Snacks

Do you know what I like about this place? It’s the outfit of the waiters and waitresses. They all wear a white-red striped shirt with rolled up long sleeves, black suspenders and a black waist apron. Sounds cool, right? But that’s just one of the reasons. I like the location too – it’s very central but in a calm street.

Their coffee is excellent (Julius Meinl 1862 Premium) and they also serve great Pilsner Urquell on tap. As for meals you can get a lunch menu for a good price of CZK 130 every weekday, otherwise they offer a mix of different cuisines with a large selection of pasta for about CZK 150.

I’ve never actually tried it but they claim to have great breakfast, a bit expensive for me though. What’s worth mentioning is also the interior, clean and stylish with decent materials and nice colors. The service is exceptional and they don’t forget about you even if you’re sitting outside (there are 4 tables in the street).

I have no clue why this place is called La Loca but I really like its concept. It’s a music venue. And a bar. And a restaurant. Located inside a hostel, right in the centre of Prague. Since the spot is so versatile, there are multiple possible reasons for visiting it.

You want to listen to music. Good choice, there are music events every night. Live music, mostly by local bands and artists, is on the program 3 to 4 nights a week, the other nights are jammed by 80s&90s Video Discos, Karaoke Championships, concert DVD parties… Check out the program. The great majority of events are free!

You are hungry. Ok, if it’s between 11:30 and 14:30 jump in for a lunch menu. It’s different every day and I have always had really good meals there. At other times of the day I recommend their tapas and burgers.

You are thirsty. Sure, La Loca happens to be a bar too. They have excellent cocktails for prices around 100CZK. It gets even better during the happy hours, 18:00 to 20:00. My lungs and my clothes appreciate that the whole place is non-smoking.

You have nowhere to sleep. La Loca has another ace up its sleeve, it’s called Mosaic House. This award-winning boutique hostel opened in 2010 and it boasts not only stunning design, but also the most advanced eco technologies I have ever heard about. Book a night at the 24-hour reception, the desk is only a few meters away from the bar.

If you love Vietnamese food, you should check out the so-called little Hanoi aka Sapa, situated in Prague.

TTTM Sapa, located in the south surround of Prague called Písnice is a wholesale market where you can buy a lot of stuff (the majority of the items sold come from Asia of course). Actually it’s like a town in a town with different amenities for the Vietnamese community: restaurants and bistros (including some bubble tea places) beauty salons, a school, a temple etc.

I’m a big fan of Sapa especially because of the food. I like the Vietnamese groceries, where you can buy different ingredients for Asian cuisine that you can not buy anywhere else (or they are way too expensive) – various vegetables and fruits, herbs, sauces, frozen prawns, alive crabs, strange looking meat, tea, rice, tofu and much more…

Besides checking the shops you should definitely eat there. The criteria of a good place to eat is simple: eat where local people eat! Places which are oriented in one type of food are usually the strike home. My favorite place is a tiny place named Hai Há – the have the best bún chả- it is rich and savory.

P.S. if you go to Sapa by bus, you can take bus 113 from metro station Kacerov (C line) – that is the best way. A second option is the bus 198 from Smichovske nadrazi metro station (B line). The place is really on the outskirts of the city so don’t be surprised

The hall number 22 is one of my favorite places where I go regularly –  the vegetable market takes place there. It is an oasis of fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers from local provenience (although you can also find there imported commodities) of course according to the season. It is actually quite nice to see how the goods (hence seasons) are changing if you go there regularly. 

Some people can not understand, why I tend to buy vegetables there if I do not live in the neighborhood. But it’s simple – the rate quality/price compared to what you can buy in supermarkets is definitely better, in spite of the fact that I like to support local farmers (one note: some are only re-sellers, but you still have plenty of local ones!).

Another favorite represents a small stall with authentic Vietnamese food (and would-be Chinese food). The stall is quite well hidden – you will find it in a small side street just under the hall number 8 schedule. Try any kind of phở soup, bún chả or bún bò khô, it´s delicious! To compare, you can check out the fusion Asian cuisine SaSaZu, which is a music club and restaurant under one roof.

For sweet lovers with refined taste, patisserie St. Tropez is a very dangerous place, where your passion for chocolate can fully break out.

Under the name Passion Chocolat the French married couple Musso ran their company at Vinohrady neighborhood, in 2009 they relocated further into the city centre to the passage at Dům U Nováků (just a couple footsteps from Wenceslas square).

The interior of the patisserie feels airy and holds our interest with the prep place where you can observe the production…fortunately all the goodies are separated by a glass wall. The place is strictly non-smoking.

Croissants for breakfast, cakes and tarts of various flavors to afternoon coffee or a cup of tea, delicious chocolate pralines, popular macarons or gateaux to order – everybody will find his or her favorite in St. Tropez.

If you have a dilemma, which one among the many sweets you should choose, try a couple of mini-sweets out (I also recommend the macarons, e.g. the lavender one) and then let the smiley madame Nadine pack the one which you like the most for you in its classic size.