One of the great things about Statcounter.com is that as well as giving an overview of site traffic per day, visitor paths, keyword analysis etc etc, it also shows from which countries readers have visited your blog.

I initially assumed any readership that ‘Knedliky Etc’ managed to muster would be pretty much exclusively based in the Czech Republic, with the occasional UK IP from when my faithful mum and dad stop by to catch up on my culinary (mis)adventures.

In fact to my own surprise, only two thirds of my traffic in the event comes from the Czech Republic – the other third is made up by the UK and the US (about 20%), while the remainder of visitors hail from literally all over the world – I’ve had hits from as far-flung places as Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Uganda, Yemen, Denmark and Qatar, among others. I also seem to have attracted a small but loyal following in Latvia, for some reason.

It is a source of constant mystification to me how, out of all the pages on the world wide web, such visitors end up on ‘Knedliky Etc’ of all sites. Are they prospective tourists investigating dining possibilities for an impending trip? Former residents / expats simply taking a trip down memory lane? Or did they simply Google “sexy Czech babes food fetish” and somehow (much to their own disappointment, presumably) end up with me...?

Going on the assumption then that up to 25% of my readership may not be familiar with the Czech Republic, I thought I’d put together a quick rundown of a few decent budget places to go on the Prague tourist trail in the hope that it might help any future visitors avoid the usual tourist traps in the Old Town / Castle / Muzeum area. Neither list is comprehensive by any means, and additional recommendations for further culinary diamonds in the rough are, of course, always welcome!

The below are primarily recommended with brunch / lunch / coffee stops while on the sightseeing trail in mind – further recommendations in terms of evening wining and dining options around town can be found on my Prague Top Ten entry.

Sorry to regular readers to keep banging on about this place, but I just love it so very very much... Not the cheapest bakery-café in Prague, but definitely one of the best and just a stone’s throw from Old Town Square to boot. My previous reviews / further photos of the place can be found here and here.

“There are no facts, only interpretations” - Friedrich Nietzsche

As my blog mission statement is at pains to point out, I’m just a long-standing Prague expat who loves wining and dining. A lot. Culinary / literally / photographically speaking I’m by no means an expert – I just happen to photograph my food and type up an irreverent account of my dining experiences afterwards.

That said, for what it’s worth I thought I’d give a quick run of my personal gastronomic favourites in Prague – it’s been tough confining it to a top ten, but (in reverse order) here we go:

I’m not sure where Czech menfolk stand on this particular issue, but most English blokes I know are very much of the opinion that “real men don’t eat quiche” (though when forced to will begrudgingly admit to actually rather liking it). I’ve occasionally tried convincing some of the men in my life otherwise, but as yet to no avail…

For those more open-minded flan-fans in Prague, however, here is - in reverse order - my quickie rundown of best places to find quiche in the city.

PAUL Patisserie

It is no secret that I am currently embroiled in an ongoing passionate love affair with Paul (both Flora and Anděl incarnations), tempered only for my equally as ardent dedication to fitness and physique.

Still, on occasion I might be persuaded to live a little and order one of their mini quiches for lunch, which come in various flavours (bacon and Emmental, salmon and spinach, cheese and tomato etc), each priced at around the 80 - 90kč mark.


My only gripe here is that it would be nice to have a salad garnish alongside, rather than having the quiche simply placed plain and unadorned on the plate as they do here – otherwise a tasty little lunchtime number, especially the quiche Lorraine variety.

Au Gourmand

One of my favourite quiche spots in Prague is Au Gourmand (various locations), yet another French-style café franchise which offers mini tarts and full-size quiches in a whole range of flavours, from tuna to tomato and mozzarella.




Prices are similar to those of Paul, as is the lack of salad accompaniment – back in my Dlouhá days I used to pop down the street and buy a slice to takeaway, which I’d then jazz up with a bit of healthy salad at home, clearly figuring that the vegetable addition helped make up for all the calories in the pastry at least...

Praha Bakeshop

The other main contender to my affections on the café front, to which I have also previously dedicated a blog-based ode, is of course my beloved Praha Bakeshop just off Old Town Square. However, when it comes to quiche (and come to that, croissants), I have to say that Praha Bakeshop has the edge on Paul for quality – if you’re willing to pay the price that is.




Praha Bakeshop quiches come in a tempting range of varieties (zucchini and Swiss, walnut and blue cheese, goat’s cheese and sun-blush tomato etc), but start off at a wallet-busting 225kč for a single slice, rising to up to about 1,000kč for an entire large quiche. Which, on reflection, is probably why I’ve only ever actually had quiche here twice – on both occasions splitting a mini goat’s cheese and tomato quiche at a hefty 250kč with a friend. It says a lot for the quality that I still place it on top of the list though, even despite the expense – and at the very least you finally get the hitherto elusive salad garnish for your money here...

And so ladies (and all you gentlemen already out of the quiche closet) there you have it – enjoy and a non-discriminatory happy quiche eating to all!

Well, if my last entry gave the impression that I am perhaps a distinctly less than accomplished cook, then please let me put that notion to rest with a run down of my best risotto recipes (my personal speciality).

Basically each of the below variants starts off with the same base (quantities serve 2):

Olive oil

1 small onion

1 garlic clove

2 glasses white wine

4oz (100g) arborio rice

Hot water

Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion and garlic till tender. Add in the risotto rice and stir, then add the first glass of white wine to the pan. At this point commence personal consumption of second glass. Once the wine has been absorbed, start adding hot water bit by bit, stirring constantly until the water is absorbed each time. Continue until the rice is soft and tender and your arm is aching. Turn off the heat and add the additional ingredients as below:

On his last visit to the UK, Mr K was instructed on pain of pain to bring back a butternut squash (occasionally available in Tescos here, but not lately). While the risotto was cooking, I sautéed half the squash in butter with a handful of fresh thyme. Once the risotto base was ready, I basically just added the tender squash to the risotto, threw in a handful of soft goat’s cheese and pancetta, and served topped with parmesan and pine nuts (or at least would have done if I could have found any in Albert that day). Seriously yum.

Following on from my last bagel-related entry, I think it’s only right to give a shout out to Praha Bakeshop again on the basis of their croissants in all varieties, which collectively have spoiled me for all other croissants anywhere, forever, permanently.

Large, light, fresh, and available in butter, cheese and ham, chocolate, and apple varieties (varying from 55 – 70kč), Praha Bakeshop croissants are mine and Mr K's favourite way to kick off a lazy Sunday or Saturday afternoon, usually accompanied by a fresh orange juice for me (110kč) and a vanilla latte (97kč) for him. Bit on the pricey side maybe, but believe me every morsel is worth it!

I’ve also had salad combinations from their deli, houmous or tuna wraps from their sandwich section, as well their soups (Tuscan Bean and Pumpkin being two particular favourites) on occasion as well.

Unfortunately my experience with their cakes has so far been limited to staring longingly through the glass screen and wishing I had one of those enviable metabolisms whereby I could eat what I like and not have to keep myself in shape via strict calorie control and extreme exercise.

Put it this way, my love for this place is so utter and complete that when it came to making a decision to stay in my shared flat on the next street in the Old Town or moving to my own place in Holešovice, Praha Bakeshop was definitely taken into consideration as a very strong reason to stay put, and even two years on the ability to roll out of bed and into Praha Bakeshop for a morning brunch is still very sorely missed...

In my first year in Prague, I had the privilege of living on a little side-street just off Old Town Square, which basically meant I not only lived at the heart of one of the most beautiful and historic cities of Europe, but also within the lesser-known “Bagel Triangle” that is Bohemia Bagel on Masná, Praha Bakeshop on Kozí, and last but not least Coffee Fellows directly on Dlouhá itself. As a result, after a year I considered myself an expert in all matters bagel related, and would like to just jot down my favourites (again in reverse order) here: