova 113, Žižkov.

• Café Lounge, Plaská 8, Praha 5, Malá Strana.

• SaSaZu, Bubenské nábřeží 13, Holešovice. Note: pricey, looks chic.

• U zeleného čaje, Nerudova 19, Praha 5.

• Malý Buddha, Úvoz 46, Praha 5-Hradčany.

• Café Fantazie, Ladova 1, Praha 2.

• Kavárna Pod Lipami, Čechova 1, Praha, tram Letenské náměstí.

• Tlustá Myš, Všehrdova 19, Praha 1-Malá Strana.

• U Bansethů, non-smoking brewery, restaurant, bakery, Táborská 389/49, Praha 4-Nusle.