Traditional Czech food Prague: discover tasty dishes on this food tour

When I planned my the trip to Prague, Czech Republic I would go on with my mom, there was one thing that worried me a little: the food. Czech Republic traditional food is known to be heavy, greasy and void of vegetables, three elements that are opposite to how we both usually eat.

And so I'd searched the web for the best restaurants in Prague that didn't just serve Czech food, but I still wanted to learn about traditional Czech food Prague as food is such a huge part of a place's culture.

Given the great experience I had with their food tours in London and Rome, I knew the Eating Europe Prague food tours would be the best option to not only learn about traditional Czech food but also about the history of the city.
 

Trying traditional Czech food Prague

1. Gingerbread

And so one noon in Prague, my mom and I headed to the cutest gingerbread store ever to meet with our Eating Prague food tour guide for the afternoon. Upon our arrival, we learned we didn't just get two guides for the price of one, but we were also the only ones taking the tour that day. Score!

Eating Europe food tours are usually booked full well in advance, but for some reason, it was a really slow week in terms of visitors for the whole of Prague when we were there. And the reason we got two guides was that Rob, an American who'd fallen in love with a Czech woman, was actually a guide-to-be and was still learning the tricks of the food tour trade from our “head guide” Jan.

Anyways, back to the gingerbread store! It's called “Pernickuv Sen” (with a bunch of funny accents I can't find on my keyboard), can be found on Hastalska 21 and is owned by two sisters-in-law. When we were there, one of them was decorating gingerbread men with the steadiest hand while we were chatting about – and tasting! – cookies.

We tried a poppyseed kolache, a delicious kind of gingerbread cookie (my favorite) and a more dry, crumbly kind of cookie with vanilla (mom's favorite).
 

2. Czech open faced sandwiches

Apparently, Czech people claim to have invented open-faced sandwiches. Our guide didn't want to go as far as claiming that, but it has to be said that Sisters (Dlouha 39) makes some mean sandwiches!

The cafe is a concept by Czech celebrity cook Hana Michopulu and serves open-faced sandwiches with a gourmet twist, prepared on the spot and great for lunch or as an in-between snack. We tried half-sized sandwiches with ham, with cabbage and one with beetroot. They were all very good, but if I'd have to choose just one, I'd go for the beetroot one.

We already thought those three half sandwiches were filling but then Jan and Rob told us that people serve whole-sized ones at parties as an appetizer. What!? Yup. They're an essential part of Czech cuisine and a party isn't complete without them.
 

3. Meat!

Across from Sisters, butcher shop Nase Maso (Dlouha 39) was filled with people. Jan told us this was nothing and that after work hours, there's often a meters-long line outside the shop with people waiting to order.

That's because Nase Maso isn't a regular butcher. Everything happens in the traditional way here, without hurrying up any preparation processes or manipulating the meat before selling it. The quality here is ten times better than what you can find in supermarkets (or so I was told) and people are willing to pay for it. That being said, the meat at Nase Maso is still much cheaper than that sold by butchers in Belgium.

Meat takes up an important place in Czech cuisine and you'll find plenty of meat dishes on the menus of traditional Czech restaurants in Prague. It's not unusual at all to have a big piece of meat for lunch which is, by the way, the main meal of the day for Czechs.

Those who want, can choose a steak at the store and have it baked for them on the spot. There's a beer tap present in the shop, so you can basically stop at Nase Maso for a quick but meaty meal. In the evenings, the butcher becomes a restaurant serving just one table for seven. Needless to say, they're fully booked weeks in advance.

Another cool thing about Nase Maso is that you can actually see the butchers at work. The outer wall of the store is fully covered in windows and so you can see the meat age, being cut off of carcasses and being prepared for the next customer.

We tried two types of sausages and two types of ham. You could easily tell love was the only thing poured into these meats, as they tasted so rich.
 

4. Old bohemian soup

Up next was the start of every traditional Czech meal: a bowl of hearty soup. We had ours at Restaurant Zvonice (Jindrisska Vez), located high up in one of Prague's old towers, offering a view of the Moldau river.

Special feature: the old tower bell that has it's own place right inside the restaurant, hovering over one of the tables a floor down.

The soup we had was based on sauerkraut and enriched with sausage, potato, and cream. It was very filling and more a dish I would have in winter than in summer. Jan told us, however, that Czechs don't really have summer and winter dishes.

Now, in Belgium, we don't have them “officially” either, but you're much more likely to have salads in summer and hearty soups or things like sausages in winter.
 

5. Pork pate with Czech fruit wine

After a walk along all kinds of sights, we ended up at Styl & Interier (Vodickova 35). Funny enough, this was one of the places I'd found while I was researching where to eat in Prague and I'd taken mom there for lunch on our first day in the city.

It probably has the nicest cafe garden in all of Prague and inside, every design element you see is for sale as Styl & Interier is – indeed – also a design store.

We went there to try their pork belly paté with a glass of cherry wine for mom and some kind of fruit juice for me. Having a husband (my dad, just to be sure), who runs a wine store, my mom knows a thing or two about wines and is also quite clear about what she likes and doesn't like. She didn't say anything, but I think the cherry wine was a bit too sweet for her. I, on the other hand, was very happy with my juice.

We both liked the pate smeared on top of a thick slice of tasty bread, but at this point in the afternoon, we couldn't finish it all anymore. If we'd been wearing pants, we would have had to open them up. Luckily, our flowing dresses covered up our now clearly full bellies.
 

6. The main course

But we weren't done yet! We still had one stop to check off: the Café Louvre (Narodni 22), known for serving traditional Czech dishes. There we had what might be the most traditional Czech dish of the day: bread dumplings with braised beef and cranberry compote in a creamy sauce, mixed with unsweetened whipped cream.

Yes, that's as heavy and filling as it sounds.

My mom and I watched bedazzled as Jan and Rob emptied their plates in no time and had to acknowledge defeat. Even with all the walking we'd done in between the food stops, we couldn't finish it all. Especially not as we knew we'd still have dessert as well!
 

7. The dessert

You might think that dessert would be some kind of local cake, but it was actually something we all know: apple strudel! That's right, it's everywhere on the menus in of restaurants in Prague and I can tell you, those Czechs know how to make a good apple strudel. Thin dough, lots of delicious apple bits, a mountain of whipped cream… It's one of the foods to eat in Prague!

It was delicious and definitely a good ending to our food-filled afternoon.
 

8. The non-food stops

What I love about the Eating Prague Tours, and all Eating Europe tours, actually, is that they're not just food tours. I've focused on the food in Prague in this post, but we spent a lot of time walking around the city as well, taking in the sights and learning about its history, the evolution of Czech cuisine and the place of Czech food in Czech society.

I can't emphasize enough how knowledgeable and passionate our guides Jan and Rob were. We bombarded them with questions and not only did they answer them all, they also often added some fun facts about Czechia. You could tell these two men are passionate about Czech food, culture and history and more than eager to share that passion with us.

This was my third tour with Eating Europe Food Tours and a third success. I highly recommend booking a tour with them if you're visiting one of the cities they operate in. We got to try some of the best things to eat in Prague and learned a whole lot while doing so.
 

Book a food tour in Prague

If you also want to try some of the best Prague foods, you can book this food tour of Prague on the Eating Europe website.
 

Where to stay in Prague

Boutique: Prague Inn

We spent three nights at the Hotel Prague Inn, a small hotel in the center of the city, right by the famous Wenceslas Square. We had a spacious room, an nice breakfast included and good working WiFi. It was a great base to explore the city from.

Book a room / Read reviews on TripAdvisor
 

Budget: Hostel Elf
Hostel Elf is a simple but effective what-you-see-is-what-you-get hostel. It’s situated 5 minutes away from the Florenc Bus and Metro Station. You can walk to downtown Prague in 20 minutes. Guests love the outdoor space, garden and BBQ area. Comfy beds and friendly staff make this an affordable but great place to stay.

Book a room / Read reviews on TripAdvisor
 

Chain: Clarion Hotel Prague City
This modern Clarion Hotel is based at a central location in Prague, just a five-minute walk from Wenceslas Square and with a tram stop right outside taking you all round the city. Rooms include a coffee-maker, air-conditioning, flat-screen TV, minibar and WiFi, and guests are treated to a varied breakfast.

Book a room / Read reviews on TripAdvisor
 

Luxury: BoHo Prague Hotel
BoHo Prague is situated in the heart of the city with easy access to all the most popular landmarks. The rooms are large, elegantly furnished and spacious. Artwork and comfy modern furniture add a little extra to your stay. There's an on-site luxurious restaurant and a wellness center which you can use at a surcharge. Everything about this hotel spells “sophistication”.

Book a room / Read reviews on TripAdvisor
 

Apartment: Old Town Square Apartments
Just 200m away from the old square and astronomic clock, these apartments are in a great location for exploring Prague on foot. The apartments are airy and bright with large windows and fully equipped kitchens. Each apartment has 2-3 bedrooms and can sleep between 2 and 8 people.

Book a room / Read reviews on TripAdvisor
 

There are plenty more apartment options on Airbnb. While I use Booking for hotels, I always check Airbnb for apartments as they have such a large selection.

If you found this post useful, please consider making your next Airbnb through my link. The price stays exactly the same for you, while I'll earn a small commission. Income like this helps me travel independently and create new content for you.
 

How to get to Prague

We flew from Brussels Airport to Prague and then had a private transfer booked to take us to our hotel. When traveling through Europe, you can also get to Prague by train.

Click here for train options and prices.

Click here for the best flight options to Prague.
 

Other things to do in Prague

Make sure to also take a look around Josefoc, the Old Jewish Quarter and check out this list of things to do in Prague I put together for you.
 

Stay connected while visiting Prague

Traveling to Prague from outside the EU and want to stay connected so you can share photos, call loved ones over WiFi and easily use apps like Google Maps? Then check out Solis Wifi mobile WiFi.

They offer both day passes and monthly subscriptions providing you with 4G throughout your trips. I've been using their daily passes not just when I travel outside the EU (no roaming charges for me in the EU) but also as a backup for when I think I'll go over my phone's data plan.
 

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Find below our top guides about Czech Republic.

We were guests of Eating Europe Food Tours on our Prague Food Tour, yet independently decided to enjoy it, soak up the stories told to us and indulge in the traditional czech food Prague. You'll only read what I really think of stuff on here. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you book anything through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.