Prague is a beautiful and deeply historic city, but that doesn’t mean it only has architecture and art to offer travelers. When it comes to the perfect night out, Prague can deliver. The quality of Prague’s pubs is well-known to locals, but if you’re new to the city, you may need a pointer or two to help you find the bar experience you want. Whether you’re looking for an authentic Czech scene or a familiar expat environment, Prague’s bars have it all with some delicious local brews and signature cuisine.
Lucerna Cafe
You can find Lucerna Cafe in one of the most iconic architectural areas of the city, right behind the unforgettable statue of St. Wenceslas beating a dead horse. Offering everything from hot chocolate to excellent local beers, this cafe is a hidden gem with the same decorative features it had when Prague was part of Czechoslovakia. While Lucerna isn’t necessarily the place to find a raucous good time, it’s a wonderfully calm atmosphere perfect for a nice drink before or after you catch a film at the neighboring turn-of-the-century theater.
U Fleku
If a bar with louder entertainment is more your style, head toward the center of town for a dinner and drink and U Fleku. This venue is so much more than a pub — it’s a brewery, a restaurant, and a live cabaret. Every night, U Fleku entertains guests with accordion recitals, traditional Czech songs, and more. Servers bring beverages to tables by the tray, keeping guests’ vocal chords well-oiled with fantastic house-made brews. Traditional Czech foods are also available on order; choose from dishes including sausages, dumplings, and goulash to keep your spirits up in this spirited pub. It’s well worth a trip to Prague just for this bar alone.
Pivovarsky Klub
The Czech Republic, like so many of its Eastern European neighbors, is world renowned for its lagers — many beer drinkers regard Prague as the beer capital of the world — so it would be a shame to spend time in Prague without visiting a pub that puts those lagers in the spotlight.
Pivovarsky Klub boasts the largest selection of lagers in the city, including six ever-changing taps and hundreds of bottles coming from six different continents. Often, visitors will be treated with a rare or hard-to-find brew; the club’s clout among brewers is so high, many can’t wait to send their beers to Pivovarsky. In between brews, you can nosh on unique beer-inspired foods like crepes with beer jelly. This pub isn’t exactly quiet and relaxing, but it has an atmosphere of professional beer enjoyment.
U Vystrelenyho Oka
Loud, brash, and rowdy, U Vystrelenyho Oka is a rock bar in the most traditional sense. Pub-goers looking for a quiet, cultured pub need not stop in here; this bar is packed with people who love to party. The fare is cheap but good, and there are plenty of rooms around the pub to explore with friends. The beer garden out back is comfortable during the summer months, and the tea room upstairs is huge and welcoming; however, in the main room, don’t miss the fantastic surreal art on the walls, menus, and T-shirts.
Jazz Dock
Perhaps not surprisingly due to Beethoven’s affinity with the city, Prague is filled with music, and so are its pubs. Jazz is newer to the city, but it has caught among the locals like wildfire, inspiring the creation of dozens of jazz bars in many neighborhoods. Jazz Dock is one of the best places to listen to jazz — it’s just a perk they serve food and drinks as well. The pub itself is beautiful, located right on the waterfront and filled with mirrors and glass to reflect the lights and water.
Enjoy a brew from a respectable beer list, or try out any of the bar’s well-stocked spirits; absinthe tends to be a local favorite while listening to jazz. Tickets for the jazz concerts sell out fast, so you might need to book yours in advance; however, following the concert, “jam sessions” with multiple musicians last well into the night and are often just as entertaining as the scheduled show.
