30 years of experience, 31 companies and one story: Ambiente celebrates its 30th anniversary!
Tomáš, what do you think is worth celebrating after thirty years of Ambiente?
There is a lot and each of us has our own reasons to celebrate. Personally, I think that the whole of Czech gastronomy deserves to be celebrated, it has blossomed since socialism. When I think back to how we started in the 1990s and the state of Czech hospitality at that time, it is incredible to me how far we have come as an industry.
What was the atmosphere in gastronomy before the revolution?
People in restaurants were used to working like in a regular state-owned enterprise. It was the "owner" who determined what we would cook and to what standards and how much money we would serve the food to the guests. Our industry was bound by state regulations and had a very different ethos than today. A big change took place after the revolution, when employees became hosts. In 2025, we can consider ourselves a mature catering company and free to do business, which is extremely valuable. In many respects, this has brought Prague gastronomy back to the top of Europe.
When did you name the importance of hospitality for yourself?
It happened in Austria, where I got to know a completely different approach. Restaurant owners saw their guests as friends whom they invited into their homes, into their privacy, and their only concern was that they left their pub happy. I was also surprised at how thoroughly they cared for every single drink. In the Czech Republic, the innkeepers usually handled errands, whereas for these people it was not errands, but a living. That was one of the defining experiences I took away from there, and with it we opened Máneska, our first restaurant in Prague's Mánesova Street.
When people talk about Máneska, the word "groundbreaking" often comes up. Surely it wasn't just about the interior decoration, fried buffalo wings and waiters in jeans. What did you do to revolutionise it?
We printed it on the front page of the menu: Live, have fun, savour every bite on your plate, every sip from your glass, and laugh, be friendly and kind to everyone you meet. The people on the team at Máneska like to be friendly, kind and accommodating to all guests who enter the restaurant. This warmth is still a pillar of Ambiente today. We simply want to make people happy.
Did you know in 1995 that you were laying the foundations of the company?
Not at all. I had this idea that I would run a great pub where the staff and guests felt comfortable, and I never thought we would open more restaurants. We started the second one because the regulars of Máneska offered us a lease in Americká Street, and shortly afterwards a friend of ours, a Liberec developer, came to us with the idea that he had the space, the finances and the interest to run the same pub in Liberec. At that moment I first thought about what it would be like to open more and more businesses and with a friend from the law firm Kříž and Bělina we created a franchising model. We got the Ambiente trademark registered and I started thinking about what we would do to get all the restaurants in order and to grow.
How did your thinking take shape?
Initially, I took the American restaurant brand TGI Fridays as a model, so we envisioned a concept that could be multiplied. But then I met Petr Chaloupka and Tomáš Johanovský in a space in Celetná Street and I suddenly realised that three identical businesses would be too much for Prague. And since I had taken Italian cuisine courses in Austria and had a good understanding of it, it made sense to me to open an Italian restaurant. At that time, Italians were opening unnecessarily overpriced pubs in our country - at Caffe Italia on Old Town Square, a coffee cost more than a hundred crowns. And so Pasta Fresca was born.
What strategy did you choose when opening the following restaurants?
We decided to develop new concepts and different experiences for the same guests, to establish businesses with the same values, in the same quality and price range. According to one economic theory. the most successful businesses are those that deliver relatively high quality goods at a price lower than what they could sell for while the worst performers are those that deliver products of average quality at an average price. With this philosophy, we later opened Pastacaffé and Brasileiro. Our approach changed only with La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise and with Locals, when the concepts diverged into different price categories and we thus opened the imaginary scissors between Czech pub classics and fine dining. At the same time, we chose a different logo for Ambiente - the star - and the restaurants got their own identity. We made it clear that each of our establishments is unique and that we are not a chain, but a family of brands. By the way, hiding all the brands under one star was a brilliant idea of Aleš Najbrt from Studio Najbrt.
How has the structure of Ambiente changed over the years?
We were originally one group in Máneska, but not everyone was interested in expanding, so a group - myself, Tomáš Johanovský, Tomáš Turek and Martin Dvořák - split off from the team to build new businesses. We thought we would run them centrally from the office, which of course couldn't work, and so we soon crashed. It was a challenging period when I had to be there for everything. I worked from sight to sight. Fortunately, thanks to various management trainings, I "woke up". I went through many phases and management styles until I started working with Standa Háša from the University of Economics, who helped us find the current model of the company structure and build our own ecosystem. AMBI CZ is a franchisor, just like LOCAL CZ, but unlike traditional franchising, we do not manage pubs - we create services for them that provide the best conditions for them to thrive.
I recently read that the feeling of family that a company's employees should have is key to its success...
We all want to belong, to fit in and be useful in the community, hence employees should feel that they are a piece of the puzzle that they can influence and co-create.. That's why we offer our people shares in restaurants. I believe that an entrepreneur should share what his business earns him, and in this way we also reinforce the aforementioned sense of family. In addition, about a year ago we set up an entity that will gradually replace the ownership structure in Ambiente and allow us to involve more partners and capable colleagues in projects.
Which failures have you learned the most from?
From all the ones that have come our way. For example, the pub in New York was a beneficial lesson for me, as it showed me the way we should go. It made me realise that we need to take care of our gastronomic scene first and foremost, that Prague is an amazing place to live and provides us with a lot of untapped opportunities. New York was extremely competitive and progressive compared to the Czech Republic, but in the end we found out that it's just a small backyard where a few personalities win. The closing of the Pub opened our eyes. We realised that to succeed, you need quality, integrity and passion. I don't think there's any other way.
Ambiente has almost doubled in size since the pandemic. How do you rate the rate at which the group is growing?
An editor once wrote of Ambiente that it was like a precisely directed golem, slowly but surely moving forward. I liked it, so I'm sticking with it. 30 years, 31 companies. I don't like to accelerate, nor do I have a vision of growth or a bigger business. As the years go by, I notice that we are enriching Prague gastronomically and culturally, and I am as pleased with that as I am with the number of guests who enjoy our businesses. It is only thanks to this that we are able to improve ourselves and Czech gastronomy and to fertilise a field that is still unploughed. We grow because we want to. We want to help young people fulfil their ambitions, their potential and do what I set out to do 30 years ago.
Determination usually brings with it fear. Have you had them too?
I still have them! But my dad always said that you fall forward even on your mouth, and I remind myself of that. You can't be afraid of making mistakes. On the contrary! You have to welcome them, make amends and move on. Fear usually prevents us from moving on. Often we have gone full force into things that no one has done before us, and that requires risk and prior experience.. When we opened Brasileiro, we flew halfway around the world for inspiration, equipment and staff. From that moment on, we have not been afraid to try the unknown, although doubts accompany us every time something new is born. The important thing is not to hesitate and to throw ourselves into it with a certain naivety, without fear or reproach. And to be careful not to let the mistakes that naturally happen put us on our backs.
What do we need to cherish at the core of the company?
We need to protect our unique characteristics, which we have redefined and re-evaluated over the past year to reiterate to ourselves, and especially to our younger followers, what really matters at Ambiente and what shapes our DNA. Above all principles, however, are the relationships between people. We must not forget that the system in restaurants never means more than the people who work and live in it. In short, as long as people are more important than money, we will thrive. On the other hand, mathematics plays a role, and if at the end there is no desirable EBITDA, taxes paid and profit distributed among all stakeholders, our efforts cannot be sustainable in the long run. We need oxygen to breathe.
How has your view of the foodservice industry changed over the years?
I would say it remains the same. I'm of the opinion that hospitality is a very fundamental part of all of our lives that lacks recognition in society, although even that is slowly changing. More and more people are realising that eating out has an impact on our health and the environment. In addition, it is becoming clear to people in the industry and to guests that in restaurants we are not primarily selling food, but a service..
What does the legendary Ambiente spaghetti say?
They explain what we are talking about now. Food is much more than a biological necessity. We build a relationship with certain recipes from childhood, and if we forget them, we lose a piece of ourselves. That's why it's worth keeping them on the menu, for example. Our work is very personal, but at the same time we have to be able to detach ourselves from the situation and the menu and admit that it's not about how I feel at the table or whether I like the food. In the hospitality industry, we focus on the guest and put all our empathy into that.
What is your position at Ambiente called?
It doesn't need to be called anything. At the moment, it's that I'm systematically handing over some areas of my work and trying to be close to my successors. In doing so, I make sure that day in and day out we employ hundreds of people in our operations who know their craft and will be able to continue our efforts even when I am no longer here. The journey is the destination, and it's not so much about which path we take, but why we take it. And we should continue to cultivate how people eat in the Czech Republic.
What has your 30-year episode on the Czech gastro scene brought you?
I've learned how crucial it is to be able to choose the right people and partners to surround yourself with. You only discover the right choice when you overcome the good and the bad together. Anyway, happiness lies in who we spend our time with here on Earth, who we help, understand and exchange inspiration with.. As I mentioned before - pure interpersonal relationships are of the greatest value. And in a good team, work is all the more enjoyable. Actually, I don't want to say "work". It's our fulfilling life.
Chef or restaurateur?
I feel like a chef.
