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The interior of Lehká Hlava restaurant in Prague
Photograph: Lehká Hlava

The 20 best restaurants in Prague

From Czech-Vietnamese pho to Michelin-starred fine dining, these are the best restaurants in Prague for hungry visitors

Written by
Auburn Scallon
,
Lani Seelinger
&
Amanda Bell
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It should come to the surprise of absolutely no one that Prague, a city overspilling with fascinating history, endless culture and an unrivalled drinking scene, is also a marvellous destination for all kinds of foodie.

The days of the Czech capital being dominated by heavy, substance-first food are over: an increasingly diverse population is transforming Prague into a thriving and exciting food city. Here you’ll find traditional Czech cuisine sitting alongside international innovation and a bunch of estabs catering to a vast variety of dietary requirements. It’s time to add gastronomic excellence to the many, many existing reasons to visit Prague!

RECOMMENDED:
📍 The best things to do in Prague
🪩 The best nightlife spots in Prague
🛏 Where to stay in Prague

This guide was recently updated by Prague-based writer Amanda Bell. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines

Best places to eat in Prague

  • Restaurants
  • Czech
  • price 4 of 4

Recipes based on a nineteenth-century Czech cookbook but refined to impress any of today’s gourmands – that’s what La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise has achieved, so it’s no wonder the folk at Michelin have come a-lauding (and awarding). The chef changes the menu daily, so come here ready to just relax and let the artfully prepared small plates arrive at your table.

Price: High-end

  • Restaurants
  • Czech
  • price 3 of 4

Another of Prague's Michelin stars belongs to Field, which attempts to source locally while creating an exciting, Scandinavian-inspired menu. Two different degustation menus are available (along with special lunchtime menus), and both give you choices like kohlrabi and quark or various fish creations you’ll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere in landlocked Czechia. In addition to wine pairings with the taster menu, Field also features non-alcoholic drink pairings – mostly vegetable juices.

Price: Mid-range/high-end

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Treat your taste buds to a wide selection of meats, freshly butchered and cooked to your tastes (which you specify on a hand-written order form). Seats fill up fast in this elegant former bank building, so you might need to eat on your feet at a long communal standing table in the lobby. If you’re up for an adventurous, waste-no-part-of-the-animal approach, reserve a spot for dinner with the butcher every Monday through Wednesday.

Price: Bargain

Many of Prague’s best restaurants focus on meats and butchery, but for moreish carby treats, an array of killer Czech bakeries can also deliver. An aroma of fresh-baked bread tempts passers-by into Eska’s warehouse space decorated in light, Scandinavian-inspired design in the Karlín area. Chlebičky (open sandwiches) and speciality coffee make for an ideal snack, but the seasonal tasting menu using farmers’ market finds is a feast worth booking for.

Price: Mid-range

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5. Špejle

Czech tapas you say? It’s not what usually comes to mind when people think of Czech food. But Špejle (or ‘skewer’) is a buzzing Czech tapas paradise just steps away from Wenceslas Square. Špejle’s lively atmosphere and its novel buffet-style set up will have you sampling myriad bite-sized culinary delights like over-the-top versions of the beloved chlebíček (open-faced sandwich), salads, cheeses and olives, enticing warm dishes and desserts. Each delectable tapas has either one or two skewers in it, so you’ll hardly break the bank at 33 CZK per skewer. And don’t forget to peruse their gin and tonic menu: it’s an impressively curated selection of 27 different gins and 12 craft tonics.

  • Restaurants
  • Czech

A venerable local institution that’s been creating local booze since 1893, this atmospheric spot also does hearty, casual food that is a definite cut above other, similar institutions in the city. The deer and dumplings, covered in bread sauce and cranberries was an absolutely stand-out dish. This stuff is as rich and tasty as you’d expect but nowhere not, somehow, too heavy. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Vietnamese
  • price 1 of 4

Vietnamese food should really be one of Prague’s top attractions. Pho Vietnam Tuan & Lan provides the city’s most basic – and outright delish – versions of Vietnamese classics, whether it’s pho to warm up after a day of sightseeing or a couple of spring rolls to enjoy on the square across the street. You’ve got two seating options at this joint – either come prepared to stand at one of the counters or take the food elsewhere.

Price: Bargain

The painted starry sky, meat-free menu and peaceful vibe of Lehká Hlava (meaning ‘clear head’) has kept Prague’s vegetarian community smiling for more than a decade. As vegan and vegetarianism continue to grow in popularity among younger generations, reservations have become more and more essential at this small neighbourhood favourite near the riverside of the Old Town. A glossary of meat alternatives at the back of the menu helps to clarify the latest additions to staple ingredients like tofu, tempeh and quinoa. 

Price: Mid-range

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9. Kro Karlín

Step into this Scandinavian-inspired open-space bistro, where you’ll treat your taste buds to a symphony of flavors in the heart of Prague’s up-and-coming Karlín district. It’s all about the details at Kro Karlín, where the dishes and cocktails are meticulously crafted using local ingredients and a zero waste approach. Specialising in dishes featuring in-house roasted rotisserie free-range chicken (try their signature pulled chicken combo) but also vegetarian specialities, Kro will leave you in awe of the chef’s artful fusion of Czech, Scandinavian and Asian cuisine.

Price: Mid-range

  • Restaurants
  • Czech
  • price 4 of 4

For a multi-sensory gastronomic experience, you can’t beat the perennial favourite Terasa U Zlaté Studně. This small, elegant restaurant in the Golden Well Hotel, just below Prague Castle, serves a selection of Czech and European classics. It also comes with a view like no other. Come here on a warm evening, indulge in the tasting menu, enjoy a bottle of wine or two, and watch the sunset over the city.

Price: High-end

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  • Restaurants
  • price 3 of 4

We know what you’re thinking. A restaurant next to Prague’s famed (and heavily trafficked) Charles Bridge couldn’t possibly focus much on taste, right? Mlýnec, however, emphatically breaks that pattern with a modern, seasonal Czech menu (we’re talking veal tartare, duck confit) mixed with more international flavours (vegan tempeh, seared scallops). The sommelier can help you pair with the best that Moravia – the Czech wine region – has to offer.

Price: Mid-range/high-end

  • Restaurants
  • Czech
  • price 3 of 4

At first glance, the medieval decoration at U Modré kachničky – think armour, lush maroon velvet, lots of mahogany – might strike you as kitsch. But once you’re treated to the welcoming service and creative dégustation menus filled with duck and wild game, it all becomes more endearing. Pairing each course with wine will teach you a thing or two about Czech vino. Make sure you save room for dessert.

Price: Mid-range/high-end

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  • Restaurants
  • Czech
  • price 4 of 4

Prague is a city known for its skyline of spires and towers, so why not try dining inside one? At Restaurant Zvonice, you literally sit around the bells at wooden tables inside Jindřišská Tower, just down the street from Wenceslas Square. They do traditional Bohemian Czech food just right – trust us and try the sauerkraut soup – and the atmosphere is intimate and homely.

Price: High-end

  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • price 3 of 4

You’ll notice La Bottega Linka’s sleek lighting and design from the street when you walk by, but the quality of the Italian meal is what you’ll remember as you leave. They use a special charcoal-fired ‘X-Oven’ that cooks the meat, fish and veg to perfection and leaves them with a delicious woody flavour. The space was home to one of the city’s most beloved delis during the Interwar period.

Price: Mid-range/high-end

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15. Sandwich Rodeo

Take a trip back to 1970s America at this hip, retro diner in the heart of Letná, one of Prague’s coolest neighbourhoods. Sandwich Rodeo is the third brainchild of Tomáš Oujezdský, the man behind the ever-popular Mr Hot Dog (right next door, btw) and Big Smokers. The idea for the diner and its many scrumptious sandwiches was hatched during the owner’s own travels across the western and southern US. So come on down to the rodeo and saddle in for the to-die-for shrimp roll or the hearty chicken gravy fries.

Price: Bargain/Mid-range

  • Restaurants
  • Cafés
  • price 2 of 4

Cafefin fast made a name for itself on Instagram with its colourful, shabby-chic interior, avocado toast and tasty bánh mì sandwiches. They’ll also set you up with a quality midday coffee fix, but far more interesting – if less caffeinated – is the passionfruit lemonade.

Price: Bargain

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  • Restaurants
  • Czech
  • price 2 of 4

It’s a bit of a stretch to refer to Naše Maso (which translates as ‘Our Meat’) as a restaurant – really, it’s a butcher’s shop with a few coveted tables. You can always count on the meat being fresh, locally sourced and treated with loving care from the team of butchers in the back. Although this is a physically tiny member of Prague’s Ambiente restaurant group, it still thrills crowds daily.

Price: Bargain/mid-range

  • Restaurants
  • Korean
  • price 2 of 4

Run by a sweet Korean couple who warmly greet regulars and first-timers alike, Bibimbap Korea will give you an unforgettable culinary tour of its namesake country. You’d be remiss not to at least try the bibimbap, a traditional rice dish topped with sliced meat and veg. Their Korean fried chicken is also memorable, but your best bet is to order family-style and try as much as possible.

Price: Bargain/mid-range

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