Emerging Prague: Vršovice

There’s a growing tight-knit community here, a true rarity in Prague, evident not only by the warm familiarity with which wait staff greet their patrons – cafe latte extra sugar, right? – but also by local business owners’ united efforts to clean up the neighborhood’s gritty image. The riffraff can still be glimpsed along the busy, exhaust-choked thoroughfare between Eden Shopping Center and Bohemians 1905 Stadium, as well as the dingy side streets lined with hernas and paneláky. In spite of all its flaws, however, there are many who are more than willing to invest in this rising star.

It’s a creed that worked well for Shakespeare and Sons Bookstore, which moved into a unit on Krymská in the late 90s and is credited with helping to usher in a slew of other independent retailers. The English-language bookshop has since moved into a bigger space across the river, its prime Vršovice digs quickly picked up by Cafe V lese. However, Shakespeare’s legacy is fondly remembered with each new business opening, which over the years has included the Czech Inn, Café Šlágr, and the Prague Coffee House.

The neighborhood also has a number of long-time stalwarts: The upscale Italian restaurant Osteria da Clara, for instance, as well as Neklid and U Čarodějky, both severing Czech cuisine, are all well-established and heavily lauded Vršovice gems. As is Pizzeria Padova and its wood-beamed terrace garden and the further afield Huang He, one of the first Chinese restaurants to open in the city after the fall of communism. This popular if slightly utilitarian dining spot, across the street from the restored Vršovice train station, offers an extensive daily menu full of fan favorites like Hunan chicken, duck swaddled in garlic sauce and a rainbow veggie platter.

Café Jen is another recent arrival. Open since mid-May, this delightful Kodaňská haunt has already attracted quite a following with its freshly blended fruit smoothies and deliciously experimental breakfast dishes and pastry selection (banana-chocolate bread, anyone?). Its savvy young proprietors, Hanka Bojdová and Dominika Fajtová, are hoping to bring of bit of Viennese cafe culture to Prague, where coffeehouses play a central role in shaping a community. Jen’s furnishings are secondhand chic, sanded down and repainted to look like new, while the menu selection draws on inspiration from South Moravian vineyards and Austrian bistros. The combination has obviously paid off, as the cafe often has a steady stream of guests, many of them repeat customers who come armed with their laptops or a book. Other local cafe owners have also popped by to welcome in the new kids on the block.