Vanessa eats Prague: The Prague restaurants I actually send people to
Isaac's BBQ
When I first moved to Prague, I really needed that American comfort food to get me through the moments where I was asking myself, what am I even doing here? Isaac ran Dirty Dog back then, out of a tiny spot in Žižkov. Since then he’s taken it to Manifesto when at Florenc, then Smíchov, but the real deal is his restaurant in the centre, Isaac's BBQ, just off Národní on Jungmannova.
Whenever an American tells me they're missing good barbecue, this is where I send them. He's even got all the classic sides – mac and cheese, coleslaw, the whole deal. And if you meet Isaac, you can't help but love him. He's so passionate about what he does, and after all these years he's still in the kitchen, still perfecting his BBQ.
Float
Ten years ago, if you wanted proper Sichuan food in Prague, your options were pretty limited. China is huge, and it's easy to lump everything together as “Chinese food,” but there are so many regional cuisines that it feels impossible to fit them all under one umbrella.
Float was one of the first places in Prague really showcasing this side of it, putting things like chicken feet on the menu that I hadn't seen anywhere else in the city. They're not afraid to take risks and not afraid to make it spicy, which I love. I used to have to go all the way to Berlin for biang biang noodles, but now I can get them at Float or at their sister spot, Chop Chop.
Bockem
I'm very skeptical about brunch. Everyone seems to be opening a brunch spot these days, which means the whole thing has gotten pretty oversaturated. How many places with avocado toast do we really need? But then I tried Bockem in Smíchov. This place does a tasting menu for brunch, so right away you know you're getting something more elevated than the usual granola and yogurt.
Their egg soufflé is genuinely unmatched in Prague, and the rest of the menu changes with the season. They even do krupicová kaše (semolina pudding) as part of the set, which feels like a small event in itself. For Czechs this is a huge childhood classic, real comfort food, so seeing a fancy version of it on a tasting menu is kind of a big deal.
Theirs is so good it makes me second-guess my own from-the-bag version at home. I don't think I'll ever manage to make it taste this good again. This is the place I take friends who are visiting, and I love gifting a voucher for someone's birthday because it feels so special.
La Dispensa
I love a good charcuterie board, but I also need to sample the cheeses and meats before I commit to putting them on it. And honestly, sometimes I'm lost, with no idea how many soft cheeses versus hard cheeses I should get, or what else belongs up there. La Dispensa in Vinohrady is my answer.
Two lovely women run this shop, stocked with everything you'd need for Italian cooking: pastas, cookies, all of it. But the deli counter is where it really shines, everything supplied straight from Italy. I'm constantly messaging them to ask when the burrata or gorgonzola is coming in, and their arancini are delicious too.
Kafe Atrium
Kafe Atrium is one of those places you'd only ever find because someone in the neighbourhood took you there. You'd never walk down this street unless you lived nearby or were headed to a concert at the cultural centre. The building is the former Baroque Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, built in the early 1700s on what used to be a plague cemetery.
It was reborn as the Atrium Žižkov cultural centre in the 1980s, and today part of it is a small concert hall, part of it a gallery, and part of it a café with a beautiful courtyard and an even more beautiful garden. Sitting out there almost feels like you're having coffee in your own backyard rather than in the middle of the city. It's one of the quietest spots in Prague.
Masna Kozí
Surrounded by so many expensive options in the centre, if you just want a good smažák (fried cheese) or párek v rohlíku for lunch, I always point people to Masna Kozí on Kozí street. It's also a butcher shop, so you can grab a warm lunch and pick up some Czech specialties to take home. The lunch menu changes daily, but you'll find the classics: svíčková, řízek, and the rest.
Kobliha
My parents and brother were visiting from Los Angeles back in May, and I told them they had to try Kobliha in Vršovice. These are seriously some of the best doughnuts I've ever had, and since LA has so many great little doughnut shops, I knew they'd appreciate them.
They loved them. Our doughnuts back home can be so sweet (you know us Americans, we love our sugar), but these feel like a treat without making you feel like your teeth are going to fall out. They do seasonal specials, and I love how creative they get. Right now they have a krupicová kaše one on the menu (can you tell I'm obsessed?) and a little lemon curd doughnut hole that is somehow refreshing, even for a piece of fried dough.
Pavlo's Streetfood
Prague is really killing it in the burger department. I'd go as far as saying we have some of the best burgers in Europe, maybe better than a lot of places in the US, and I think it's because the spots here have mastered the basics: a good bun, quality meat cooked right, just enough seasoning and a light sauce that doesn't overpower the natural flavour of the beef.
Pavlo's, the food truck at Holešovice Tržnice, does a perfect smash burger. They're creative without trying too hard. I had a kimchi smash burger there and thought, how did nobody come up with this sooner? This is a spot that deserves way more recognition.
Skô
Skô has quickly moved onto my list of favourites. I never felt like I was missing Slovak food in Prague, mostly because we visit my in-laws often enough and my mother-in-law makes the best halušky and pagáče I could ask for. But then Skô came along. Now I'm trying dishes I'd never even heard of, like perkelt and šúľance.
It's become my favourite place to take Slovak friends who are visiting, just to see if it holds up to their families' cooking. It feels like such an elevated take on Slovak food while still respecting the traditions, and it gives people a chance to go beyond just halušky.
Lokál Korunní
Oh, and one that doesn't quite make the official list but I can't leave out: my four year old (maybe the biggest foodie in the family) made me promise to mention Lokál on Korunní. He loves the svíčková, he gets his own menu to colour, and the waiter always slips him a lolly on the way out.
