Beer and Kralovske Vinohrady

Near the former royal town, one can also bump into tank pubs, where beer is tapped from large stainless steel vessels – tanks, located directly on the restaurant premises. Due to the special drawing system, the beer from the tank does not come into contact with oxygen, which makes the beer truly crisp, stopping it from going stale or gaining too much CO2. You can try it out in the Historie and Mlsnej kocour restaurants where, as a bonus, you will experience the atmosphere of a classic Czech ‘formanka’, that is, a pub. Tank beer in great volumes can also be enjoyed at Restaurace Želivárna, which has seating for up to 200 persons.

If you wish to enjoy your beer in the atmosphere of the 19th century, in an interior where, among others, the famous Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek used to sit, then you should visit the PUOR Demínka restaurant. Another place with a beautiful interior with the spirit of the 1920s is the Sokolovna Restaurant, where the cooks are always ready to prepare excellent meals based on recipes by Magdalena Rettigová, one of the most popular Czech cooks. A place that can arouse your imagination to the full is the Chudobacafé restaurant, with an interior which in the 1940s used to serve as a butcher shop. Another thing worth mentioning is its giant aquarium, which will entrance you while waiting for your meal or beer.

Vepřo-knedlo-zelo (a combination of roast pork, knedlíky (dumplings) and sauerkraut), roast pork knuckle, fried cheese and utopenci (pickled sausage with onion, garlic and other vegetables and spices) – none of these can do without good beer. Or rather, a good pint of beer cannot do without them. There are quite a few restaurants in Vinohrady that offer classic Czech cuisine. The U Kroka restaurant lures customers through its purely local products and meals seasoned with nothing else but salt, pepper and herbs. At the U Sládečků restaurant, lovely beef goulash, a steak from Uruguay beef or a rump tail from young bulls will go great with Pilsner beer. The Hajnovka restaurant is known for its unconventional ideas as the chef, Daniel Průša, is certainly not afraid to experiment with dishes.

An unconventional place where good beer can be enjoyed all year round in the shade of green trees is the Riegrovy Sady Park. This city park in the Vinohrady district, covering an area of ca. 11ha, conceals a restaurant of the very same name together with a huge beer garden where you can sit down with your dog while walking in the park. They have Pilsner beer on tap, international cuisine, and quite often there is a big screen projection of sports matches. On Sundays and Mondays from June to September, this place also offers an open-air cinema.