Glimpses of Prague

There are so many bars and pubs to visit in Prague, and some of them are worth taking a look at. In this post I will share a couple of places I recommend.

Not far from the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station you can find Hrom do Police. This cellar restaurant is special as it sells beer from the Policka brewery. Right now the dark Eliška beer is available. This is a wonderful seasonal beer that it is worth checking out.

I usually spend some time at U Sadu while in Prague. This excellent hospoda offers several good draught beers. Tanková Pilsner Urquell is a treat that usually can be found here. This is an unpasteurized version of the excellent golden lager from Plzen. At my last visit U Sadu offered the unfiltered version that is even better. That beer was only available as a Pilsner Urquell marketing campaign for a short period of time.

Also in Žižkov, at Tachovské náměstí, you will find U Slovanské Lípy. This great hospoda sells the magnificent beers from the Kout na Šumavě brewery.

These beers are not available in bottles, so my tip is to bring along a water bottle so they can fill it up for you with draught beer. The 10° and 12° lagers are worth drinking in your hotel room as well. Or any Kout na Šumavě beer, for that matter!

My friend Pivní Filosof released his great book on pub crawls in Prague earlier this year. If you go to Prague, it is a must! One of the pubs not mentioned in the book is called U Vodoucha. It opened after the book was published. The pub in Jagellonská street is in walking distance from U Slovanské Lípy. The beer philosopher brought me to the pub, and it was a treat. Here there was great beers and fine Czech food. I was lucky to find beers from the Berounský Medvěd brewery, and I fell in love with the fabulous 11° Zlatý Kůn beer. This golden lager had a fantastic taste of fresh hops, and I really blame myself for not visiting this pub again during my stay in Prague. I should have bought some PET bottles to take home from the pub.

A few minutes from U Vodoucha you will find Vinohradská street. There you can jump on tram number 11 going towards Spořilov. In Čestmírova street near the Náměstí Bratří Synků tram stop the fantastic Zlý Časy pub can be found. With 24 draught beers available, there is always an interesting beer to find.

Take the trip to Zlý Časy and enjoy some of the beers available. You will not regret it.

By the way: Since my visit to Prague this Spring, the herna bar at the Dejvická metro has been closed down. That is a pity, as I liked having a half litre of Rychtář golden lager on my way to or from Prague airport. The pub was a dive, but the beers were good.

Back to U Sadu

U Sadu was my local during a vacation some years ago. I immediately started to like this Prague pub, and I have spent many hours of my time in the Czech capital at this hospoda.

Earlier this month I was back at U Sadu. Last year it had an 80 year anniversary, and the traditional pub is doing well into its 82nd year.

Pilsner Urquell from tank has been the main attraction in beers from many years. Tankova Pilsner is the best way of drinking the beer from Plzeň. It is fresh, and the tastes of hops, spices and fruityness are much more pinpointed than in ordinary draughted Pilsner Urquell.

These days there are seven different draught beers available at U Sadu in addition to Pilsner Urquell. This means that it is possible to do an entire pub crawl at the pub. Earlier Primator has been the supplier of wheat beer at U Sadu. This has changed. Nowadays the weizen is called Velen, and it is supplied by the Moravian brewery Černá Hora. I looked for Velen last year in several Prague pubs, so I needed to try it at this visit to U Sadu.

In the glass Velen is an unclear beer. There is not that much aroma from the beer, but in the mouth I feel bananas and cloves. Velen was a very good wheat beer, but I believe Primator's weizen is a better beer.

U Sadu is a nice pub, and once again I enjoyed being there. With free wifi there as well, it is a place for both some work, entertainment and a few brews. The opening times are also fantastic. The pub opens at 8AM and closes at 2AM at weekdays. But the opening times for the coming weekend are even better! Just take a look here:

Prague delight

There are bars and pubs that end up among your favourites, My favourite in Prague is U Sadu, which can be found in the Zizkov neighbourhood.

U Sadu has the feeling of a local pub in Britain. People come and go, but after visiting several times you see some of the same faces. Inside there are several rooms for the guests, but the really interesting part is the interior. Everywhere you can find tools and machinery, and some of it is hanging down from the ceiling. There is never a dull moment while looking at it. It is also possible to watch sports at U Sadu. There are screens in the pub, and I have watched some football games there. The opening hours at U Sadu are unsual. U Sadu opens at 8 AM and closes at 4 AM. In the weekends it opens at 9 AM. Thus there is plenty of time for a quick pint more or less at any time.

In Summer there are tables outside, and I have had many well draughted half litres of beer sitting there. There is not much traffic in the square next to U Sadu, and it is nice sitting outside in a quiet corner of Prague.

Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus are the beers that most people drink at U Sadu. Fortunately the Pilsner Urquell served is the tankova version. But there are more beers to be found. U Sadu also sells the two darker Master beers and Svijany Maz. Wheat beer connoiseurs will also be happy, as U Sadu also offers the excellent Primator weizen from tap.

When I was in Prague last month, there was also a new beer available. U Sadu sold draughted Jezek. I really liked this sweeter lager beer, as it was very drinkable in the warm weather. I do not know if Jezek will stay as one of the usual U Sadu draughted beers, as it may be part of a rotating tap system where they change beers now and then. In the meantime Jezek is a nice alternative.

I have spent many days at U Sadu, and I will be back. Excellent service, good food and a nice selection of beers make U Sadu a great hospoda in Prague.

The right place, at the wrong time

Sure, beer blogging is about finding the perfect place you want to return to while having more of the fantastic beers served there. And of course: Bragging about it afterwards. Or it could be like this: Pure unluck, bad timing and terrible planning.

I had my share in Prague earlier this month. After reading about the new Czech wheat beers at both Evan Rail's blog and Pivni Filosof's blog, I spent a Saturday searching for these beers. I started up by taking a tram to Letenske Namesti to check out Svijany's new wheat beer at Svijanský Rytíř. This is a stronghold in Prague for the Svijany brewery, and it is known for having more or less the whole Svijany lineup on tap. Bad move. Svijanský Rytíř is closed for the public on weekends, so I had to make do without the beer.

So I jumped on the tram again. This time towards Dejvice, as I knew there was a restaurant serving Černá Hora beers at the Československe armady street. I found the place, but no luck once again. Zlaty Rosen was also closed.

I then took the trip to Žižkov and a pub I have visited several times, Království.

Interior at Království.

Království also sells beers from the Černá Hora brewery, but the new wheat beer Velen was not to be found on the menu. That was a shame, but it was my shame. If I had asked the waiter if they sold the beer, he would have answered in the affirmative.

According to Pivni Filosof, the wheat beer is available in bottles at Království, but they do not advertise the fact.

That Saturday I ended up in the neighbourhood at U Sadu having a Primator weizen instead. It is a lovely wheat beer, so in all there was no problems for me.

On the following Sunday I met up with Pivni Filosof, and we took a trip to the Krušovická pivnice near the Czech national theatre. According to Evan Rail, they sold the new Dožínkové wheat beer from the Czech Heineken breweries at the hospoda. No such luck. The beer was sold out, so we ended up drinking Krušovice's dark lager instead. A nice beer, that fortunately lacks a lot of the sugary feel of Velkopopovický Kozel.

I also went back to Svijanský Rytíř a few days later. This time the restaurant was open, and there were very few people at the tables. But they would not let me sit down. According to the waitress, the place was packed and there was no room for more guests. Go figure! So once again, I had to leave the place without saying mission acccomplished.

In the footsteps of Pivni Filosof

I became a avid reader of Pivni Filosof's blog last Autumn. Pivni Filosof is based in Prague, and he has interesting reflections over beers and food. In addition to reviewing various brews, Pivni Filosof also writes about restaurants, pubs and bars in Prague. From his posts I have found many interesting places to visit, and here are some of them. I have linked to Pivni Filosof's posts, so you can also read his texts about these five taprooms.

If you take tram number 11 to the last stop in Sporilov, you get to the Prvni Pivni Tramway hospoda.

Prvni Pivni Tramway is placed in a recedential area with a lot of highrises around. The inn itself is very special. It has a tram theme, and inside you will find old benches from trams. There is also a tram bell at the bar, which the barkeeper rings when people leave the hospoda.

Prvni Pivni Tramway has many good beers. Pilsner Urquell and Primator Weizen are two of the draughted beers at this hospoda. There is also a rotating tap, and the day I visited they served a beer from Bakalar. I tasted it, but I was not impressed by it.

The last beer on tap is Pardal. Pardal is brewed by Budvar and is supposed to be Budvar's answer to Gambrinus on the Czech market. According to Evan Rail this is supposed to smell like bear urine. I have never smelt bear urine, and if this is how ursus odors are, I wouldn't mind having a bear in the neighbour's garden. It was a completely drinkable lager, but Budvar's vycepni is a much better product.

On the other side of town is the Brevnov monastery. Near the monastery you can find the U Kláštera restaurant. I went in there to try a portion of their pork knuckle, koleno.

At home I usually use bits of salted and smoked pork knuckle in soups, but I had not tried the Czech version before i visited U Kláštera. It was a very nice experience. The skin had a crispy feel to it, and the meat was tasty and fell easily off the bone.

To drink I tried draughted Klášter golden lager. I found it very refreshing and enjoyed it very much. They also sell Klášter's dark lager and Pilsner Urquell, but I did not try those ones this time around.

There are several nice hospodas in Zizkov. My favourite restaurant is U Sadu, which is near the TV tower. This was a place I found by myself on one of my visits to Prague, and I always visit it when I am in the city. Inside there is much to look at, and old tools are hanging from the ceiling. There is always a nice ambience at U Sadu, and the opening times are extraordinary. Usually this place opens at 8 AM and does not close until 4 AM.

U Sadu is a tankova restaurant. This means that you get the unpasteurized version of Pilsner Urquell, which is better than the ordinary pasteurized one. You can also get Gambrinus from tap here together with the two Master beers.

There is also Primator Weizen to be found at U Sadu together with various bottled beers. The wheat beer from Primator is very nice, and I can recommend it.

At U Sadu they also sell Svijany Maz. This is an 11° lager beer that is quite enjoyable. It is not among the best Svijany beers, but it is a good alternative to Pilsner Urquell when you visit this hospoda.

A few blocks away from U Sadu you can find Kralovstvi. Kralovstvi is a nice cellar restaurant which specializes in beers from Černá Hora. The Černá Hora beers I have tried have been nice, and I recommend visiting this restaurant to check them out.

My favourite among the Černá Hora beers is Kvasar. This is a lager beer brewed with honey. It is excellent, and I really like it.

I am also fond of Moravský Sklepní Nefiltrované, which is an unfiltered and unpasteurized 10° lager beer. So far none of the Černá Hora beers have disappointed me, and I am looking forward to trying more of them. I have among others heard rumours of a wheat beer coming up from the Moravian brewery.

At last I will present the place where I have tasted my favourite lager. Down the hill from Kralovstvi, you can find U Slovanske Lipy. This is a taproom with great beers from the little Kout na Šumavě brewery.

I have tasted many lager beers, but the two golden lagers from Kout na Šumavě are just fabulous. It was Pivni Filosof who presented these beers to me for the first time, and I will always be thankful for him doing that.

Myself, I prefer the 12° golden lager. It is a stellar lager beer, and I recommend everybody to visit U Slovanske Lipy to try it out.

U Slovanske Lipy also sells the dark lagers from Kout na Šumavě. My favourite is the 16° dark lager. This is an enjoyable beer. It is strong, but extremely tasty.

Last but not least, I will thank Pivni Filosof for his great blog, and I hope you will continue writing about beers and Prague for a long time!