Reviews

It is said that Prague is a city of extremes and this is true of restaurants as much as anything else. Having tasted one of the best steaks I have tasted anywhere in the world (Chez Marcel Sur La Butte, Americka 20 - sadly now under new management as Passepartout) I recently made the mistake of visiting the Azalka Steak Restaurant (Krymska 1, Vrsovice). The restaurant itself is plain and simple, the service was friendly and, although there is no real character or ambience, there was initially nothing to complain about. As a mid-market restaurant, specialising in steaks, my expectations were not particularly high when I ordered a “Marta” (rump steak with Balkan cheese), boiled vegetables, and bacon potatoes with onion.

I hesitate to describe the steak that arrived as a bad piece of meat, as I cannot say with any confidence that it actually was meat! It was not just tough (consider a mixture of cardboard and rubber), or even tasteless, it was simply inedible. Topped with some blue cheese that had clearly just been removed from the freezer (hard and cold inside, beginning to melt on the outside) and accompanied with some vegetables that appeared to have been boiled too long before cooling and reheating several times; at least the butter on the potatoes was good (although I didn´t spot any bacon). I managed just two mouthfuls before I simply could eat no more (bear in mind that this was my first meal in 24 hours so I was particularly hungry).

I explained the issue as best I could to the waitress (whose English was rudimentary) and she was apologetic, offering a ‘free´ replacement. Considering that the ‘meat´ on any replacement dish would most likely have come from the same stationery store, I declined and asked for the bill. Expecting this to simply comprise the bottle of water I had drunk, I was surprised to get a bill for Kc289; the waitress, to her credit, did not question my objection to paying for the meal I could not eat and accepted just the coast of the water.

Travelling into town for a late-night kebab was the best decision I made that night and I would make it again before returning to the Azalka.