Affordable eats and glorious fried cheese at a newly opened Prague Castle pub

If you rarely set foot in the area near Prague Castle, you’re not alone. Many locals only make the trek to that neighborhood if they have friends or family visiting from out of town. 

But if you happen to find yourself in the area near the gates of the castle, consider stopping in at U Pivrnce Hradčany, a new offshoot of the U Pivrnce brand that opened 2 months ago. 

The restaurant itself is snug, with comfortable booths and the cartoons of Petr Urban dominate almost every surface, even the ceiling. If Urban’s art is not your style, and the weather is cooperating, consider sitting outside in the large garden area.  

Staropramen beer, Carling apple cider, a small selection of wines complement the Czech-centric food menu. Traditionalists can choose from beef tartar, svíčková, roasted pork knee, and roasted duck with cabbage and dumplings.  

The day we visited, two specials were available from the grill:  chicken or pork neck served with fries or mashed potatoes (219 Kč).  The garlic soup and the beef gulaš with bread dumplings and garlicky potato pancakes tasted and looked great and are well priced considering the area (59 Kč and 179 Kč, respectively).  

Květa Pěničková’s Burger (189 Kč) is a formidable slab of fried gouda cheese, topped with potato chips, tomatoes, corn salad, and tartar sauce. We liked the flavor and the texture of the gooey cheese, but the sheer size of the “burger,” bun and toppings made it difficult to eat.  

We had to order the amusingly-named entree Pivernec’s Farts (pork tenderloin with Olomouc cheese, mushrooms, garlic and thyme sauce) for the sheer name alone.  We found it a bit expensive for the size of the portion at 229 Kč, but the flavor was fine. We probably should have ordered the mashed potatoes to go with, but we opted for fries and a side of the addictive, delicious chili mayo for dipping. We didn’t finish the Farts but we ate every fry.

The grilled pork neck steak was nicely grilled and tender, with a yummy garlic oil marinade. It paired nicely with the potato pancakes.  

We were full from our meals but couldn’t resist trying the ice cream made from unfiltered draft beer for dessert (79 Kč).  It was creamy and sweet, with just a hint of bitterness from the beer.  Maybe the chef could really lean into the beer theme and make caramel from the Černá Barbora dark beer to serve on the side?