This is my latest article in Femina.
The original text is as follows:
The term ‘poetic’ does not seem as clichéd
when you land in Prague. We were there in July and it is surely is one of the
most beautiful towns that I have ever visited. Pretty as a picture.
when you land in Prague. We were there in July and it is surely is one of the
most beautiful towns that I have ever visited. Pretty as a picture.
It is also a meat lover’s paradise. Each
meal there was quite memorable for me. My most favourite place to eat in was a
shop called Nase Maso. It’s a newly opened butchery from the Ambiente
restaurant group and provided meats to the Ambiente restaurants. They opened
the shop to encourage people in Prague to ditch the super markets and start
visiting butcheries again for their meat.
meal there was quite memorable for me. My most favourite place to eat in was a
shop called Nase Maso. It’s a newly opened butchery from the Ambiente
restaurant group and provided meats to the Ambiente restaurants. They opened
the shop to encourage people in Prague to ditch the super markets and start
visiting butcheries again for their meat.
At Nase Maso you can choose your meat and
have them grill it for you. I had a couple of beautifully juicy medium rare
steaks there with the smiling lady at the counter guiding me on the cuts. The
sausages there are pretty good too and the hamburger seemed popular. Or if you
like your meat raw then this is a good place to pick up a steak tartare.
have them grill it for you. I had a couple of beautifully juicy medium rare
steaks there with the smiling lady at the counter guiding me on the cuts. The
sausages there are pretty good too and the hamburger seemed popular. Or if you
like your meat raw then this is a good place to pick up a steak tartare.
Nase Maso was a place that I discovered
while taking an Eating Prague food walk tour. I found their address ( www.eatingpraguetours.com) through a google search and after conducting food walks in Mumbai
myself felt that it would be interesting to be a participant in one.
while taking an Eating Prague food walk tour. I found their address ( www.eatingpraguetours.com) through a google search and after conducting food walks in Mumbai
myself felt that it would be interesting to be a participant in one.
The Eating Prague food walk turned out to
be everything I would want from a food walk. It was a small group and we walked
together like friends. The hosts, Mirka and Jan, were extremely effusive and
knowledgeable. The weather in Prague allows you to walk and we saw quite a bit
of the city. The food was carefully selected and were all stops which were not
in tourist books. Starting from the fresh and light apple strudel at Le Court
to the meats at Nase Maso and then the horice cream roll with the alluring hot
chocolate dip at Choco Café, the beer brewing demo at Novovmetsky Pivar and
then the tasting of the mind blowing flavour packed basil oil and smoked pork
infused sauerkraut soup at Zvonice which was on top of a tower and then the
glorious end with the sirloin in cream dish, svickova, at the very elegant Café
Imperial, each food stop was a gastronomic delight.
be everything I would want from a food walk. It was a small group and we walked
together like friends. The hosts, Mirka and Jan, were extremely effusive and
knowledgeable. The weather in Prague allows you to walk and we saw quite a bit
of the city. The food was carefully selected and were all stops which were not
in tourist books. Starting from the fresh and light apple strudel at Le Court
to the meats at Nase Maso and then the horice cream roll with the alluring hot
chocolate dip at Choco Café, the beer brewing demo at Novovmetsky Pivar and
then the tasting of the mind blowing flavour packed basil oil and smoked pork
infused sauerkraut soup at Zvonice which was on top of a tower and then the
glorious end with the sirloin in cream dish, svickova, at the very elegant Café
Imperial, each food stop was a gastronomic delight.
After the walk, the folks at Eating Prague
gave us suggestions on where else to go. We went back to Nase Maso twice.
Couple of other good stops were Sisters, opposite Nase Maso. It is a shop where
modern open faced sandwiches are sold and beet and goat cheese one lived up to
its billing. We also went to another Ambiente group run place, Cestre for a
some great steak and trout, though I must say that the steak in humbler Nase
Mase was more tender and seasoned better. The Eating Prague list included Café
Louvre which is a place we loved enough to go back again during the trip. It’s
a café whose patrons included Einstein among others. The entry to the place is
fairly nondescript but once you go up the stairs you find yourself in a regal
European tea room. The beef goulash there is particularly recommended and very
hearty.
gave us suggestions on where else to go. We went back to Nase Maso twice.
Couple of other good stops were Sisters, opposite Nase Maso. It is a shop where
modern open faced sandwiches are sold and beet and goat cheese one lived up to
its billing. We also went to another Ambiente group run place, Cestre for a
some great steak and trout, though I must say that the steak in humbler Nase
Mase was more tender and seasoned better. The Eating Prague list included Café
Louvre which is a place we loved enough to go back again during the trip. It’s
a café whose patrons included Einstein among others. The entry to the place is
fairly nondescript but once you go up the stairs you find yourself in a regal
European tea room. The beef goulash there is particularly recommended and very
hearty.
The place where we had the most number of
meals is at another Ambiente owned place called Lokal, which was first
recommended to us by the lady who drove our cab from the airport. Lokal is a
new restaurant where they have recreated the look and feel of an old style
Prague café. However, they have not compromised on contemporariness and the
fluorescent graffiti gives a modern feel to this cavernous tavern. They have
different menus for lunch, dinners and in between. The tripe soup and the black
pudding sausages here are high on
flavour and the butter seared carp reminded me of the Bengali rui maach bhaaja.
meals is at another Ambiente owned place called Lokal, which was first
recommended to us by the lady who drove our cab from the airport. Lokal is a
new restaurant where they have recreated the look and feel of an old style
Prague café. However, they have not compromised on contemporariness and the
fluorescent graffiti gives a modern feel to this cavernous tavern. They have
different menus for lunch, dinners and in between. The tripe soup and the black
pudding sausages here are high on
flavour and the butter seared carp reminded me of the Bengali rui maach bhaaja.
Talking of the Ambiente group, if you are
feeling very posh then you can try their Michelin starred Degustation
restaurant. It was recommended by many to me but I just found it too expensive
for food.
feeling very posh then you can try their Michelin starred Degustation
restaurant. It was recommended by many to me but I just found it too expensive
for food.
Apart from the beer all around, Prague
offers small bakeries where you can tuck in for a coffee and a bake. One of our
favourite stops was The Bake Shop where we loved sitting by the big windows
sipping on a cappuccino and nibbling on a macaron (though I must say that our
Pooja Dhingra of Mumbai’s Le 15 Patisserie makes better macarons). Another
great experience is sitting by the outlet of the bakery chain, Krusta, at the
end of the Charles Bridge. Sitting by the bridge, looking on to the beautiful
river, having a cappuccino with local Czech doughnut roll-like dessert, trudlo,
is the closest you can come to heaven for the price of a flight ticket.
offers small bakeries where you can tuck in for a coffee and a bake. One of our
favourite stops was The Bake Shop where we loved sitting by the big windows
sipping on a cappuccino and nibbling on a macaron (though I must say that our
Pooja Dhingra of Mumbai’s Le 15 Patisserie makes better macarons). Another
great experience is sitting by the outlet of the bakery chain, Krusta, at the
end of the Charles Bridge. Sitting by the bridge, looking on to the beautiful
river, having a cappuccino with local Czech doughnut roll-like dessert, trudlo,
is the closest you can come to heaven for the price of a flight ticket.
There’s not much of a street food scene in
Prague. Touristy places such as Wenceslas Square and the Old Town Square have
shops selling sausages and bread, the chunky and rather expensive Prague ham,
potato and ham salads, trudlo and beer on the tap.
Prague. Touristy places such as Wenceslas Square and the Old Town Square have
shops selling sausages and bread, the chunky and rather expensive Prague ham,
potato and ham salads, trudlo and beer on the tap.
I did see a smattering of Indian
restaurants in Prague.
restaurants in Prague.
We stayed at the Maximilian Hotel for about
a week. The room was not luxurious but quite clean and comfortable and they
gave us a gold fish to keep us company. The staff was very helpful. The location
fantastic. The breakfast buffet was pretty nice and I would strongly recommend
the hotel.
a week. The room was not luxurious but quite clean and comfortable and they
gave us a gold fish to keep us company. The staff was very helpful. The location
fantastic. The breakfast buffet was pretty nice and I would strongly recommend
the hotel.
If you are into history then take the tours
run by the Jewish owned Whitman Tours to the Terrezin Concentration Camp. We
did a day trip to Vienna but given that we spent barely three hours in the city
and nine hours in a cramped bus it is not that good an idea, unless eating a
great schnitzel and sacher torte makes you as happy as it did me. Also don’t go
on a Sunday like we did as everything is shut.
run by the Jewish owned Whitman Tours to the Terrezin Concentration Camp. We
did a day trip to Vienna but given that we spent barely three hours in the city
and nine hours in a cramped bus it is not that good an idea, unless eating a
great schnitzel and sacher torte makes you as happy as it did me. Also don’t go
on a Sunday like we did as everything is shut.
Prague, they say is poetic, and its food
did speak to us in verse.
did speak to us in verse.