Laughter, beer, and belonging: Prague hangouts where everybody knows your name

With nearly a quarter of its residents hailing from abroad, Prague is increasingly home to a population of diverse backgrounds and experiences.

While the capital offers plenty of foreigner-friendly cafés, bars, and cultural events, many expats still struggle to find a sense of community—making the need for meaningful social spaces even greater.

In search of places where food and drink, laughter, and hospitality go hand in hand, we visited a student café that has become a hub for internationals, an American-owned bar serving up familiar comfort, and an English-friendly cultural center—all of which offer a sense of belonging and make patrons feel truly at home in Prague.

Located in the beautiful 17th-century palace housing the Anglo-American University (AAU) just off Malostranská, Café des Taxis is a student café that is still little-known outside of AAU circles.

English-speaking staff (all students from the university), friendly prices for both drinks and food, and its laid-back atmosphere make it the ideal spot for study sessions with friends or a relaxing afternoon beer in the courtyard once the morning class rush quiets down.

The café’s existence is not advertised from the street, keeping it a guarded secret from the hordes of tourists walking daily through Letenská Street. It also gives direct access to Vojanovy sady, one of the oldest and most charming parks in the city center to relax surrounded by the local peacocks.

“At the end of the day, it’s really a student café," says Kieran, Café des Taxis co-owner who took over the place in 2017, after multiples experiences in managing bars and cafés in his native Ireland as well as in Australia.

“Setting up a café in the Czech Republic was relatively easy, although obviously the language barrier can be an issue," he tells Expats.cz. Regardless, the hospitality business comes with its fair and multi-daily share of struggles. “But we’re really grateful to AAU, they’ve been absolutely great, and actually waived the rent during Covid-19 to help us survive and keep going," he explains.

Kieran manages the café with his long-time childhood friend Bill, with whom he was also taking care of cafés in their hometown of Kilkenny. And while it’s a far cry from an actual Irish pub—“I don’t really visit them here, most of the time they’re so overpriced," he tells us—small influences from Ireland can be spotted in their offer, including Guinness beer cans.

“Our staff comes from all over the place, so most of the major world languages are covered,” Kieran says, adding that along with keeping prices as low as possible despite so many venues across Prague increasing prices at an alarming rate, the main goal is “to make you feel welcome and valued as soon as you walk in."

Students, a few lost tourists, along with people working in nearby offices and parents dropping off their children at the kindergarten close-by make up the diverse crowd visiting this cozy spot. Events are also held there on a regular basis, including university debates commonly focused on current affairs, pub quizzes and musical performances.

Co-owner Ross describes BarFood Žižkov, which he took over with his friend Blake in the late stages of Covid-19, as the epitome of a dive bar, “a place where people just come to have a good time, where we don’t waste money on interior decorating, basically a place where you don’t really want to be worried about whether a chair will be broken or the carpet will be stained."

A former kebab shop turned American-styled bar, BarFood Žižkov is “primarily about the atmosphere and friendliness," according to Ross as we sip a beer in the small lower Žižkov joint. “There aren’t that many places in Prague where you can just come, sit at the bar, and within 15 minutes can already be in the middle of a conversation with other customers or getting offered a shot," he tells Expats.cz.

Whenever there’s something on, sports events are screened, gathering small crowds of both expats and locals, many of them regulars, just looking to unwind after a busy workday or at the end of the week with friends, family or strangers.

BarFood Žižkov also takes pride in their food offer, mainly consisting of burgers and chicken wings, with vegetarian options available as well. “It’s basically a bar offering the basic guilty pleasures of North American food, but we really insist on using quality ingredients," he says, explaining that sauces are homemade, burger buns are fresh from a bakery just across the street, or that the meat comes from the butcher further up the street.

Envisioned as an "America meets Žižkov" venue, BarFood also has a spacious garden, due to open as soon as weather allows, and commonly celebrates most of the major American or English-speaking world holidays.

“If you live alone and don’t have a full social calendar, it’s great to have a place like BarFood to just sit down, watch sports and talk to strangers while eating delicious wings," Ross says.

The hospitality business constantly evolves, with trends, social habits, and cultural offerings changing rapidly. Opened near Náměstí Míru as a co-working space, Coffice moved to Letná in 2022. “We tried to keep it as a co-working space, but it didn’t work,” says Slovak-born Tomáš, co-owner with Peruvian Fernando.

“Letná is full of places where you can work without paying a fee,” Fernando adds. Rebranded as The Jam Letná [an acronym for Jokes, Art, and Music] last year, the venue now operates as a bar and events space offering Latin American fusion food and cocktails.

Though both Tomáš and Fernando have day jobs, they keep The Jam buzzing with three live music nights (open mics on Wednesday, jam sessions on Friday, and professional musicians/bands on Saturday), pub quizzes every second Tuesday of the month and improv comedy nights happen every other Thursday.

The space also exhibits the works of artists on a rotating basis, while every month sees at least one poetry night and one ‘drink & draw’ evening, on top of other various events or performances held here and there.

Starting April, Mondays will become something of a “wild card” dedicated to experimenting with new formats of events, from travel meetups to karaoke nights, and see what sticks.

A spacious garden area—located in the courtyard—is due to reopen as soon as temperatures allow, while opening hours will also be brought forward.

“People are picky on where they decide to go for drinks or food, and we have to be unique to keep attracting people," he says, adding that contrary to more formal venues.“You really see the soul of the place. Fernando and I spend a lot of time here as owners, and that’s important."