Last week saw the release of the 2009 Grand Restaurant Guide, with listings of 455 restaurants across the Czech Republic. The top-rated establishment according to the voting public was Alcron at the SAS Radisson, followed by La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise, Francouzská Restaurace at Obecní dům, Rialto Ristorante in Brno, and V Zátiší. 2008's bizarre overall winner (and #1 and #3 in service and food, respectively), U Lípy, was conspicuously absent from the rankings.
Congratulations to La Casa Blů, whose owners decided to make their restaurant and bar complet
"House of Personal Development" Maitrea on Týnská ulička plans to open a vegetarian restaurant in early 2009. The center
Starbucks-esque Polish chain Coffee Heaven has announced that it will be consolidating its operations and closing six of its nineteen Czech stores as we
And some good news for home chefs frustrated by Albert's perenially moldy produce: Marks and Spencer is reportedly considering opening a series of grocery-only stores (known as Marks and Spencer Simply Food in the UK) in the Czech Republic. They've already experienced success here with their in-store food sections, which feature M&S-brand canned goods, frozen foods, wines, and more.
photographs kanzelsberger.cz, lacasablu.cz, maitrea.cz, marksandspencer.cz
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Food news: The new Grand Restaurant Guide is released, La Casa Blů airs out, and Marks 'n' Sparks considers expansion
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Food news: Slowdown at Savoy, new bakeries, Burger King, and more
Over the summer, Café Savoy closed its doors for a little while to do some renovating, the most notable change being a much-needed improvement to the toilet situation (the restrooms are now located in a new downstairs area and have multiple stalls). But it looks like they might have forgotten a few basics in the meantime.
I've had issues with Savoy's service before, but I've never had to deal with a server as surly, impatient, and incompetent as the woman in charge of our table during brunch last Sunday. She huffed and puffed and rolled her eyes as we were giving our orders, then forgot to bring half of what we'd asked for. And on a recent dinner visit, every step (ordering food, asking for another beer, getting the check) took several attempts, and our wine list didn't come until we'd ordered the first course.
A VIP sitting at the table next to ours seemed to be getting more than enough attention. Well, at least someone was happy...
Whopper fans rejoice: the Czech Republic's first Burger King will open next week in Metropole Zličín shopping mall. The franchise is owned by AmRest, the Polish company that also brought us KFC and Starbucks.
In pastry shop / bakery news, scrumptious French
patisserie Passion Chocolat has left its spot in Vinohrady and will soon be reopening in Pasáž U Nováků (on Vodičkova, connected to Lucerna Pasáž). I'm a little skeptical that the new location will give them the kind of foot traffic they need, but let's hope for the best. French chain bakery Paul has opened in Palác Flora, of all places. And Bakeshop is promising great things for Thanksg
Finally, for those who understand Czech and might want to find out a little more about me and the Prague Spoon, Lidovky's Pátek magazine published an interview with me last week, written by the positively lovely chef and food writer Hanka Michopulu.
images ambi.cz, burgerking.com, Prague Spoon, paul.fr
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Food news returns, but some restaurants are gone for good
Prague has seen lots of restaurant closings recently, thanks in part to rising rents
and a sharp drop in tourist traffic during the summer months. Among the departed: the tasty but unatmospheric Alexander's, health food spot Albio, Bombay Cafe's downstairs neighbor Rasoi, and Dejvice Asian fusion restaurant Monsoon. And not that anybody noticed or cared, but Josefov tourist trap Marco Polo and Russian club/restaurant/horseradish vodka bar Petrovič have shut down, too.
Still no official word on Kogo offshoot L'Angolo, which locked its doors after a kitchen fire a few months back. And rumor has it that Cremeria Milano on Pařížská will be closing in favor of a more profitable business venture -- a high-end clothing store.
Despite having shuttered 600 "underperforming" locations in the U.S., Starbucks has been popping up all over Prague. New coffeshops have opened in Ruzyně Airport, by the Zličín shopping center, and on Staroměstské náměstí at the former home of a Nordsee.
And everyone seems to be talking about Cloud 9, the new sky bar on the top floor of the Hilton. Besides mixing a mean cocktail, they have an interesting-looking bar menu of fancy little bites. I hear the view isn't bad, either. More on all that once I make it up there myself.
images: monsoon-restaurant.cz, cream-dream.com, cloud9.cz
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
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Prague opens its first Starbucks (but definitely not its last)
At three o' clock in the afternoon on opening day of the new Starbucks on Malostranské náměstí, the area around the coffee shop's cash registers was crowded with customers. About a third of them had already paid and were waiting for their drinks to be whipped up by the staff behind the bar. As each order was finished, a barista placed the labeled cup on the counter.
"Grande chai latte for Sandra!" A young woman in dreadlocks went to get her tea, but before she could reach it, an older lady muscled her way through the crowd and grabbed the cup.
"That's my coffee!" the lady snapped in Czech as she snatched the drink. "I was here before you!"
"Yes," the younger woman said patiently, "but did you order a grande chai latte? And is your name Sandra?"
"Yes, it is! Well, no it isn't. But my name is Soukupová, and it says Soukupová on the cup."
"No," said the young woman, pointing to where the barista had clearly written 'Sandra' on the cup in pencil. "It says Sandra."
The older woman dug her reading glasses out from her purse. She put them on and squinted at the cup. "It says Soukupová," she confirmed. "I was here first." The lady strode out of the shop, chai latte in hand.
A minute later, the barista called out, "One tall caffè latte for Soukupová!" The dreadlocked girl, a 22-year-old Czech native named Alexandra ("they only understood the Sandra part"), exchanged glances with me.
"I used to live in Washington, D.C.," she said. "I got used to going to Starbucks over there, so I was excited when I heard they were opening here. But what you saw just now -- that's Starbucks in Prague. That's the Čecháčství [loosely translatable as 'Czechism'], you know?" Alexandra rolled her eyes. "Enchanting."
Alexandra may have used the word sarcastically, but more than a few people really did seem enchanted by the official opening of Prague's first Starbucks on Tuesday. One notable customer was a very eager 90-year-old man, who was spotted by Starbucks Czech Republic's marketing manager, Alina Tyszkiewicz, at the 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony.
"He was jumping up and down. He was so excited that there was a café here again," Tyszkiewicz said, referring to the historical literary café that once stood in the same location. "For us, it was a kind of confirmation that we were right to bring Starbucks to this spot."
As I sipped my sickly-sweet chai latte (a tall -- small -- chai tea latte contains 32 grams of sugar, about 10% of its total volume), I overheard the man sitting next to me talking on his cell phone. "Hey, come check it out!" he said to his friend half-jokingly. "We're experiencing Starbucks."
I wondered how long the general enthusiasm would last. Lots of locals appeared to be coming by to see what all the fuss was about, but some of them didn't seem too impressed.
"I'm used to Italian espresso joints where you get coffee in a minute," said Jadran Šetlík, a 56-year-old local. "Here I had to wait twenty minutes because all these people were jumping ahead of me. Next time I'll consider whether I want to go through that again. But in the end, the coffee is good."
Šetlík's last point is debatable -- coffee connoisseurs almost unanimously shun Starbucks on account of its low-quality, heavily-roasted beans -- but local management is confident that the American mega-chain will find its share of regular customers in Prague.
"We expect this to be a kind of meeting point, a place where people can hang out and read books and surf the internet," says Tyszkiewicz. Is she and her team planning to provide the city with more such meeting points?
"Definitely," Tyszkiewicz says with a grin, and confirms that Starbucks will be opening another branch in Palladium shopping mall by the end of February. "We're always looking for ways to expand."
Considering Starbucks's enormous global reach of over 15,000 stores, that's no surprise. I have to admit, though, that I was a little rattled when I was asked to shell out 180 CZK for a small chai and a medium caffè latte. That kind of thing seemed okay in New York, but in Prague? For coffee in a paper cup?
At these prices, no wonder people are getting possessive over their drinks. But try not to get too upset if someone snatches your cup away from the pickup counter.
After all, there's plenty more where that frappuccino came from.
All images property of The Prague Spoon.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Food news: Starbucks and Gordon Ramsay come to town (separately)
Despite half-hearted threats of protest from the Association of Residents and Friends of Malá Strana, Starbucks will be opening its doors to the Czech public on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the mammoth coffee shop chain says it has "carefully and thoughtfully rehabilitated the Palác Grömlingovský retail location and returned it to its historic use as a coffeehouse and gathering place for the local community." More on that later...
On the other end of the culinary spectrum, English chef Gordon Ramsay will be in Prague Tuesday to promote his latest venture, maze. The surrounding festivities are to include a press conference and dinner at the restaurant for invited members of the local media.
The Dejvice location of organic grocery store Country Life has been temporarily shut down in order to make way for a "vegetarian bistro." The shop should re-open within the next couple of weeks.
Around the cor
ner from Country Life, Asian fusion restaurant Monsoon has announced its new Saturday Family Lunch special, which offers a three-course menu at 199 CZK per person. Children under 8 eat for 10 CZK per every year of age (a seven-year-old eats for 70 CZK, etc.), and a surpervised play area is provided.
images: starbucks.com, telegraph.co.uk, monsoon-restaurant.cz
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
