A short beer guide to Prague - part 3: Pub crawl

If you are in Prague, you may only have a few days to get to know the city. For a beer tourist, one of the evenings should be used on a pub crawl. Of course you can take part in one of the "official" pub crawls arranged by various travel companies. For instance it is possible to take part in such a pub crawl by joining a group in the Old Town Square every evening. How Czech such a pub crawl will be, is up to you to find out, but you will probably have fun together with some other fellow tourists. My advice is to try to find the real Prague. You may find it in Zizkov, where taprooms and hospodas abound.

The Prague TV tower is a real landmark.

Take the metro to Jiriho z Podebrad, and off you go. First of all you must not miss the TV tower. It is extremely easy to find, and if you go upstairs you will have a magnificent view of Prague. Then it is time for this pub crawl, which can take you to 10 different places. Some are taprooms, some are restaurants and there is also one optional outdoor beer garden. This pub crawl will give you an opportunity to taste several Czech beers - and there will also be possibilities for some food along the way.

After seeing the TV tower, you must go to the street on the southside, Ondrickova. Turn right and walk to the first taproom. This is a Tipsport herna bar on your left hand side.

Tipsport is a real herna bar. If this is truth in advertising, I do not know.
The two times I have been there, there has
not been any topless dancing.

Herna bars are infamous in Prague, but that does not mean that you should avoid them. Tipsport seems somewhat nice (and smoky), and if you fancy playing the Czech pools or having a round on the gambling machines, you could do that now. The reason for this place to be included in this pub crawl is that they serve Gambrinus. Sure, some people do not like Gambrinus 10° pale lager, but it is better than a lot of the leading lagers in several European countries. As this is the bestselling lager in the Czech Republic, it will be a good reference beer for the whole pub crawl. The price at Tipsport is also more than affordable. 21 CZK for half a litre.


After Tipsport you continue down Ondrickova until you turn into the Slavikova street on the right. Walk down the first block, and you will find Buon Giorno pizzeria. Maybe it is time for a meal? Then this pizzeria sells OK pizzas and other Italian courses at reasonable prices. But you are not there for food. Buon Giorno sells Bernard lager from tap. This is a good beer with a lot of malty taste, and it will give you something completely different than the Gambrinus at Tipsport. Which is your favourite? Find out before you continue.

Buon Giorno sells both Bernard and Stella Artois beer. If you go to the
Czech Republic to drink Belgian beer, please try Stella. My
recommendation is that you take another
glass of Bernard.

From the pizzeria you continue walking north through Slavikova. When you reach the corner with the Chinese restaurant, you may want to enter. If you did not eat any Italian food at Buon Giorno, you have the possibility to try some great noodle or rice courses. I can recommend the duck meals. They are great, and you can combine them with some excellent Budweiser Budvar beer from tap. Afterwards you turn right down Krkonosska into the square called Skroupovo Namesti. There you will find my favourite hospoda in Prague, U Sadu.

This is U Sadu. Do not miss out on it. In Summer there are
also tables on the street, by the way.

U Sadu is a great place, and I will write more about it in a later post. It is worth while visiting. Here you can find great food, and the prices are also reasonable. On tap you can find among others beers like Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, Svijany 11°, the excellent Primator wheat beer and the two Master beers from Pilsner Urquell. Take one glass of Pilsner Urquell and enjoy the unpasteurized tankova version.

Excellent Pilsner Urquell at U Sadu.

If you fancy more beer at this time, you should also try the Primator beer. This is a kvasnicove (yeast beer), and will give you a different beer experience. It is simply delicious. If time (and beer consume) allows, you can also try one (or two) of the Master beers. They are darker and stronger than the other beers on tap, so you may save them for another day.

Primator's wheat beer is a treat. Please give it a try. If you enjoy it,
you will be thankful that you did not refuse the chance to taste it.

From U Sadu you walk north down Sevcikova. Turn right down Krizkovskeho. On the left hand side you pass Palac Akropolis. There may be an interesting concert that you want to check out, but you walk down the street until you find Kralovstvi on your right.

The hole in the wall also known as the nice hospoda Kralovstvi.

Kralovstvi is a real gem. The food is Moravian, and there are many interesting courses on the menu. But more important: You will find beer from the Cerna Hora brewery here. Try first their great 12° svetly lezak. That is a great beer.

But do not stop there. Try some of the other beers from Cerna Hora. They have several on tap - and also some in bottles.My advice is that you at least should taste Kvasar. This is a great beer with honey in it. Try it!

There are many taprooms and pubs on the hill down to
Seifertova. This picture is taken at Krasova street.

From Krizkovskeho you should walk down the hill to Seifertova. Which street you walk down is up to you. You will find several taprooms on the way, and they will give you opportunities to try beers from breweries such as Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, Svijany, Stella Artois, Staropramen and Bernard.

Turn left into Seifertova, and walk towards the tramstop. Near the stop you will find a little combined pizzeria and taproom selling Budweiser beer. Not the American one. Not the Budvar one. But the other one from Budweiser Bürgerbräu - often called Samson.

Budweiser Bürgerbräu straight from tap.
Please note the beautiful glass.

Budweiser Bürgerbräu tastes good, and in any other country it would be one of the leading lagers. In the Czech Republic it is in my opinion beaten by several other brands, but it is still a very good offering.

At this point in time it is time to move on. Get back onto Seifertova and walk up the hill with the soccer team Viktoria Zizkov's home ground on your right. Just up the street you will find a Chinese restaurant called Harmonie.

If you are hungry, Harmonie will stop your hunger with a good and varied Chinese menu. But you are there to try another beer brand. Harmonie serves Krusovice lager from tap. Like Budweiser Bürgerbräu this is not among the best offerings in the Czech Republic, but it is still a good beer.

Now it could be time to compare the beers you have tasted so far. Stop further up the hill at the Kure v hodinkach restaurant. They serve both Pilsner Urquell and Budweiser Budvar on tap together with Bernard. The food is also good, so this is a nice place to sit down.

Budweiser Budvar lager - a great offering
at Kure v hodinkach.

But you may be ready for something else. Instead of Kure v hodinkach on your right hand side, turn left into the Blahnikova street. On your right you will find the U Pizducha taproom.

U Pizducha is a little pub, but the prices and offerings are good. Here you can find Staropramen 10°, Svijany 11° and Breznak 10°. Try all - or just one. I recommend the Svijany. This is not the best beer from the brewery, but still it is a good one.

Svijany 11° at U Pizducha.

After this pub crawl, you may have had so much beer that it may be time to retire. If not I will recommend you to take the trip back up the hill again and enter the Riegrovy Sady park. There you will find an excellent beer garden.

Drinks (and food) can be found at two stalls. One serves Gambrinus and another stall serves Pilsner Urquell. If it is Summer this is an excellent place to stay into the night. There are always many people here, and the atmosphere is nice. It is easy to get in touch with other people at the beer garden, and you can always hear people speaking English there. Try it!

Riegrovy Sady - a great place in Summer.

This pub crawl will take some hours, but it is worth it. You get to try many Czech beers, and you will also find some pubs and taprooms outside the tourist route. Prices are very nice, and most places will serve you good Czech lagers at 30 CZK or less.