After less than a year and a half of operation, Maze Prague by Gordon Ramsay will be changing hands. The news was confirmed by Ramsay's Czech PR rep, Michaela Dvořáková, who says that although the restaurant will keep its name (for now), Maze will be run by the Hilton Prague Old Town management and Gordon Ramsay Holdings will just "participate in the creation of the menu." Head chef Philip Carmichael is rumored to have already left Prague for his native U.K.
Maze Prague is only one of several restaurants in the Gordon Ramsay empire said t
o be struggling. Still, Ramsay's departure from the Czech market may discourage foreign restaurateurs, few of whom will realize that local patrons weren't Maze's problem -- its location was. Put your restaurant in a windowless box in the lobby of a hotel on the fringes of Old Town (in one of the world's most view-worthy cities, no less) and you are bound to fail, no matter how good your food is.
I sure will miss their chocolate fondant.
Meanwhile, Angus Burger and Angus Grill in Palladium and Cremeria Milano on Pařížská have closed, and Sapori Italiani, the Italian-goods specialty shop formerly located on Perlova, is moving to Bělohorská in Prague 6.
And in food-unrelated restaurant news, the sports bar/breast-ogling American chain Hooters will debut in Prague late in 2009. Franchise holder Na Zdravi Ventures is planning to open several Hooters restaurants in the Czech and Slovak Republics over the next few years. Na Zdravi CEO J. Steven Parker says, "The time is right for the introduction of the Hooters brand."
I hate to admit it, but he might be onto something.
images: gordonramsay.com, saporiitaliani.cz, hooters.com
Friday, February 13, 2009
Food news: Goodbye Gordon, hello Hooters
Friday, February 29, 2008
Food news: Confusion over Kolkovna, chaos in Palladium, and more sushi for Prague
There's been some apparent confusion over the Kolkovna Group lately. All of its Pilsn
er Urquell Original Resturants (including Olympia and Celnice) are now called Kolkovna, presumably to differentiate these locations from other, similar-looking PUOR franchises around Prague (such as Deminka and U Vejvodů). In a broken-English statement posted on Expats.cz, a Kolkovna Group representative accused Deminka's owners of breaching copyright by using Kolkovna's logographer. It was also confirmed that the group will be launching a fourth Prague Pilsner Urquell restaurant, Sokolovna, in Vinohrady.
Prague's s
econd and third Starbucks locations opened in Palladium on February 19th, just one day before the electrical fire that is now expected to shut down the shopping mall for at least the next three weeks. Meanwhile, Starbucks rival Coffee Heaven continues to expand, with a new branch about to set up shop on heavily touristed street Na Můstku.
In other openings, Ivan Havel and his wife, Dagmar, have debuted their new restaurant in the Lucerna pasáž. Monarchie's menu is inspired by cuisine from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and much of the meat and produce is to be delivered fresh from the Havels' personal farm outside of Prague.
Finally, karaoke box club BeKaraOk! is now serving Japanese delicacies in its upstairs Sushi Bistro, where the sushi and maki come pre-packaged in handy take-out containers. Note: the Bistro's opening hours are from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday only.
images: kolkovna.cz, coffeeheaven.eu, lucerna.cz, bekaraok.cz
Friday, January 18, 2008
Prague Spoon Star Dish: Tabbouleh @ El Emir
I should probably be featuring a more seasonally appropriate dish when it's this cold outside, but I can't stop thinking about the tabbouleh at El Emir.
This traditional Lebanese mezze composed of parsley, bulgur wheat, tomatoes, mint, scallion, and lemon is clean, refreshing, and reassuringly healthy. Now, thanks to the opening of the colossal Palladium shopping mall on Náměstí Republiky, Prague has at least one restaurant that does tabbouleh right.
El Emir's version is made with plenty of lemon juice, just a dash of bulgur and, crucially, flat Italian parsley, which is more flavorful than the curly strain most often found in Prague markets. It's so delicious you might even forget you're eating it in a food court.
If you'd like to try it at home, here's a good recipe.
El Emir
Palladium Shopping Center (Gourmet Floor)
Náměstí Republiky 1
Prague 1 - New Town
Tel: +420 225 770 250
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
I'll have a grande skim peppermint white chocolate mocha with whipped cream, prosím
It's official: after countless pages of web forum gossip and years of anticipation, the big green mermaid is making her way to Prague.
Starbucks -- that small-business-usurping, mass-litter-generating, cookie-cutter comfort zone for coffee drinkers who don't like coffee -- will soon be opening its doors in the Czech Republic.
The first location is set to open at the end of January in the Grömlingovský palác on Malostranské náměstí, formerly the home of Kampa Group's Square restaurant. More stores are to follow, including at least one in the Palladium shopping center (MF Dnes has speculated that the coffee chain will replace Palladium's two Iceland cafés, which are owned by Starbucks franchisee AmRest).
Good news? Bad news? Who cares? Leave us a comment below.
Image: Starbucks.com
