Tasty Tips from Taste of Prague

Let’s move on to a food group where many Czechs start, and end: meat. After the burger explosion we saw last year (which it’s not going away any time near it seems), Prague now seems to be bracing itself for a pastrami shakedown. The thing is so hyped right now it should have its own hashtag (#pastramiwars, anyone?). The first pastrami we tried in Prague was by Delicatessen 1881 at Jungmannovo namesti. Sure, it was their first week, but we were in for a surprise: for CZK 160, we got tough meat in tired toast with mustard. Needless to say, it would be expensive at any price.

‏The pastrami at the very recently opened La Bibiche had a much better start. They try to do as much in house as possible, with home-made mustard and bread. They serve the meat cuts only cold for now, but that should change soon. The third contender is the Pastrami Deli Sandwich, run by the people behind the late Oliva restaurant near the Vyton area. Right now they are only a stand at the Kuban farmers’ market in the Vrsovice district but we’re sure they will not leave it at that. We’ll see how the beef wars play out.

And now, a new bakery in the Vinohrady district, Praktika, shows lots of promise as THE place for great bread in Prague. The breads by the young baker, a really passionate and super nice guy with baking experience from abroad are fantastic, and they have many plans for the future. Also, the floured shirt is one hot look in our humble opinion, so make sure you check them out. They have really opened just a few days ago so give them some time to figure out the quantities needed: right now they seem to be running out of bread quite quickly into the day, but you can call to reserve a loaf ahead.

Let’s move on to coffee. Ye’s Cafe, a bare espresso bar with little in the way of decoration, opened in Letna at the beginning of May by the people behind Bitcoin Coffee. The stage and center is an old, refurbished espresso machine in a see-through enclosure. Of course, it’s no La Marzocco Strada or Synesso, but we actually liked our coffee made from beans roasted by the Berlin-based Bonanza Coffee Roasters. Another opening is Kaldi fresh coffee bar, a small operation very near the Botanical garden, that claims to have “the best coffee in Prague” on their Facebook page. We’ll see about that.

Still, the one coffee opening that keeps us awake at night (and they don’t even serve coffee yet) is what we call “Muj salek kavy II”. The new cafe by Karlin’s coffee powerhouse will go by a different, yet unknown name, and will be located near the Hradcanska subway stop. They’re trying to assemble a coffee Dream Team, including Ondra of Alza Cafe and Jirka from Naplavka’s Brew Bar, both Czech champions in their coffee fields, and they also promise great food, too (think Australian brekkie and the like). When exactly will they open? We’ve heard the whole cafe is finished but there seem to be some formal obstacles that have to be negotiated before they open their door to the first customers.

‏Also hanging in the air is the opening of Eska, the long-awaited nearly-vegetarian restaurant and bakery by the Ambiente group in the Forum Karlin building. The last date we’ve heard was “some time in September or October”. Judging by the frequent visits to London, we expect modern, hip cuisine. The design should be top notch, too, including waiters dressed in cool uniforms consisting of blue jeans and Botas sneakers. Eska should make quality sourdough bread, too, so we’ll see how Ambiente will shake up the bakery game.