Ambiente Lokál

Lokál really is something locals appear to appreciate. It hits plenty of familiar notes, right down to the nudie pictures in the men's toilets. But the management drives home this localness extra hard by providing menus in Czech only. No English translation menu is available.

I was curious how this would work for tourists, since the restaurant is not far from Old Town Square. I asked a table full of English-speaking visitors how they were able to choose their food.

They told me their accommodating waiter went through the whole one-page menu with them, translating it. Impressive, but I wonder if they'll be able to keep that up.

As for me, I'll probably go back to this restaurant some time, and if I do, I'll get the pork schnitzel. The prices are certainly good for the center. But I won't rush back.

I'll be honest. My problem is I just don't love Czech cuisine enough to make a special trip for it, however good it is.

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The newest, best, most must-visit restaurant in the country doesn't have a celebrity chef. It doesn't have white tablecloths, amuses-bouche, or a sommelier. Instead of soufflés, there's smažený sýr (fried cheese); tlačenka (head cheese) takes the place of truffles.

This is Lokál, and it's the restaurant we've all been waiting for.

For a Prague 1 restaurant, Lokál is refreshingly and unapologetically Czech: there are no menus in English (or French, or German, or Russian), and there are no conciliatory dishes of spaghetti or hamburgers. All of the drinks, from the tea (black, fruit, or rosehip only) to the hard liquor (Tuzemský Rum, Pražská Vodka, Lokál's own slivovice) to the soft drinks (Kofola, homemade sodas) are from these parts. And the beer (36 CZK for 0.5l) is fantastic: ice-cold Prazdroj, tapped fresh from small tanks, and also available as "Šnit" (a mini beer, to be consumed in one or two gulps) or "Mlíko" (only foam).

As for me – and again, no exaggeration – Lokál is the only restaurant that I feel like visiting at the moment. Everyone else peddling Czech food in this country should pay attention – because only now, after so many years of greasy goulashes and salty soups and freezer-burnt knedlíky, is somebody finally doing it right.

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