Traditional Czech Food in Prague: 14 Dishes + a Food Tour

Traditional Czech food in Prague means hearty, meat-led dishes such as svíčková, guláš and vepřo knedlo zelo, and a guided food tour is the quickest way to taste several of them in one afternoon. Traditional Czech food was also the one thing that worried me before the trip my mom and I took to Prague, because Czech cuisine has a reputation for being heavy, greasy and short on vegetables. So we booked the Eating Prague food tour and let 2 local guides show us what the dishes are called, where locals eat them and why they taste the way they do.

Before we left, I had picked a few places that serve more than Czech food. They came from our own guide to restaurants in Prague, and Styl & Interiér, one of the tour’s later stops, was already on that list.

Eating Europe had already run 2 good tours for me, in London and on the Testaccio food tour in Rome, so their Prague tour was the obvious choice.

Eating Europe hosted us on this Prague food tour, and we decided independently what to think of it and what to tell you here.

What is traditional Czech food?

Traditional Czech food is hearty Central European cooking built on pork and beef, bread dumplings, cabbage and thick sauces, with svíčková na smetaně, guláš, vepřo knedlo zelo, smažený sýr and řízek as its signature dishes. Traditional Czech food also follows a fixed order at the table: a soup such as kulajda, česnečka or zelňačka comes first, a meat main with knedlíky (dumplings) follows, and a pastry such as koláče or apple strudel closes the meal. Lunch is the main meal of the day, our guide Jan told us, so a large piece of meat at noon is normal rather than a treat. Beer stands beside almost every plate, and Pilsner Urquell from Plzeň is the reference lager. Vegetables appear mostly as sauerkraut, stewed cabbage or root vegetables puréed into a sauce, which explains the cuisine’s “no greens” reputation.

The dishes we tried on the Eating Prague food tour

The dishes we tried on the Eating Prague food tour were chlebíčky, sausages and ham, zelňačka, pork pâté, svíčková and apple strudel, spread over 5 named stops in Prague’s Old Town and New Town: Sisters, Naše Maso, Restaurant Zvonice, Styl & Interiér and Café Louvre. We had 2 guides instead of 1, because Rob, an American who had moved to Prague for a Czech woman, was training under head guide Jan, and we were the only guests that day in an unusually quiet week. All 5 stops are named from our own visit; menus and opening hours change, so check that each is still open before you build a route around them.

Perník (gingerbread): the meeting point

Perník is the Czech word for gingerbread, and a small gingerbread shop, the prettiest we saw in the city, was where the Eating Prague tour started at noon. The shop was our meeting point, where we learned we had 2 guides for the price of 1 and the afternoon to ourselves.

Chlebíčky (open-faced sandwiches) at Sisters

Chlebíčky are Czech open-faced sandwiches: a slice of soft white bread piled with toppings such as ham, potato salad, egg or beetroot, eaten as a snack or a party appetiser. Chlebíčky at Sisters (Dlouhá 39) come with a gourmet twist, because the café is a concept by Czech celebrity cook Hana Michopulu and everything is prepared on the spot. Our tasting was 3 half-sized chlebíčky, ham, cabbage and beetroot, and the beetroot one won. Czechs claim to have invented the open-faced sandwich; Jan did not go that far, but he did tell us that full-sized chlebíčky are the standard party appetiser.

Naše Maso (Our Meat): sausages and ham from a traditional butcher

Naše Maso, “Our Meat” in Czech, is a butcher shop at Dlouhá 39 across the street from Sisters, and it was already full when we walked in. Naše Maso works the traditional way, Jan explained: nothing is rushed and nothing is done to the meat before it is sold, which is why a metres-long queue forms outside after office hours. We tasted 2 kinds of sausage and 2 kinds of ham, all rich and clearly made with care. You can also pick a steak at the counter, have it cooked on the spot and eat it with a beer from the shop’s tap. In the evening the shop becomes a restaurant with a single table for 7, booked out weeks ahead, and the all-glass outer wall lets you watch the butchers at work.

Zelňačka (sauerkraut soup) at Restaurant Zvonice

Zelňačka is a thick sauerkraut soup, and a bowl of it at Restaurant Zvonice was our introduction to the Czech rule that every traditional meal starts with soup. Zelňačka at Zvonice arrived built on sauerkraut, sausage, potato and cream, filling enough that I would call it a winter dish, though Jan told us Czechs do not divide dishes into summer and winter food the way we do in Belgium. Restaurant Zvonice, whose name means belfry, sits high up in the Jindřišská Tower (Jindřišská věž) with a view over the Vltava river, and the old bell still hangs inside, above one of the tables a floor down. Zvonice looks like a tourist stop from the outside because of the tower setting, but the soup was as traditional as they come.

Paštika (pork pâté) with Czech fruit wine at Styl & Interiér

Paštika is Czech pâté, and the pork belly version at Styl & Interiér (Vodičkova 35) was the tour’s own pick rather than a canonical Czech classic. Paštika here comes smeared thick on a slice of good bread, rich and generously portioned, and after 3 tasting stops we could only manage part of it, so pace yourself before this one. Styl & Interiér doubles as a design store, and its café garden was one of the prettiest we found in Prague. Mom drank a glass of Czech cherry wine with her pâté while I had fruit juice; she knows her wines because my dad runs a wine store.

Svíčková na smetaně: the main course at Café Louvre

Svíčková na smetaně, beef sirloin in cream sauce, is often called the most traditional Czech main course, and we ate it at Café Louvre (Národní 22), known for its traditional Czech menu. Svíčková at Café Louvre arrived as braised beef in a creamy sauce with bread dumplings (houskové knedlíky), cranberry compote and a spoon of unsweetened whipped cream, exactly as heavy and filling as that sounds. Vepřo knedlo zelo is the other contender and usually wins the national-dish vote. The sauce is the point: puréed root vegetables such as carrot, celeriac and parsley root cooked with cream, which is why the plate looks beige and tastes slightly sweet. Jan and Rob emptied their plates in no time while mom and I admitted defeat, because we knew dessert was still coming.

Jablečný štrúdl (apple strudel) for dessert

Jablečný štrúdl, apple strudel, was the dessert, and it sits on the menu of almost every traditional restaurant in Prague. Jablečný štrúdl the Czech way means thin pastry, plenty of apple pieces and a mountain of whipped cream, and the version we ate was a fitting end to a food-filled afternoon.

History and culture between the tastings

The Eating Prague tour is a walking history tour as much as a food tour, and we spent a large part of the afternoon crossing the city between stops and hearing how Czech cuisine developed. Jan and Rob answered every question we threw at them and kept adding fun facts about Czechia on top, and both men clearly care about Czech food, culture and history.

Traditional Czech dishes to try in Prague

Traditional Czech dishes to try in Prague go beyond what one tour fits into an afternoon, so the 14 dishes and drinks below cover the ones on almost every menu in the city, most important first, each with its Czech name, English meaning, definition and where you meet it.

1. Svíčková na smetaně (beef sirloin in cream sauce): svíčková is braised beef in a puréed root-vegetable cream sauce with bread dumplings, cranberry compote and whipped cream. You meet it on every traditional menu and at Café Louvre on the food tour.
2. Vepřo knedlo zelo (roast pork, dumplings and cabbage): vepřo knedlo zelo is roast pork with bread dumplings and stewed sauerkraut or red cabbage, the dish most Czechs name as the national dish. You meet it in pubs and lunch canteens across Prague.
3. Guláš (goulash): guláš is a thick beef or pork stew with onion and paprika, served with sliced bread dumplings and denser than the soupy Hungarian version. You meet it in every pub.
4. Smažený sýr (fried cheese): smažený sýr is a thick slice of Edam coated in breadcrumbs, fried and served with tartar sauce and potatoes or fries, and it is the standard vegetarian main. You meet it in pubs and, in a bun, as street food.
5. Řízek (schnitzel): řízek is a breaded, fried pork or chicken cutlet, the Czech cousin of the Viennese veal schnitzel, served with potato salad or potatoes. You meet it on lunch menus and at family tables.
6. Knedlíky (dumplings): knedlíky are sliced boiled bread dumplings (houskové) or potato dumplings (bramborové) that soak up the sauce of almost every main. You meet them beside svíčková, guláš and vepřo knedlo zelo rather than on their own.
7. Kulajda (dill and mushroom soup): kulajda is a creamy soup of potato, mushrooms, dill and cream, finished with a poached egg. You meet it as a starter in traditional restaurants.
8. Česnečka (garlic soup): česnečka is a garlic broth with potato, caraway and croutons, sometimes topped with cheese, and Czechs treat it as the cure for a cold or a hangover. You meet it on old-style pub menus.
9. Zelňačka (sauerkraut soup): zelňačka is a thick soup of sauerkraut, smoked sausage, potato and cream. You meet it on winter menus and, as we did, at Restaurant Zvonice.
10. Tatarák (steak tartare): tatarák is raw minced beef mixed with egg yolk and seasonings, spread on toasted bread rubbed with raw garlic. You meet it as a beer snack in pubs and over the counter at Naše Maso.
11. Chlebíčky (open-faced sandwiches): chlebíčky are slices of white bread topped with potato salad, ham, egg, cheese or beetroot. You meet them in delis and cafés such as Sisters, and at every Czech party.
12. Koláče (sweet yeast pastries): koláče are round yeast-dough pastries filled with fruit, poppy seed or sweet curd cheese (tvaroh). You meet them in bakeries, where locals send you for dessert.
13. Trdelník (spit cake): trdelník is a tube of dough wound around a spit, grilled and rolled in sugar and cinnamon. You meet it at stands wherever tourists walk, but it is not traditional Czech food: it is the Hungarian kürtőskalács of Transylvania, adopted by Prague’s tourist streets and Christmas markets, and locals on the r/Prague forum say it plainly: “we don’t eat trdelník, we only sell it to tourists”.
14. Czech beer (pivo): pivo is the national drink, with Pilsner Urquell from Plzeň as the reference lager. You meet it in every pub, and the pubs that pour Pilsner Urquell straight from a tank are the ones locals seek out.

FAQ: traditional Czech food in Prague

The 5 questions below are the ones people ask Google most often about traditional Czech food in Prague, each answered in its first sentence.

What is the national dish of the Czech Republic?

Vepřo knedlo zelo, roast pork with bread dumplings and stewed cabbage, is the dish most Czechs name as the national dish of the Czech Republic. Svíčková na smetaně is the more celebrated plate for special occasions and guláš the one you see most on pub menus, but the pork, dumpling and cabbage combination is the everyday answer. Wikipedia’s Czech cuisine entry calls it the most typical Czech dish.

What food is Prague famous for?

Prague is famous for svíčková, guláš with bread dumplings, vepřo knedlo zelo, smažený sýr, řízek and Pilsner-style lager, plus Prague ham (pražská šunka), the cured ham that carries the city’s name. Chlebíčky and koláče are the snacks and pastries to add, and trdelník is the one famous Prague food that is famous only with tourists.

What do Czechs eat for breakfast?

Czechs eat bread rolls for breakfast: a rohlík (crescent roll), a žemle (bun) or a houska (braided bun), topped with butter, cheese, ham or jam. Sausages count as breakfast food too. Rohlíky are the crescent-shaped rolls in every supermarket, often sprinkled with poppy seeds or salt before baking.

How do you avoid tourist-trap restaurants in Prague?

Avoid tourist-trap restaurants in Prague by walking a few streets away from the main squares of the Old Town and skipping any place with a photo menu in many languages, a person outside pulling you in, or no prices on the menu. Locals on the r/Prague forum add one more test: compare the price of a half-litre of beer with what a normal pub charges, because a Czech never pays a tourist price for beer, and a restaurant that overcharges for beer overcharges for everything. Check the Google Maps rating too; tourist traps collect bad reviews for service.

What can vegetarians eat in Prague?

Vegetarians in Prague can eat smažený sýr, the breaded fried cheese served with tartar sauce and potatoes, which sits on almost every pub menu as the standard meat-free main. Koprová omáčka, a dill cream sauce served with a boiled or poached egg and dumplings or potatoes, is the second classic, and kulajda contains no meat in its standard recipe. Vegetables are the weak point of the cuisine, as I feared before the trip, so plan on modern restaurants for greens and on traditional places for these 3 dishes.

Book a food tour in Prague

Book the Eating Prague food tour if you want to taste svíčková, chlebíčky, Czech sausages and sauerkraut soup with a local guide in one afternoon, on the same route my mom and I took. You can book the Eating Prague food tour on the Eating Europe website; tour names and routes change over time, so check the current itinerary against the stops in this post before you book.

Where to stay in Prague

The 5 places to stay in Prague below are grouped by budget, and all of them lie within walking distance of the food tour’s stops on Dlouhá, Vodičkova and Národní streets. Hotel names, tiers and links change, so confirm each is still operating before you book.

• Boutique: Prague Inn. We spent three nights at Hotel Prague Inn, a small hotel in the city centre right by Wenceslas Square. It offers spacious rooms, a good breakfast and reliable Wi-Fi. Book Prague Inn on Booking.com or read Prague Inn reviews on TripAdvisor.
• Budget: Hostel Elf. Hostel Elf is a simple, no-frills hostel located five minutes from Florenc bus and metro station and a 20-minute walk from downtown. It has a garden and barbecue area, comfortable beds and friendly staff. Book Hostel Elf on Booking.com or read Hostel Elf reviews on TripAdvisor.
• Chain: Clarion Hotel Prague City. Clarion Hotel Prague City is a modern chain hotel a five-minute walk from Wenceslas Square, with a tram stop outside. It offers a varied breakfast and rooms with air conditioning, a minibar and Wi-Fi. Book Clarion Hotel Prague City on Booking.com or read Clarion Hotel Prague City reviews on TripAdvisor.
• Luxury: BoHo Prague Hotel. BoHo Prague Hotel is located in the heart of the city, with easy access to the main landmarks. It offers large, elegantly furnished rooms with artwork, an on-site restaurant and a wellness centre available for an additional charge. Book BoHo Prague Hotel on Booking.com or read BoHo Prague Hotel reviews on TripAdvisor.
• Apartment: Old Town Square Apartments. Old Town Square Apartments are located 200 m (656 ft) from the Old Town Square and astronomical clock. The airy, bright apartments feature large windows and fully equipped kitchens. Each has two to three bedrooms and sleeps two to eight people. Book Old Town Square Apartments on Booking.com or read Old Town Square Apartments reviews on TripAdvisor.

How to get to Prague

To get to Prague, fly direct into Václav Havel Airport Prague or take a train from another European city such as Vienna, Berlin or Munich. We flew in from Brussels Airport with a private transfer booked to our hotel. Compare train options and prices to Prague for the rail route, or check flight options to Prague for the air route.

Stay connected while visiting Prague

Stay connected in Prague with a pocket WiFi device if you are travelling from outside the EU and want to use maps and messaging without roaming charges. Airalo sells prepaid eSIM data plans by country, region or worldwide. I use their daily passes outside the EU; you can compare Airalo eSIM plans. Use code HARRY5578 for €3 off your first eSIM.

More Prague guides

More Prague guides from Wonderful Wanderings cover the rest of a trip and are listed below.

• Things to do in Prague: the city hub for sights and planning.
• Restaurants in Prague: the list I used to find lighter options between Czech meals.
• Hotels in Prague: a longer list of hotels by area and budget.
• Josefov, Prague’s Jewish Quarter: the synagogues and the old cemetery.
• Prague Christmas markets: the seasonal guide, including what to eat there.
• Czechia travel guide: the country hub for trips beyond Prague.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the first-hand notes in this post come from her Eating Prague food tour through Prague’s Old Town and New Town with her mother. The team covers Prague and traditional Czech food for independent travellers, including the food tours, restaurants and hotels worth booking, and updates this page when prices, dates and rules change.