The Prague Feed: Autumn 2014

Wine Food Market, one in a long line of Prague delicatessens with Italian regional specialities on offer is upping the ante at its Smíchov location with Konírna, a rosticceria housed in a former stable. No white-linen steakhouse, this Tuscan grill encourages more of a casual dining experience—customers order Florentine beefsteaks and ribeyes, sides and drinks directly from the grill and pay a flat fee according to weight (69 CZK per 100g of meat). Requisite rustic touch: meals are plated on black-slate slabs and drinks served in up-cycled wine bottles.

Prague’s pizza-pasta joints have traditionally been the best bets for parents who want to dine out on large portions at a nice price while pleasing fussy eaters (but, really, just how many quattro formaggi pizzas and dishes of spaghetti Bolognese can one consume?). Good news for us: a delicious crop of family friendly dining destinations have recently opened around town including down-home dinners at Farma Malešice, casual French (cassoulet, beef bourguignon) served family-style at Dejvice’s Bistro A Table, and two painfully cute cafes: Take Your Time and Králík v rádiu.

The Czech vinotéka, once a bastion of sour Frankovka and alcoholics not yet drunk enough to tipple in front of the train station, keeps getting more and more respectable. Two new wines bars, both in Vinohrady, are no exception: Flavours Wine & Deli combines Mediterranean cuisine (you can order food from its Sapori Ristorante) and over 500 varieties of wine at a very nice price. Šenkovna Fine Wine Pub, formerly in the Sokolská space that housed a medieval themed restaurant, has a great selection of barrel wine, small plates, and live music—their Halloween party (Oct 31) is the perfect opportunity to check it out.

Zinc Restaurant Lounge & Bar has a“scary-themed” brunch event cooked up for Sunday, November 2, from 12:30 pm that promises an all-you-can-eat buffet, spooky spirits, live music and an award for best costume. A special kids corner and buffet will appeal to frighteningly fatigued parents, though the price (990 CZK per person and kids under 6 free) may not. Jiřák farmers’ market is getting into the Halloween spirit as well with its Celebration of Pumpkins and Ghosts on Friday, October 31. Pumpkin-y treats, a kid’s program, and special music are planned.

The City of Prague Museum has a sweet exhibit on through March 1: Confectioners and Confectionaries devotes gallery space to the history of baked goods and other sugary delights in Bohemia from the Middle Ages onward and displays a hand-crank ice cream machine, glass butter churn, mould for meringue balls, and other tools of the confectionery trade, and a hand-painted interactive map of chocolate’s spread throughout Europe (First Republic Czechoslovakia = chocolate powerhouse, who knew?). Save your ticket stub for 50 percent off at Prague’s Choco-Story Museum.