Dinner and a show: 3 Prague cinemas pairing film with gourmet dining experiences

Going to the cinema has always involved food of some kind, but in Prague, a few inventive projects are pushing that relationship beyond popcorn.

At the new Taste Story pop-up, organized by Sunset Cinema (known for its seasonal holiday movie screenings), food-focused films are shown with the dishes appearing in the film served to the audience in real time.

Meanwhile at Kino Balt in Žižkov, depending on which of their formats you choose, you might be watching one of the worst films ever made while working through premium rum tastings.

And Kino Přítomnost, a pioneer of the concept in Prague, continues to offer its Film & Dinner formats, a trend that has been gaining traction around the world since immersive dining experiences like Mamma Mia: The Party debuted in London in 2019.

The Taste Story collective debuted its pop-up screenings of food-focused films with Disney's Ratatouille across five evenings in mid-February at the Spojka in Karlín. The event sold out within days. Guests arrived to candlelit tables dressed with thematic décor, French music, and a printed menu—a six-course affair that moved from appetizer to dessert in sync with the film, with a timer appearing in the corner of the screen to signal each course.

"From the beginning, we never just wanted to screen films—we wanted to create a complete cinematic experience where every detail matters," founder Vladyslav Cherevatyi told Czech Crunch. "With Taste Story, our goal was for the audience not just to watch the story, but to taste it."

The next round of screenings from March 9–12 at Spojka Karlín have already sold out, but a waiting list for priority access is open via their Instagram for future screenings.

Kino Balt, a small independent cinema on Blahníkova in Prague 3, operates on a deliberately contrary principle: the worse the film, the better the evening. Its irreverent Rum Cinema, one of three distinct food-and-film formats includes four Caribbean rum tastings alongside tapas. An upcoming screening of cult classic Tommy Wiseau's The Room, widely regarded as one of the worst films ever made, is slated for March 19.

Balt's Cocktail Cinema pairs thematically appropriate cocktails and tapas with the film on screen. Upcoming films include Monty Python's The Meaning of Life and Pulp Fiction, during which guests can sip three rum cocktails timed throughout the film.

Probably the tastiest of the trio, Experience Cinema, is a collaboration with TamarindTree dim-sum restaurant. Upcoming screenings include Forrest Gump (themed cocktails and three types of shrimp), Chocolat (wine or rum with three tasting dishes across savory, sweet, and "weird"), and Django Unchained (Kubík wine and three tasting dishes).

The film and dinner format feels right at home in Přítomnost, Prague’s first boutique cinema, a hybrid space that merging comfortable, sofa-style seating with a bar in Žižkov. Located in the functionalist Dům Radost, the next Film & Dinner screening takes place on March 20 with Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling as a stranded science teacher racing to save a dying Sun.

The evening offers a thematic dinner and a welcome drink. For this screening, guests can choose between a meat or vegetarian set, each spread across three courses. Both begin with vegetarian stuffing with radish, followed by a brioche filled with garlic confit, mayonnaise, green peas, mint and pickled vegetables paired either with beef or tofu.

As with the best of Prague’s cinema-and-dining evenings, the film is only part of the draw; the venue combines original architecture with modern Czech design for a cultural living room effect.