252. Mon 20/11/17: U Pinkasů, Můstek, Prague

Beer: Pilsner Urquell 4.4%

Pop back into U Pinkasů after stodging out at the wonderful fast food vendors in Wenceslas Square. They’ve ripped us off before – but them huge red sausages (and sweaty bread rolls) are magnificent.

U Pinkasů is pretty good too. Like it here – it’s quite packed, but not so bad as there’s no tables available. Can’t hear any English spoken in here, which is nice but odd. This is right in the tourist centre of Prague – if anything, nearer the seedier stag party end – but they don’t appear to be falling so ingloriously to grab the tourist dollar as other places. It does have a small range of “merch”, and is clearly not the little back street boozer, but it retains a character of a traditional – better than basic – town centre pub (without resorting to Disney-ing it up with oompah and costume).

Anyway, we’ve only just discovered U Pinkasů this year. We’ve seem U Medvídků and U Fleků change (mostly, but not entirely, for the worse) over the past decade; one hopes the management of many Prague pubs will have looked at these and similar examples and decided on “reigning it in” a bit. I’ll be interested in coming back to U Pinkasů in the future.

As it is, it’s late… it’s 08:50pm. We’re going home tomorrow – and we’re back to the apartment now.

1647. Tue 5/12/23: Restaurace U staré pošty, Prague

Beer: Pilsner Urquell 4.4%

Here, just outside the station, to see AJK off. Explanation of his convoluted trek home, frankly, takes the romance right out of international train travel. He’s got a few connections to make – and a five hour wait, starting at 5am, at some Germany station or other. Much as I don’t like flying…it’s all done in a few hours.

Back in Praha the abrupt/dodgy service at U staré pošty extends, not to a warm welcome, rather a stern notification that they don’t accept credit/debit cards. Not here. We do not ask “will you accept a cheque?”, even given the delicious pun. Previous experience here has gradually engendered the idea that tourists aren’t necessarily welcome here.

As it is – not too busy – there’s a spare table in the front. The service is gruff, but fine, and one deigns to feel a little better about being here. It’s a decent pub.

Sport on the telly is indoor football. Plzen are thrashing “HEL” 5-0 in a sports hall.

Me brother bids us farewell, which is a little sad.

We’d planned to stay out and try to find a pub screening Luton Town v Arsenal later, but we’re a little soused already and (probably for the best) we don’t get to do that.

1645. Mon 4/12/23: U Sadu, Žižkov, Prague

Beer: Pilsner Urquell 4.4%

The new seasonal menu is out. It’s Christmas themed, though not in the way we know it. We sit on the first proper table in the middle (upstairs main/tourist bar). I order 200g Pečený bůček Luciferem na chilli a medu mačkane brambory s restouvanou cibulkou (roasted pork belly with chilli, honey mashed potatoes and sauteed onions). I’m very enthusiastic over these little seasonal menus. The devil is part of local festive folklore. Lucifer gets to hang about with (a Czech rather a Coca-Cola) Father Christmas and an angel at this time of year – we see them in St Wenceslas Square.

Me brother and SA have fried cheese, again. Their mealtime excitement is dented accordingly.

My meal is splendid. Excellent, even. The chilli is unexpectedly hot, but if one dabbles with the devil in the menu detail, what should one expect?

Rounds off the evening, all that food. Delicious.

1647a. Tue 5/12/23: Restaurace U staré pošty, Prague

Beer: Pilsner Urquell 4.4%

Last beer, for me, on this trip. I need somewhere near the station. TPK and SA were barred from entry into Pošty by a sour-faced barman on their way into Prague, some days earlier. The same sour-face lets me in, no problem, although the way he advises us the establishment doesn’t accept cards indicates he has anger issues.

Oh well.

This is my last beer before I face the overnight train to Karlsruhe. On the way over, I had to change a couple of times. I was advised, earlier in the day, that this won’t be necessary. I’m not counting on it, but at least the snow hasn’t brought everything to a complete, grinding halt.

544. Fri 9/11/18: Lokál Hamburk, Karlín, Prague

Beer: Pilsner Urquell 4.4%

Our second visit to the Karlín Lokál locale – this time on an early Friday evening (rather than a Monday). Oddly, it’s far quieter this time round. I suggest, at the time, that Czech students might bugger off back home at the weekends… I suppose they might, it’s a small country after all.

The Lokál bars seem uniformly manned by beard’n’tatts hipster types. Nothing wrong with that, other than it’s a demographic conspicuous by its absence in Prague – apart from as employed by this chain. I remain quite impressed/intrigued by Lokál. They may be pushing pubs I prefer into anachronism, they’re certainly doing that to the main Pilsner Urquell chain, which Lokál have made look decidedly naff; but it may be that longer established independent boozers might have to try a bit harder in future. In the meantime, these places are bright and cheerful and (for the time being) refreshingly different.

The place starts filling up the longer we’re in there – specifically with a group of Americans, who seem affable enough, but whose conversation (loud, in English and impossible not to latch onto) hurries our exit.

1644b. Mon 4/12/23: U Sadu, Žižkov, Prague

Beer: Pilsner Urquell 4.4%

Ah; that unmistakable, comforting smell of deep fried brown food. We’re back in Sadu.

I’ve started collecting some materials for my hare and tortoise project next year. It’s going to be an absolute blast. Both animals exist here, and neither gets much of a break. Hare features on the menu (see last post from Sadu), while little plastic tortoises (or, more likely, turtles) are used to encourage steady hands and better aiming in the gents’ pissoirs. Not sure who comes out worse.

Have fried cheese. It goes on forever. After tvarůžky and halloumi in Olomouc, this is real deal. I usually try and get this meal early doors when visiting Czech – it seems fitting to end (or more or less end) this trip with a couple of bricks of good old chewy, fried cheese.

1423. Thu 17/11/22: U Bansethů, Nusle, Prague

Beer: Pilsner Urquell 4.4%

New day – Nusle. It’s the 17^th November, it’s a Czech Bank Holiday, it’s Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day. We’ve slept in late, and I’ve dragged Steph down Wenceslas Square and into Narodni, and it feels to me that – though Václav Havel seemed an exceptionally good fellow – our presence, nay my insistence that we’ve got to be, here on the 17^th seems rather incongruous/dim headed. Next year we’ll maybe give it a miss (in favour of going a little later and catching the first Christmas markets).

In the meantime. Post Struggle Day mooch – we’re off to Nusle, to U Bansethů, to Jaroslav Hašek’s favourite pub (reputedly). We’re far from alone this afternoon – the Bank Holiday has bought many a local out. Many of the locals are eating duck. The duck looks delicious.

The late lunch crowd start to flitter away – leaving us with the excellent beer and creeping last day blues. We’re jetting back home in the morning.

In the meantime the huge plasma telly behind the bar is fired up. It’s showing Eurosport – the sound is muted, but the telly still seems huge and out of place. Nadal is playing tennis.

We sup up, slip out, and walk the three steps to U Bansethů’s sister (brew)pub next door…

1426. Thu 17/11/22: Restaurace U Šumavy, Prague

Beer: Černá Kateřina 12° 4.8%

Post-Nusle stumble on to the local Pivovarský dům and into Šumavy. Last time we were here it was freezing cold, snow on the ground and the big telly in here was showing the film Catch Me if You Can dubbed into Czech.

That recollection is that this is/was a smoky old dive.

Maybe it was. Where we’re stood, in the little bar room near the door, would not have been improved markedly with lots of cigarette smoke. What we did miss out on back then (and largely do today – other than to notice) is that the bar leads on to a nicely little beer hall/restaurant. Again, add ciggie smoke and it’s an entirely different proposition but, without it, it’s really nice – nay quaint – in here.

It reminds me very much of U Slovanské Lípy in Zizkov. They’re part of the same chain (albeit of only four pubs).

Fantastic place. Unfortunately, it’s getting late on our last night; we’ve gotten gently soused, and I’ve plans to take us back for one final meal at U Sadu.

Stephanie, on the other hand, thinks not. We grab a slice of pizza from the little takeaway by our tram stop. Then its bed – and the final morning rigmarole ending up on our flight back to Gatwick… then the train back to Luton…

1169. Mon 15/11/21: U Medvidku, Prague

Beer: Oldgott 5.2%

Renovations (or Covid restrictions) mean that the brewery bar is closed, which is a swine. The smell and ambiance of that space are the main selling point of U Medvicku. There’s also the fact that normally, elsewhere in this usually cavernous and sprawling pub complex, one can only get the homebrew in that bar.

Today it’s just the front space open – but they’re serving Oldgott. That’s good. It’s also quite good it be in a smaller, more publike, less beer hall, space. It’s a bit like a newer, shinier, far less busy, far less interesting version of U Zlatého tygra in here today.

The Oldgott is very good, as its’ wont to be. The ambience is alright until a gaggle of young bearded hipster chaps turn up – wearing beanie hats and talking loudly in posh English accents. Their being young and posh and English is annoying enough – but wearing (over-sized beanie) hats indoors? Did nanny teach them nothing?

They’re alright really. We didn’t take too much umbrage at their presence at the time. Still… Pardubice, and its lack of tourists (like us) was nice.

At the time, we decide to leave it after a couple of OldGotts – to go and louse up the ambience of the real U Zlatého tygra, with our despicable middle-aged (lower middle class – no hats indoors) English presence.

1175. Tue 16/11/21: U Sadu, Prague

Beer: Sadek 11 Nefiltrovany 5.0%

Pre-football beer and food. Mostly food. Czech Republic v Estonia kicks off at 20:45 at Sparta’s ground in Letna – we’re in the pub for 18:15… but there’s covid tests and allsorts. We’re going early – we’ve decided better safe than sorry. In the meantime, it’s nice and quiet at Sadu.

I order goulash, Steph: cheese and chips.

It takes a while. Notes suggests at my getting tetchy. I don’t remember. Notes go on to suggest that, when it did arrive, the food was “bloody lovely”. Again, I don’t properly recall; though there is something about Czech cuisine (and beer) which brings out my rather exuberant enthusiasm. “Sensational” according to those notes…

There were only a few other punters in. We’re taken with the English mother and daughter (they’re probably not even related) to our right. We like the lass alone with her books and her dog in the opposite booth. We’re not so taken with the Millenials, or Gen Zedders, on the bench in front of us. They’re laughing WAY too loud and long into each other’s faces.

I have my fill of beer and goulash and, after popping into the lavs, set off: on the Metro to the Castle, then tram to the football ground.

The ground is around a third full. The covid testing amounted to more or less what we needed to get into the pubs.

It’s a rather uninspiring match, which the Czechs laboriously win 2-0.

It’s late coming back and, though I suggest popping into Sadu afterwards, Stephanie declines the kind offer.