Regular readers of this blog might be forgiven for thinking that - what with all this wining, dining and blogging it all up afterwards of late - I would not have the time / energy / inclination to fit in a responsible corporate job (not to mention Herculean 100-length swims every other day and twice-weekly French) as well, and yet there we go.
In fact it was just last week that my colleagues and I ventured out for one of our regular team dinners – this time collectively voted for as Taverna Olympus on Kubelíkova 9.
I’ve been here a couple of times before over the years and always found that it ticks most boxes – decent food, reasonable service, and pleasant outdoor dining area (which – being another beautiful summer’s evening – we also sat in this time round).
Our team being a pretty cosmopolitan bunch, I’ll keep it simple this time round and assign the usual monikers according to the first letter of our many and varied nationalities (just think of us as a cross between the U.N. and the Muppet Show...).
To start, a truly multi-national Mr G-S-E-?-? laid claim to his (at least in part) Hellenic heritage in blanket ordering a range of appetizers for the team – namely houmous, tzatziki, taramasalata, keftedakia (a.k.a. meat balls), Greek salad, black olives and copious pita bread (the latter particularly praised by Mr B).
Needless to say, this was something of a meal in itself, but one which definitely went down well with the team, and before long between us I think we’d pretty much demolished everything on the table except for much of the taramasalata – not quite sure why, as this actually ranked as my personal favourite dip.
With conversation in full flow, it was only much later that we actually got round to ordering any mains, listed below in no particular order (forgive me if I don’t give accurate names and descriptions for each dish – it was a big table and I wasn’t exactly keeping track).
Mr P opted for two separate dishes of sardines and stuffed peppers.
The sardines were given the thumbs up by several on that end of the table, with the stuffed peppers also being pronounced pretty good as well. I should also point out here that it was actually Mr P who on this occasion took care of all the food photos – thanks Mr P!
Miss T went for the lamb chops, which came served with something of a feeble-looking salad garnish.
Nevertheless, this dish definitely proved the hit of the night – Miss T loved them, and so did the several others who’d helped her get through the generous five-strong portion.
Miss U went for the tiger shrimps.
She proclaimed these to be the freshest shrimp she’s had in Prague. Mr C-not-to-be-confused-with-G tried one and said they tasted like frozen garbage. I am sensibly staying out of that particular debate – I didn’t have one myself, so can’t really comment there anyway.
Miss R had the squid. She said that these were dry, salty and didn’t taste of anything. I have to say, it doesn’t look particularly inspiring from where I was sitting.
Mr C-not-to-be-confused-with-G had the mixed grill. He said it was pretty good, but that he wished he’d gone for the lamb chops instead.
A visiting Mr U.S. had the lamb kebab. I didn’t get his commentary on this, but seeing as he ate it all, I’m guessing it must have been pretty much OK.
Mr G-S-E-?-? and the two Misters H went for the lamb fillet and roast potatoes.
The general verdict here was one of disappointment – the lamb was apparently on the dry side, and one of the Mr H’s griped that the kitchen hadn’t used fresh herbs here. Oh well - can’t win them all...
And deliberately last of all, my dish of papoutsaki , which consisted of aubergine stuffed with minced meat and tomatoes baked in the oven with béchamel.
I’ve placed this last not because of the quality (in fact I loved it), but because it took ages for the kitchen to send it out after all the other mains had long since been served, leaving me still waiting for my food while everyone else was nearly done...
Still, when it finally did turn up it was really great – though that is admittedly coming from a massive lover of baked aubergine. I only wished I hadn’t filled up on starters first, as it was quite a sizeable portion. I will definitely have to come back for another round when I have the capacity to enjoy it properly – as it was, I just ended up with a stomach ache afterwards instead...
I didn't keep tabs on the bill as the company was paying, but as I recall the initial dips were around 100kč each and the mains 250kč upwards (with the emphasis on the upwards). Service was also pretty good, especially considering that we were quite a large (and some might say “vocal”) table.
So all in all a good time was had by all and – despite being a tadge on the pricey side if actually paying yourself – Taverna Olympus definitely gets the Knedlikova seal of approval. Shout out to colleague Miss C who unfortunately couldn’t make it on this occasion, and to everyone else – looking forward to next time... ;-)))
In fact it was just last week that my colleagues and I ventured out for one of our regular team dinners – this time collectively voted for as Taverna Olympus on Kubelíkova 9.
I’ve been here a couple of times before over the years and always found that it ticks most boxes – decent food, reasonable service, and pleasant outdoor dining area (which – being another beautiful summer’s evening – we also sat in this time round).
Our team being a pretty cosmopolitan bunch, I’ll keep it simple this time round and assign the usual monikers according to the first letter of our many and varied nationalities (just think of us as a cross between the U.N. and the Muppet Show...).
To start, a truly multi-national Mr G-S-E-?-? laid claim to his (at least in part) Hellenic heritage in blanket ordering a range of appetizers for the team – namely houmous, tzatziki, taramasalata, keftedakia (a.k.a. meat balls), Greek salad, black olives and copious pita bread (the latter particularly praised by Mr B).
Needless to say, this was something of a meal in itself, but one which definitely went down well with the team, and before long between us I think we’d pretty much demolished everything on the table except for much of the taramasalata – not quite sure why, as this actually ranked as my personal favourite dip.
With conversation in full flow, it was only much later that we actually got round to ordering any mains, listed below in no particular order (forgive me if I don’t give accurate names and descriptions for each dish – it was a big table and I wasn’t exactly keeping track).
Mr P opted for two separate dishes of sardines and stuffed peppers.
The sardines were given the thumbs up by several on that end of the table, with the stuffed peppers also being pronounced pretty good as well. I should also point out here that it was actually Mr P who on this occasion took care of all the food photos – thanks Mr P!
Miss T went for the lamb chops, which came served with something of a feeble-looking salad garnish.
Nevertheless, this dish definitely proved the hit of the night – Miss T loved them, and so did the several others who’d helped her get through the generous five-strong portion.
Miss U went for the tiger shrimps.
She proclaimed these to be the freshest shrimp she’s had in Prague. Mr C-not-to-be-confused-with-G tried one and said they tasted like frozen garbage. I am sensibly staying out of that particular debate – I didn’t have one myself, so can’t really comment there anyway.
Miss R had the squid. She said that these were dry, salty and didn’t taste of anything. I have to say, it doesn’t look particularly inspiring from where I was sitting.
Mr C-not-to-be-confused-with-G had the mixed grill. He said it was pretty good, but that he wished he’d gone for the lamb chops instead.
A visiting Mr U.S. had the lamb kebab. I didn’t get his commentary on this, but seeing as he ate it all, I’m guessing it must have been pretty much OK.
Mr G-S-E-?-? and the two Misters H went for the lamb fillet and roast potatoes.
The general verdict here was one of disappointment – the lamb was apparently on the dry side, and one of the Mr H’s griped that the kitchen hadn’t used fresh herbs here. Oh well - can’t win them all...
And deliberately last of all, my dish of papoutsaki , which consisted of aubergine stuffed with minced meat and tomatoes baked in the oven with béchamel.
I’ve placed this last not because of the quality (in fact I loved it), but because it took ages for the kitchen to send it out after all the other mains had long since been served, leaving me still waiting for my food while everyone else was nearly done...
Still, when it finally did turn up it was really great – though that is admittedly coming from a massive lover of baked aubergine. I only wished I hadn’t filled up on starters first, as it was quite a sizeable portion. I will definitely have to come back for another round when I have the capacity to enjoy it properly – as it was, I just ended up with a stomach ache afterwards instead...
I didn't keep tabs on the bill as the company was paying, but as I recall the initial dips were around 100kč each and the mains 250kč upwards (with the emphasis on the upwards). Service was also pretty good, especially considering that we were quite a large (and some might say “vocal”) table.
So all in all a good time was had by all and – despite being a tadge on the pricey side if actually paying yourself – Taverna Olympus definitely gets the Knedlikova seal of approval. Shout out to colleague Miss C who unfortunately couldn’t make it on this occasion, and to everyone else – looking forward to next time... ;-)))
