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Summary for: Three Czech foods rank among the world's 100 worst-rated dishes in new listCzech cuisine has earned three places on a new ranking that local food lovers might prefer to avoid: TasteAtlas' list of the 100 worst-rated foods in the world.
Traditional bread soup fares worst among the Czech contenders, ranking No. 44 in the list updated Aug. 17. Karlovy Vary's increasingly elusive suchar takes 53rd place, while a familiar Czech refrigerator staple, máslová pomazánka, just sneaks into the bottom 100 at No. 92.
The rankings are based on ratings submitted by TasteAtlas users rather than assessments by professional food critics, and they can change as new votes are added. Still, the latest results provide a curious snapshot of which traditional dishes struggle to win over an international audience.
Which Czech foods made the world's bottom 100?
At No. 44 with a rating of 2.3 out of five, chlebová polévka, or Czech bread soup, is the country's worst-rated entry. The humble dish traditionally turns stale bread into a thick soup with water, onions and spices, though more elaborate recipes can add eggs, broth or root vegetables.
It is followed at No. 53 by Karlovarský suchar, a crisp, twice-baked bread specialty from the Karlovy Vary region. Made using the spa town's mineral water, the product received EU Protected Geographical Indication status in 2007.
Finding an authentic Karlovarský suchar may now be more difficult than disliking one, however. Its primary manufacturer went bankrupt, making the once-familiar spa-town specialty relatively rare in 2026. Traditionally, the dry, crunchy slices are paired with butter, jam and tea.
The third Czech representative, máslová pomazánka, lands much farther down the list at No. 92. The creamy spread is made primarily from sour cream with powdered milk and buttermilk and can be flavored with ingredients such as herbs, ham, peppers or garlic.
Many Czechs may better remember it as pomazánkové máslo. EU rules have recently prevented producers from continuing to market it as "butter" because it does not contain enough milk fat to qualify, prompting a change in terminology.
The latest list is also a major reshuffle from TasteAtlas' 2023 ranking. Back then, Czech Christmas staple rybí polévka, made with carp, and rýžový nákyp, a baked rice pudding commonly prepared with fruit, were among the world's 25 worst-rated dishes. Neither currently appears in the current bottom 100.
What are the world's 10 worst-rated foods?
Czechia has at least escaped the most punishing end of the ranking. Scandinavian cuisine dominates the very bottom, including several dishes featuring animal blood or sheep's head.
TasteAtlas' current 10 worst-rated foods are:
- 1.Pizza Vulkanen, Sweden – An extravagant pizza loaded with meats, cheese, french fries, salad and Béarnaise sauce
- 2.Svið, Iceland – Singed and boiled sheep's head
- 3.Thorramatur, Iceland – A traditional selection that can include fermented shark, lamb's head and blood sausage
- 4.Blodplättar, Sweden – Pancakes made with animal blood
- 5.Truchas a la Navarra, Spain – Trout stuffed with jamón serrano
- 6.Milcao, Chile – Potato pancakes traditionally made with lard
- 7.Blodpalt, Sweden – Dumplings made with animal blood and rye or barley flour
- 8.Kugel yerushalmi, Israel – A sweet and peppery Jerusalem noodle casserole
- 9.Jellied eels, England – Boiled eel pieces served in their own gelatin
- 10.Chapalele, Chile – Potato-and-flour bread from Chiloé Island
Sweden's Pizza Vulkanen currently holds the dubious No. 1 position with a rating of just 1.6 out of five, beating Iceland's sheep's head dish svið at 1.7. Check out the full list of the 100 worst-rated foods here.
As for Czechia, this year's showing might actually count as progress. None of its foods come close to the global bottom 10, and the two Czech dishes that landed among the 25 worst just a few years ago have disappeared from the list entirely.
