Czech hangover-cure soup lands a spot on list of world's top 100 dishes

It's been called a miracle hangover cure and Czechs swear by it for treating a cold. Česnečka (garlic soup, typically served with potatoes or croutons) is now being lauded as one of the world's top 100 dishes by international foodie guide TasteAtlas.

As part of its TasteAtlas Awards 2023/24, the website identified the top foods of each national cuisine. It then ranked the best-rated cuisines according to the average (public) ratings of the top dishes and food products of each country.

Česnečka came in at 50th on the list of worldwide foods ranked by TasteAtlas users. On the list of Czechia’s top foods, pečená kachna (roasted duck), served with bread dumplings and braised red cabbage, ranked second. Wallachian frgál (Valašský frgál), a large and thin pie-shaped pastry with sweet toppings, came in third.

TasteAtlas users also ranked svíčková (beef tenderloin in cream sauce with bread dumplings) as Czechia’s fourth-best food and Pražská šunka (Prague ham) as fifth.

Guláš (beef goulash served with bread dumplings), koláče (a sweet fruit-filled pastry), halušky (a Slovak specialty of tiny dumplings served with goat cheese or cabbage and smoked meat), and smažený sýr (fried cheese coated in crispy breadcrumbs) made up the rest of the top 10.

In a separate ranking published this autumn, Czechia’s houska (which translates as 'bun'), ranked among world's top 100 bread products, at number 95.

Czechia also ranked as the 35th best cuisine in the world out of 100 countries, beating the likes of Austria, Ecuador, Morocco, and Sweden.

In terms of trying local food, Prague is a good place to go: TasteAtlas ranked the Czech capital as the 17th best city in the world to try local food, according to a comprehensive 100-city index in May this year.

In its 2023/34 awards, TasteAtlas also determined Prague’s “most authentic” restaurants, serving traditional Czech food, to be U Matěje, Café Imperial, U Kroka, and Lokál Dlouhááá.

It previously named Hostinec U Bláhovky (in Brno), V Zátiší, and U Bílé Kuželky among the “best traditional restaurants” in the entire country, basing its findings on a combination of online reviews and input from food critics. 

Czechia may often perform relatively well in TasteAtlas’ rankings, but some of the country’s cuisine has not always been to people’s tastes. For example, earlier this year two Czech dishes – rybí polévka (fish soup) and rýžový nákyp (rice pudding) – made it onto the unwelcome list of the world’s 25 worst foods.