Next week my wife and I leave on our honeymoon to visit Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. We are both beer lovers and were wondering if anyone had suggestions for where to go for great beer. We're talking breweries, bars, restaurants, bottle shops, anywhere to find great beer. If anyone has visited these places and would share their findings we'd love to hear about it. Thanks!
Beer in Prague, Vienna, Budapest?
- Thread starter Wesjmc
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk:
bonnybunch
Member
I've been on a few beer drinking trips around the Czech Republic, great beer and great times! In Prague I'd highly recommend U Medvidku (http://www.umedvidku.cz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=55&lang=en)
Their 1466 is glorious, go upstairs to drink, you actually sit in the brewery and can watch the beer condition as you drink it. The tap is literally a couple of feet away from the conditioning vessel.
I also recommend U Zlateho Tygra, for me they serve the freshest Pilsner Urquell in the city, it pays to get there early as all the tables are reserved by the locals from 18:00 ish (it opens at 15:00). It really is a wonderful bar, one kind of beer, one size glass, tab on the table and the only way to have them stop bringing you beer is if you cover the top of your glass with a beer mat.
Pivovarsky Dum is also a good one, a micro that serves their own beer as well as stuff from smaller breweries from around CZ. They have two venues, the smaller one has a bottle shop too which is pretty good. Try to find some of the Kocour beers, they're a bit more progressive than other Czech breweries. The Matuska stuff is good also if you can find it.
When I was in Budapest I failed miserably to find any decent beer bars, the tokaj isn't bad though!
In Vienna I recommend Kanguruh, they offer a wide range from all over Austria and Germany, nice place.
Hope this is helpful, if you can get hold of it the CAMRA guide to Prague & The Czech Republic has lots of great info in it. Hope you have an awesome time!
Their 1466 is glorious, go upstairs to drink, you actually sit in the brewery and can watch the beer condition as you drink it. The tap is literally a couple of feet away from the conditioning vessel.
I also recommend U Zlateho Tygra, for me they serve the freshest Pilsner Urquell in the city, it pays to get there early as all the tables are reserved by the locals from 18:00 ish (it opens at 15:00). It really is a wonderful bar, one kind of beer, one size glass, tab on the table and the only way to have them stop bringing you beer is if you cover the top of your glass with a beer mat.
Pivovarsky Dum is also a good one, a micro that serves their own beer as well as stuff from smaller breweries from around CZ. They have two venues, the smaller one has a bottle shop too which is pretty good. Try to find some of the Kocour beers, they're a bit more progressive than other Czech breweries. The Matuska stuff is good also if you can find it.
When I was in Budapest I failed miserably to find any decent beer bars, the tokaj isn't bad though!
In Vienna I recommend Kanguruh, they offer a wide range from all over Austria and Germany, nice place.
Hope this is helpful, if you can get hold of it the CAMRA guide to Prague & The Czech Republic has lots of great info in it. Hope you have an awesome time!
BadMrFrosty
Well-Known Member
Prague I can help with:
1st choice for the beer lover has to be "Zlý Časy" which has 36 beers on tap with nearly all of them from small to mid sized Czech breweries. You wont find any Pilsner Urquell or other big "Czech" brands there. Never go after 5PM without a reservation as this place is always crowded, even on week-nights. Also next door to the pub is a shop selling a huge range of bottled beers from all over the world.
Address - Čestmírova 5, Praha 4 http://www.zlycasy.eu/
Then just down the road from there is "Zubatý Pes" which has 15 beers on tap with half being from Czech breweries and the other half from other northern European breweries. This place has a great selection and unlike "Zlý Časy" there is almost always several free tables. I used to live on the same street as this place so have been there many, many times and never had a badly treated beer. For the brave they also have a beer shots from Brewdog which range from 20% alcohol upto 40%.
Address - PETROHRADSKÁ 216/3, VRŠOVICE, PRAHA10 http://www.zubatypes.cz
Next up is Kulový blesk which has 18 taps with Czech breweries beers.
Address - Sokolská 13, Praha 2 http://www.restauracekulovyblesk.cz
All of these places can be reached by tram from the centre in under 15 mins, none are in the slightest bit touristy, have great prices and are very much like a classic pub.
As recommended above Kocour and Matuska are both great smallish breweries and regularly have beers on tap at all these places. My personal favourite being the Raptor IPA from Matuska or Mondeo from another small Czech brewery called Chýně. In fact if you had a car you could go visit the brewery in Chýně and get the beer from its source as its only maybe 45 mins from the centre of Prague.
If you just want a beer and don't fancy trekking to a special place then go for anywhere that offers "Nefiltrované Pivo", "Kvasnicové Pivo" or "Nepasterizované Pivo" which will be much more tasty than the coloured fizzy water that most pubs will serve. In addition out of all of the more widely available beers I recommend you go for anything from "Svijany" which is better than the other big brands most of which are not even Czech any more.
1st choice for the beer lover has to be "Zlý Časy" which has 36 beers on tap with nearly all of them from small to mid sized Czech breweries. You wont find any Pilsner Urquell or other big "Czech" brands there. Never go after 5PM without a reservation as this place is always crowded, even on week-nights. Also next door to the pub is a shop selling a huge range of bottled beers from all over the world.
Address - Čestmírova 5, Praha 4 http://www.zlycasy.eu/
Then just down the road from there is "Zubatý Pes" which has 15 beers on tap with half being from Czech breweries and the other half from other northern European breweries. This place has a great selection and unlike "Zlý Časy" there is almost always several free tables. I used to live on the same street as this place so have been there many, many times and never had a badly treated beer. For the brave they also have a beer shots from Brewdog which range from 20% alcohol upto 40%.
Address - PETROHRADSKÁ 216/3, VRŠOVICE, PRAHA10 http://www.zubatypes.cz
Next up is Kulový blesk which has 18 taps with Czech breweries beers.
Address - Sokolská 13, Praha 2 http://www.restauracekulovyblesk.cz
All of these places can be reached by tram from the centre in under 15 mins, none are in the slightest bit touristy, have great prices and are very much like a classic pub.
As recommended above Kocour and Matuska are both great smallish breweries and regularly have beers on tap at all these places. My personal favourite being the Raptor IPA from Matuska or Mondeo from another small Czech brewery called Chýně. In fact if you had a car you could go visit the brewery in Chýně and get the beer from its source as its only maybe 45 mins from the centre of Prague.
If you just want a beer and don't fancy trekking to a special place then go for anywhere that offers "Nefiltrované Pivo", "Kvasnicové Pivo" or "Nepasterizované Pivo" which will be much more tasty than the coloured fizzy water that most pubs will serve. In addition out of all of the more widely available beers I recommend you go for anything from "Svijany" which is better than the other big brands most of which are not even Czech any more.
bonnybunch
Member
Damn, looks like I missed a lot of good places the last time I was over. Raptor IPA is fantastic, although I didn't try it in the Czech Republic - I had it in my local in England a couple of summers ago, they have a good line in exported Czech micros.
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2007
- Messages
- 3,290
- Reaction score
- 175
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Ufleku..An amazing dark lager..This brewery only makes one beer...When I was there this past September, I wish I drank more of it. I didn't appreciate it until I got home. I've made two clones that came out pretty close... http://en.ufleku.cz/ A must IMO!!
Here's another brewery that's around the corner to Ufleku. It's called uMedvidku...They make a couple very nice beers. Restaurant is in the front, but the brewery is up stairs in the back. They were brewing a batch when I was there, so I got to talk with the brewer. It's a small brewery, but make great beer.. http://www.umedvidku.cz/
Two popular bars are Pivovarsky dum and Pivovarsky club..Have a great time..
Here's another brewery that's around the corner to Ufleku. It's called uMedvidku...They make a couple very nice beers. Restaurant is in the front, but the brewery is up stairs in the back. They were brewing a batch when I was there, so I got to talk with the brewer. It's a small brewery, but make great beer.. http://www.umedvidku.cz/
Two popular bars are Pivovarsky dum and Pivovarsky club..Have a great time..
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
BadMrFrosty
Well-Known Member
I cant speak for everyone but the reason I did not mention U Fleku is because it is nothing but a tourist trap. The waiters will try to gouge every Koruna they can from you, their main trick is to serve you drinks you did not order. Also the beer is mediocre at best and when compared to similar beers from other Czech breweries it just can not compete. If you like dark beers, do yourself a favour and try "Kout Tmavý", "Merlin Tmavý Leák" or just go to one of the places I mentioned and order anything with the word "Tmavý" in the name and it will be a hell of a lot better than the U Fleku stuff.
LeverTime
Well-Known Member
+1 for U medvídků. I lived in Prague for six months, and my apartment was just around the corner from this place. My wife also liked to go for a goulash lunch at Restaurace U Betlémské Kaple, which is not far from U medvídků. I never went, so I can't speak to the beer.
Two pubs I liked were Pivovarský dùm and Pivovarský klub. I think they have the same owner, but I'm not sure. IIRC, klub (which I only went to twice) mostly had beers by microbrews, and dùm had beers they brewed themselves. You can get a flight at dùm, which is nice.
Here is a good technique for finding a decent restaurant in Prague:
Step 1: Are you in a touristy area? If so, walk 3-4 blocks away from it.
Step 2: Walk into a random restaurant.
As for Budapest, good luck. I didn't like any of the restaurants I found there, nor did I care for the local beer. And after living in Prague, the beer seemed outrageously priced. (It's around what you'd pay at a bar in America.)
In Vienna I used the same technique as I used in Prague, and I found a really excellent brewpub with the best ribs I've ever had. They had 2 beers on tap: red and white. Both were excellent. Unfortunately, I don't remember where this place was.
Two pubs I liked were Pivovarský dùm and Pivovarský klub. I think they have the same owner, but I'm not sure. IIRC, klub (which I only went to twice) mostly had beers by microbrews, and dùm had beers they brewed themselves. You can get a flight at dùm, which is nice.
Here is a good technique for finding a decent restaurant in Prague:
Step 1: Are you in a touristy area? If so, walk 3-4 blocks away from it.
Step 2: Walk into a random restaurant.
As for Budapest, good luck. I didn't like any of the restaurants I found there, nor did I care for the local beer. And after living in Prague, the beer seemed outrageously priced. (It's around what you'd pay at a bar in America.)
In Vienna I used the same technique as I used in Prague, and I found a really excellent brewpub with the best ribs I've ever had. They had 2 beers on tap: red and white. Both were excellent. Unfortunately, I don't remember where this place was.
In Prague you can buy FRESH Pilsner Urquell and Budvar just about anywhere. I highly recommend trying each of these beers at least once while you can, especially Budvar.
BadMrFrosty
Well-Known Member
Wesjmc, you have committed a major internet faux pas. You asked a question, got several helpful replies but never once did you come back to thank any of us. I wont be answering any more of your questions.
Wow, thanks for all the info! I see some overlap in breweries (U Medvidku) which kinda makes it a no brainer to go to those breweries specifically.
bonnybunch, thanks for the link. U Medvidku looks like a great place. Being a home brewer, I like the idea of showcasing their process right where they pour. Too bad I only speak English and can't read their description of the 1466, but I'll trust your judgment and drink some! A few others mentioned Pivovarsky dum and pivovarsky klub I don't know what pivovarsky means. Are these breweries related?
BadMrFrosty, you should do Czech beer tours. I automatically feel like I should trust your opinion since you live in Prague. I appreciate the extra effort with the addresses too. We definitely want to stay away from touristy areas (though if we happen to pass U Fleku we just may grab a pint). We want to drink with locals who will accept a few Americans who simply love drinking good beer and asking random questions about another culture. With American IPAs being the style of the week here in the US (for a few hundred weeks), I'm dying to try a highly recommended Czech Raptor IPA.
Has anyone had a good beer experience in Vienna or Budapest? I know you have. Hopefully we'll get some responses before we get there. If not, we'll definitely report our findings.
P.S. BadMrFrosty, assume positive intent before you scold people. I posted my original question merely 3 days ago, and have been very busy (planning a honeymoon at the last minute and working overtime to fund it). I hope your last post was just a reactionary statement since you obviously spent a good amount of time gathering some great information for me and my new wife. Cheers!
bonnybunch, thanks for the link. U Medvidku looks like a great place. Being a home brewer, I like the idea of showcasing their process right where they pour. Too bad I only speak English and can't read their description of the 1466, but I'll trust your judgment and drink some! A few others mentioned Pivovarsky dum and pivovarsky klub I don't know what pivovarsky means. Are these breweries related?
BadMrFrosty, you should do Czech beer tours. I automatically feel like I should trust your opinion since you live in Prague. I appreciate the extra effort with the addresses too. We definitely want to stay away from touristy areas (though if we happen to pass U Fleku we just may grab a pint). We want to drink with locals who will accept a few Americans who simply love drinking good beer and asking random questions about another culture. With American IPAs being the style of the week here in the US (for a few hundred weeks), I'm dying to try a highly recommended Czech Raptor IPA.
Has anyone had a good beer experience in Vienna or Budapest? I know you have. Hopefully we'll get some responses before we get there. If not, we'll definitely report our findings.
P.S. BadMrFrosty, assume positive intent before you scold people. I posted my original question merely 3 days ago, and have been very busy (planning a honeymoon at the last minute and working overtime to fund it). I hope your last post was just a reactionary statement since you obviously spent a good amount of time gathering some great information for me and my new wife. Cheers!
harrymanback92
Well-Known Member
Strahov monastery in Prague. You won't be disappointed. It's a microbrewery. Any beer in the Czech republic labeled a regional will be very good. It's basically homebrew.
Pilsner Urquell Naflitra is the unfiltered unpasteurized version of the beer, totally changes the experience.
Pilsner Urquell Naflitra is the unfiltered unpasteurized version of the beer, totally changes the experience.
BadMrFrosty
Well-Known Member
Yeah sorry, got out of bed the wrong side that day...
The above recommendation for Strahov is a good one for the beer but don't go to the monastery itself for it as its mega touristy. You can get their wonderful IPA in Zubaty Pes for half the price.
The above recommendation for Strahov is a good one for the beer but don't go to the monastery itself for it as its mega touristy. You can get their wonderful IPA in Zubaty Pes for half the price.
U Fleku may be a tourist trap, but it's a place I've wanted to go ever since I saw it in Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter videos. Just a bucket list place.
My wife and I honeymooned in Budapest a few years ago. I have to confess that we didn't have much beer. But Hungary is one of the best-kept secrets in the wine world. If you and your new spouse like wine, you'll love Hungary. While their Tokai dessert wine is world-famous, we fell in love with a lot of stuff that we really don't see on this side of the pond -- especially the reds from Szekszard and Villany.
Hungary is also out of the Euro zone, so its cheap. We had dinner one night and went all out with appetizers, dessert, a bottle of good wine, and some Tokai. It was amazing -- and even more amazing when we paid our ~$80 check!
Hungary is also out of the Euro zone, so its cheap. We had dinner one night and went all out with appetizers, dessert, a bottle of good wine, and some Tokai. It was amazing -- and even more amazing when we paid our ~$80 check!
Well we made it back to the States, and I wanted to give a little report on our findings.
Prague:
Zly Casy was definitely the best for authentic Czech beer and a good selection. However, it was about an hour walk from our hotel, and some of the neighborhoods we walked through were pretty sketchy. So I'd recommend taking some sort of public transit. Although she was a good sport, I could tell my wife was very uncomfortable with the trek out there. So we only stayed for a few beers.
U Medvidku was an awesome place, but only had 3 of their own beers which were all good but not great.
Kulovy Blesk was great. Smaller selection than Zly Casy, but less intimidating for a couple Americans who don't speak a word of Czech.
The winner for us was a newer (I think) brewery called U Tri Ruzi that was right next to our hotel. Most of their beers were good but not outstanding, but two of them were phenomenal. They had a bock called Klasterni Special St. Jilji No. 1 that was fantastic, and another called New Zealand Hop Lager. I have recently fallen in love with NZ hops, and this was a passion-fruity, hop-bursted, lager-for-IPA-lovers!
Vienna:
Well we found a lot of American Adjunct Lagers and a lot of boring pilsners. So overall very unimpressed. On our last night we asked a server at a restaurant for suggestions. He knew nothing of beer (even the beers they served there), but he said he was just invited to a beer bar that night called Kanguruh Pub. He didn't know where it was, but told us we could find it if we got off at the "westbanhof" stop. So we took the metro out there, and couldn't find it to save our lives. So with no free wi-fi anywhere to look it up, we finally gave up. I later googled that bar and their selection made me want to cry...SOOO many great beers. Oh well...
Budapest:
Great wine, yes! Though neither of us are big wine fans. The only local beer we could find was yellow fizzy crap, but we did find an awesome little Belgian beer bar called BelD'or Belvaros. We ended up there every night we were in Budapest. Most of the beer was bottled. It was ALL served in the proper respective glassware. The food was good. The service was VERY friendly. So although most (if not all) the beer there is available in the US, it was still a win for us over any other beer we found in Budapest.
Thanks again for all the suggestions. I hope this is helpful to others visiting these areas. If anyone makes it out to Kanguluh Pub in Vienna feel free to rub it in my face how good it is.
Cheers!
Prague:
Zly Casy was definitely the best for authentic Czech beer and a good selection. However, it was about an hour walk from our hotel, and some of the neighborhoods we walked through were pretty sketchy. So I'd recommend taking some sort of public transit. Although she was a good sport, I could tell my wife was very uncomfortable with the trek out there. So we only stayed for a few beers.
U Medvidku was an awesome place, but only had 3 of their own beers which were all good but not great.
Kulovy Blesk was great. Smaller selection than Zly Casy, but less intimidating for a couple Americans who don't speak a word of Czech.
The winner for us was a newer (I think) brewery called U Tri Ruzi that was right next to our hotel. Most of their beers were good but not outstanding, but two of them were phenomenal. They had a bock called Klasterni Special St. Jilji No. 1 that was fantastic, and another called New Zealand Hop Lager. I have recently fallen in love with NZ hops, and this was a passion-fruity, hop-bursted, lager-for-IPA-lovers!
Vienna:
Well we found a lot of American Adjunct Lagers and a lot of boring pilsners. So overall very unimpressed. On our last night we asked a server at a restaurant for suggestions. He knew nothing of beer (even the beers they served there), but he said he was just invited to a beer bar that night called Kanguruh Pub. He didn't know where it was, but told us we could find it if we got off at the "westbanhof" stop. So we took the metro out there, and couldn't find it to save our lives. So with no free wi-fi anywhere to look it up, we finally gave up. I later googled that bar and their selection made me want to cry...SOOO many great beers. Oh well...
Budapest:
Great wine, yes! Though neither of us are big wine fans. The only local beer we could find was yellow fizzy crap, but we did find an awesome little Belgian beer bar called BelD'or Belvaros. We ended up there every night we were in Budapest. Most of the beer was bottled. It was ALL served in the proper respective glassware. The food was good. The service was VERY friendly. So although most (if not all) the beer there is available in the US, it was still a win for us over any other beer we found in Budapest.
Thanks again for all the suggestions. I hope this is helpful to others visiting these areas. If anyone makes it out to Kanguluh Pub in Vienna feel free to rub it in my face how good it is.
Cheers!
thadeus_d3
Well-Known Member
Great thread. I went to Budapest earlier this year and loved the beer and local wines. I'll be heading to Prague next month and appreciate the trip report. Kulovy Blesk is a 7 minute walk from my hotel, so I'll definitely check it out.
Oh man, some of those restaurants/brewpubs are beautiful in their antiquity! It now more than ever makes me crave going home to Bratislava, Slovakia. My mother's side has many cousins there. I can't imagine what it must be like sitting in a place with good food & beer from the 15th century. Just wow. Then to Upper Bavaria for pop's side to complete the journey. I envy you guys that can travel like this! 
thadeus_d3
Well-Known Member
Oh man, some of those restaurants/brewpubs are beautiful in their antiquity! It now more than ever makes me crave going home to Bratislava, Slovakia. My mother's side has many cousins there. I can't imagine what it must be like sitting in a place with good food & beer from the 15th century. Just wow. Then to Upper Bavaria for pop's side to complete the journey. I envy you guys that can travel like this!
I'm very much looking forward to it. On my last trip to Budapest, I desperately tried to make it to Bratislava. I wasn't able to make it happen, but I'd love to plan a future trip to Bratislava, Vienna and maybe Zagreb.
Our cousins in Bratislava used to send us letters & little holiday gifts when we all lived at home. Some pics I may have stashed somewhere too.
I enjoyed this place immensely...
http://www.praguebeermuseum.com/
http://www.praguebeermuseum.com/
thadeus_d3
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the suggestion. That was on my short list of places to check out. I've read somewhere that it's a tourist trap, but tripadvisor doesn't seem to indicate that. I'll definitely check it out.
It has been a few years since I was there and they were only open for 6-9 months at the time...but I loved it. I was expensive per beer by Prague standards but still inexpensive int he grand scheme of things.
BadMrFrosty
Well-Known Member
It has pretty much the same beers as other multi tap places in Prague but its at least 50% more expensive and very touristy, you won't find any locals there and during the evenings its filled with stag party morons. Its worth popping in for a swift half in the afternoon as its quite close to a lot of the tourist sights but I wouldn't recommend spending the evening there.
My how things change. I could not find many "unique" beers on tap after my third day in town except there. I had a couple of locals...well long term ex-pats...after day two joining me for either dinner or drinks each night.
My guess is the place started out well and decided the tourist trade was a better deal after the fact. Right after opening, the mix was pretty evenly split between independent tourists and local young people. Their biggest drawback was not kitchen and only a really bad selection of pub-food appetizers from a restaurant next door.
Prague is still my suggested gateway for folks who have never tried non-English speaking Europe for a vacation. Every price point is available for about everything and your lack of Czech, German or any other second language does not hinder you. Budapest and Warsaw are two others because let's face it...Western Europe (outside of Spain...maybe) has pretty much priced itself out of the market.
BadMrFrosty
Well-Known Member
Yes some things in Prague have changed very quickly. However in other areas the more they change the more they stay the same.
thadeus_d3
Well-Known Member
Very good to know. I'll skip it just because I'm trying to avoid the stag parties and there are plenty of other places to checkout. Thanks for the input.
BadMrFrosty
Well-Known Member
Here are a few more places that are within 5 mins walk from each other, just take the green line metro to "Jiřího z Poděbrad" and great beers are close
https://www.facebook.com/beergeek.cz - They have a bottle shop and a brand new bar. They have the more expensive beers, maybe 50/50 split on Czech and imported. They take great care of the beers and have beer sommeliers on hand to describe the beers if needed.
http://www.obycejnysvet.com - A classic Czech pub that has a great selection of Czech beers from medium sized breweries. Not craft beer but not well known beer either.
https://www.facebook.com/pivoaparek - Again lots of beers from small breweries and a good selection of bottles. Name means "Beer and Hotdog", that should say it all
And if you fancy a curry after all that beer then one of the best Indian restaurants is right next to these places too:
http://www.pind.cz
Lastly, right on Wenceslas Square is this place:
http://www.vytopna.cz/praha/
They have a good unfiltered lager but the attraction is the delivery method. The whole place is rigged up with a model railway and your beer is delivered directly onto your table on the back of a model train. Kids love it, big kids like me love it more
https://www.facebook.com/beergeek.cz - They have a bottle shop and a brand new bar. They have the more expensive beers, maybe 50/50 split on Czech and imported. They take great care of the beers and have beer sommeliers on hand to describe the beers if needed.
http://www.obycejnysvet.com - A classic Czech pub that has a great selection of Czech beers from medium sized breweries. Not craft beer but not well known beer either.
https://www.facebook.com/pivoaparek - Again lots of beers from small breweries and a good selection of bottles. Name means "Beer and Hotdog", that should say it all
And if you fancy a curry after all that beer then one of the best Indian restaurants is right next to these places too:
http://www.pind.cz
Lastly, right on Wenceslas Square is this place:
http://www.vytopna.cz/praha/
They have a good unfiltered lager but the attraction is the delivery method. The whole place is rigged up with a model railway and your beer is delivered directly onto your table on the back of a model train. Kids love it, big kids like me love it more
Some good looking places you have there. I like the train delivery bit. We used to have a drug store in old Elyria that used one to deliver prescriptions back & forth to the pharmacist & cash register. You don't see that sort of thing very often.
