IS IT TRUE THAT THE CZECH FOOD IS DISGUSTING? Lots of people say that the food in Prague’s restaurants is horrible. Is it true or not? You can even find many posts confirming that some „travel gurus“ were nearly intoxicated by the Czech cuisine. They usually advice people to take a sandwich from the breakfast buffet, to eat in the fast foods like Mc Donald’s and KFC, or to go to the cheapest restaurants in Prague. Well, if they really did so I’m not surprised that they find the Czech cuisine disgusting.
IS A SANDWICH REALLY BETTER THAN RESTAURANTS? Making sandwiches from the breakfast buffet sucks! And in doesn’t matter in which country you are. You can eat whatever you want but you can’t take the food out of the place. It’s more or less the same thing like if take a seat in a bar to drink your own bottle of water because it is cheaper to by it in a supermarket.
ARE THE FAST FOODS BETTER THAN RESTAURANTS? Fast foods like Mc Donald’s, KFC, etc. are a good choice and they are very popular in Prague because they offer the standard quality for a fair price. But you should go there only if you feel hungry but you don’t have time. It’s not a good choice if you want to enjoy a lunch or a dinner. Restaurants are great places to have a rest and, travelling, to get in touch with another culture.
CAN YOU HAVE A GREAT LUNCH FOR FOUR EUROS? It’s not always the best idea to look for the best price. Many restaurants in Prague offer a special low-cost menu for lunch. But this kind of lunch is designed for those people who, being at work, need to have something to eat and get back to the office asap. So, it’s not surprising that the waiters are very angry with the people who order the lunch menu + one beer to stay in the restaurant for 2 hours. Yeah, in all the world the restaurants have to make money.
There are also some very cheap restaurants in Prague, e.g. U Knihovny. But it’s impossible to get great food for few bucks! You can be sure that they don’t use fresh world-class ingredients. No, you must always pay for the quality! The business is the same in all the world and the restaurants in Prague can’t be an exception 
.
WHAT IS A REASONABLE PRICE FOR A GOOD DINNER? Well, you can be sure that it’s not possible to get a good dinner and save money. Unfortunately many restaurants in Prague are quite expensive but they don’t offer the quality anyway. And this serious! And my advice? You’d better to ask the local people in which restaurant you should go. Be carefull and don’t trust too much the reception and tourist guides … they might take you to very expensive places just to get their commission! From my point of view a reasonable price for a good dinner is about EUR 25,00 per person.
LEAVE A TIP IF YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THE SERVICE! It’s not compulsory to pay any extra money in the Prague’s restaurants. But you can tip thank your waiter if you were happy with the service. Usually in the Czech Republic we „round“ the prices … it means that we find crazy to ask the waiter for giving us back 2 crowns. But it would be a big mistake to consider 2 crowns as a tip! The tip is usually something like 10% of your bill. But leave it only if you were really happy with both, quality and service.
It’s important to repeat that the waiters have no right to ask for any extra money which are not on the official bill. If that happens, don’t give them anything or call immediately the police.
HOW TO SURVIVE IN THE PRAGUE’S RESTAURANTS? I’m usually quite nice with the waiters, especially if I want to come back again. I know that their salaries are very low and they must try to make some extra money. I don’t have any problem to leave a tip if everything is ok. Unfortunately many waiters in the central area of Prague are very tricky and they try to steal you money. So, the best practice is: 1) Insist on having an officially printed bill. 2) Check your bill carefully before paying (sometimes they add things that you haven’t had). 3) The service is always included (even if they say or write something else). 4) The total on your bill includes all the taxes, as well (sometimes the waiters try to add manually 20% of VAT).
Well, now you have all the information you might need to have great time in Prague’s restaurants. I tried to be honest with both the parts, tourists and restaurants. If you trust me, and you want my advice about places to go, you are welcome to send me a message.
