City snapshot: Prague

Από Emma Love

Νοέμβριος 1, 2024

A weekend guide to the buzzy creative capital of the Czech Republic.

The hot new restaurant

One of the most talked-about openings of 2023, Alma (named after the cinema that was previously on site) is a restaurant, café and wine bar in one. Led by chefs Petr Židek and Michal Daněk, who work with hyper-local small-scale producers, the team serves up modern Czech and European dishes. Foraged, dry-aged and fermented ingredients are magicked into beef tartare, pickled rhubarb and chilli oil or grilled pork neck goulash, sour cream and fried sauerkraut. A much-needed hipster hangout for the city centre that’s only a few minutes’ walk from Mandarin Oriental, Prague.

The blockbuster gallery

Housed in a former 1930s electricity substation in the central Kliárov district, non-profit contemporary art gallery Kunsthalle Praha opened two years ago after a reported €35m building renovation. Backed by the Pudil Family Foundation, it focuses on Czech and international art from the 20th and 21st centuries across three spaces. Upcoming winter exhibitions include London-based studio United Visual Artists exploring themes of order and chaos, and a solo show of large-scale thread installations by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota.

The natural wine bar

The once gritty district of Karlín is now a go-to hotspot for innovative new restaurant and bar openings – including laidback Veltlin, the city’s first natural wine specialist (it’s co-owned by Bogdan Trojak, who started the annual Prague Drinks Wine festival and has his own vineyard). There’s no wine list. Instead, knowledgeable staff open around 40 different bottles from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire of the 800-odd available today. Typically, they offer three tasters, then pour a glass of your favourite.

The eco-conscious concept store

Supporting and showcasing small independent brands is the idea behind Shop Up Stories in Vinohrady. Everything on display on the trestle tables and hanging shelves meets its eco-minded ethos in some way. Think bow earrings made of vintage freshwater rice pearls by Prague-based Kaaret, Wemove sportswear that sources all its materials in the Czech Republic, brightly coloured small-batch wool jumpers from Ukraine’s Feb Sweaters and lamps handmade by Nuuk in Slovakia.

The neighbourhood bistro

Owned by two pairs of serious foodies – one couple run the Taste of Prague Food Tours, the other owns Etapa restaurant in Karlín – Šodó is a tiny bistro with a handful of wooden tables in the leafy Dejvice quarter (you can’t miss the salmon pink exterior). This is a great spot for a lo-fi breakfast (nutty granola with peaches, five-minute eggs with ’nduja), lunch, an early evening glass of wine or any time of day for the dumplings that headline the menu. They’re stuffed with summery peaches, autumnal plums or whipped lemon curd.

The speciality coffee shop

There are three branches of the EMA Espresso Bar but the one in Palmovka is also home to the in-house roastery, which can be seen behind the counter. The vibe is industrial, with paintings of tubes by local artist Ira Svobodová on the walls and window seats for watching passers-by. Go for cold brew and drip filter coffee and to sample beans by a range of European guest roasters.

The independent homeware store

The vision of creative couple Karolína Stryková and Teodorik Menšl (she is an illustrator, he does photography and art direction), Bubeneč’s In August Company sells gloriously elevated everyday objects, from blue-leaf patterned ramen bowls thrown in a small workshop in Prague and handpainted by Stryková to graphic motif cushion covers and shell-like stoneware plates. Other highlights include art prints, coffee table books and sweatshirts. They’re dream souvenirs.

The artisan bakery

Kro – which has several bistros and cafés around Prague – has always had its bakery off the tourist track in Vršovice. Then, at the end of last year, a café opened on the same site (as you enter, turn left for a table, right for takeaway coffee and baked goods). Join the queue for the daily changing selection of sourdough and stone-milled whole grain loaves, croissants, Danish pastries, caramel buns and fruit tarts.

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Emma Love

London-based journalist Emma Love is a contributing editor at Conde Nast Traveller and writes regularly for titles including Centurion, Departures, Country & Townhouse, House & Garden, The Telegraph and more.