Prague’s first Restaurant Week offers a tasting tour of the Czech capital

A leading culinary festival that originated in New York City in 1992 and has become a foodie favorite in Chicago, London, and other European cities will get a Prague edition this spring. 

The Czech capital's inaugural Restaurant Week festival will run from April 12 to 23, offering memorable meals in exceptional restaurants at fixed prices that won’t eat into your budget.

For those not familiar with the concept, during Restaurant Week, participating restaurants offer a signature prix fixe (fixed price) menu allowing diners to sit down to three-course menus specially designed for the event.

The festival will serve up a delicious cross-section of the Czech capital’s culinary scene with 25-plus restaurants participating. Independent restaurants run the spectrum from Czech to international eats. Patrons are encouraged to visit multiple venues.

"The independent restaurants we have carefully selected should be like models on a runway styled and prepared by great designers. They simply have to show the best of what is currently popular, what is in style, and what the trends are," said Anna Grosmanová, the award-winning food blogger and festival co-organizer who lent her expertise to the restaurant selection.

The selection reflects the Czech capital’s diverse culinary trends. Guests can choose from Vietnamese restaurants such as family-style Nhà hai hành bistro, as well as elegant Italian including Riccardo Lucque’s Aromi, funky fusion at Pru58 and Sansho, and upmarket Czech at venues such as Imperial Next Door, Blue Wagon, and Pod Věží. Casual eats include Las Adelitas, Gran Fiero, and burger joint Dish.

Organizers say they’re starting small but plan to gauge this year's performance and, if the festival proves a success, double the number of restaurants and possibly head to other cities next year.

“There is nothing like this in Prague,” said Petra Kubálková of festival organizer Food Stories Agency. “And we don’t have an event like this anywhere in the Czech Republic. We reached out to people and learned that they are missing something, an annual event, where they can try new food.”

Like the original New York Restaurant Week – organized by the authors of the Zagat Restaurant Guide – Grosmanová believes the festival will bring the city a much-needed annual food event that introduces local chefs and their hard-working restaurants to the wider audience they deserve.

"Over the past few years, we have gotten used to not going to restaurants because of Covid, war, and inflation. But they haven't disappeared, they still do a great craft, and we want to remind people of that. To bring them back to beautifully set tables and offer them a great but also affordable meal," she said.

The festival is poised to introduce top trends in gastronomy to a food capital hungry for an annual festival.

The first annual Prague Restaurant Week is from April 12 to 23, 2023. Book a table or see the list of participating restaurants here.