Overall, my wife and I thought this was the best meal we’ve had in years, by far. Food, wine pairings, and service were all exceptional.
Food- 3 and 6 course menus are available. 6 course menu is recommended and they inform you prior to ordering that the 3 course menu portions are not larger. The menu is focused on seasonal local ingredients and every course incorporates a fermented element. There are several fermentations fridges visible within the open kitchen.
Nearly all the course incorporated local herbs and fermented elements I’ve never heard of so I will not try to describe every course component beyond what is listed on the menu. All of the savory courses were near perfection.
Bread and butter (pic 1 + 2)- fermented butter, cucumber and cured pork
Amuse (pic 3-5)- flower tempora, smoked fish, beef and kohlrabi taco
Tartare (pic 6)- truly clever presentation with the raw meat stuff inside the fried shell. Flavors were that of traditional tartare but the fermented elements added a level of umami that elevated this dish to the next level. (Wife’s favorite course)
Peas (pic 7)- fresh and one of the more subtle dishes but perfectly highlighted the ingredients
Beets (pic 8)- my favorite of the night. Combination of smoked beets with fermented pine cones (yes, you read that right) made for a sensory experience that made you feel as though you were eating this over a campfire while hiking in a forest.
Arctic char (pic 9)- butter poached and cooked to perfection with green strawberries and elderflower. Another perfect dish.
Duck (pic 10)- perfect breast and eggplant but the star was the meatball made of the legs, liver, heart, wrapped in a pork diaphragm (they left these details out when originally presented, can’t imagine why 🙃). Again, perfect dish.
Desserts (pic 11 & 12)- the desserts were good and with fresh flavors but they could not live up to the impossibly high bar set by the savory courses
Wine- the wine pairing highlighted local Czech producers, most of which were in a natural/biodynamic style. The pairings were well thought out and matched well to each course. They mixed things up a little serving a light red with the beet course followed by a heavier bodied white with the arctic char, and a sparkling Pinot noir pet net with dessert. Truly fun pairings and I was very impressed with the quality of Czech wines as someone unfamiliar with them. They also had more traditional French and Italian wines available by the bottle.
Service- the highlight of the meal. Our main server was so friendly and knowledgeable about the food and the wine. He was able to craft a story around every course with a detailed explanation of both the food preparation and the reasoning each wine in the paring was chosen. All the more impressive (and greatly appreciated) was that his English was perfect, as we do not speak Czech. The overall service too was precise and on-point. Dishes were cleared quickly and water glasses were never empty. However you never felt like you were being watched at any point, which we appreciate and dislike in many Michelin type restaurants.
Value- it’s fairly expensive in the local context since you can have incredible food in Prague very cheap. However, it a bargain when compared to the price of US tasting menu restaurants. They do not use traditional luxury ingredients (ie caviar, wagyu, etc) but it’s clear the time and effort spent on the fermented elements truly adds a unique element to all their dishes, and creates flavor profiles, we’ve never experienced before.
I would not hesitate to recommend anyone looking for a unique and exceptional dining experience in Prague.
by ftdoc11