Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CZECH CUISINE
Czech cuisine
has a predilection for pork, gravy, dumplings and pickled cabbage and an
aversion to fresh vegetables (other than potatoes) and salads. It may never be going to top
the league table of the world's great cuisines, but it is generally tasty and there are several
dishes worth looking out for.
Czechs aren't big on starters, with the exception of
soup
(
polévka
), one of the country's
culinary strong points. Main dishes are overwhelmingly based on
meat
(
maso
), usually
pork (
vepřové
), sometimes beef (
hovězí
). Reading menus, the difficulty lies in decoding
names such as
klášterní tajemství
(literally “mystery of the monastery”, but actually just a
filet of beef) or even a common dish like
Moravský vrabec
(literally “Moravian sparrow”,
but actually just roast pork).
Fish
(
ryby
) might be listed with chicken (
drůbez
) and other
fowl such as duck (
kachna
). River trout (
pstruh
) and carp (
kapr
) - the traditional dish at
Christmas - are the cheapest and most widely available, and are usually served, grilled or
roasted, in delicious buttery sauces or breadcrumbs.
Side dishes
(
přílohy
) are usually potatoes (
brambory
), though with meat dishes you'll
more often be served
dumplings
(
knedlíky
), one of the mainstays of Bohemian cooking
andnothinglikeEnglishdumplings,morelikeaheavywhitebread.Theubiquitous
obloha
is the Czech version of a
salad
: a bit of tomato, cucumber and lettuce, or cabbage (
zelí
),
often swimming in a slightly sweet, watery dressing.
With the exception of
palačinky
(pancakes), filled with chocolate or fruit and cream,
Czechs don't go in for
desserts
(
moučníky
). They prefer to eat their ice cream on the street
and their cakes in the cafés or cake shops.
ESSENTIALS
Menus
Most places have an English menu, and there is a primer for deciphering
Czech
menus
in the Language section of this Guide.
Costsandtips
Oncearealbargain,pricesinthecity'srestaurantsarenowatorabovetheEU
average thanks to the strength of the Czech crown, but the quality of the dining experience,
in particular the service, sometimes still has some catching up to do. As in most big tourist
cities, places in the most popular areas tend to be overpriced. Watch out for extras, too: you
willoftenbechargedacoverchargeforbread,musicandforeverythingyoutouch,including
the stale almonds you thought were courtesy of the house. Venture into the backstreets and
you're more likely to find better service, better value and perhaps even better food. Another
optionistoheadforapub(seepp.186-192),whereyoucanbesureofcheaper,moretypical,
Czech dishes. When tipping, in restaurants and pubs, simply round the bill up to the nearest
50Kč or 100Kč.
