Czech Food

Czech food is typically of the "meat and potatoes" variety.

This page outlines typical Czech Republic food forbreakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. This will give you an idea of what to expect in Czech restaurants and homes of locals.

Of course, Prague has many international flavors to offer. But, this is the basic view of Czech food.

You can also try my Czech recipes to bring Czech cuisine into your own home.

Czech Food - A Basic Overview

This is a quick look at what Czech restaurants will offer in Prague. I mean typical Czech food.

First off, typical Czech food is not diet food. So, if you're visiting Prague and traditional Czech restaurants, then consider leaving your diet at home.

Traditional meals in standard Czech restaurants can be a bit heavy for some visitors. Chefs won't be watching your diet or skimping on salt when they cook.

Meat... it's a key ingredient to nearly all meals. Pork, beef, chicken, fish and game are all very popular in local restaurants. And, many main dishes will include a sauce of one kind or another such as: dill, mushroom or something cream based. Everything, of course, can be washed down with a good Czech beer.

Vegetables... these are minimized with the emphasis on meat. Czech menus supplement meat meals with root vegetables and cabbage. They might even consider heavy pototo dumplings to be a vegetable.

Green vegetables aren't very common and side salads may include a simple mixture of grated cabbage and carrot. If you want green veggies, you'll need to order a side dish such as broccoli or spinach.

Bread... it's a key element of Czech food. Rye bread in particular is very good in Czech Republic and you'll find a variety of tasty baked goods as well. Restaurants commonly serve bread to compliment a meal or soup. And, all supermarkets (large and small) will have fresh good, cheap bread.

And the National Dish is... Vepřo - knedlo - zelo!

Czech Republic food starts with one main dish:

Roast Pork - Dumplings - Sauerkraut. You will see this advertised at many restaurants in Prague. The roasted pork should be tender with a sauce dripped over it and the sauerkraut. The dumplings are of the yeast variety (see photo above.)

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Breakfast

Most Czechs start the day with a cold breakfast. Hot breakfasts are not so common. A cold breakfast might include any of these:  bread, rolls, sliced meat or salami, cheese, yoghurt, etc. Coffee is very common in the morning as well. Although, it's usually of the instant variety. Tea and juices are also popular.

If your hotel or pension includes breakfast it usually is of the cold variety. They might serve a cold plate or buffet with cheese, bread and sliced meat. Sometimes you will find cereal or musli too. Hotels with restaurants may allow you to order hot meals from their menu where you might find omelettes.

Lunch

Lunch is considered the main meal of the day. Restaurants commonly fill up with guests sitting down for a meaty dish like pork, dumplings and sauerkraut.

In many homes, soup is often served at lunch. In fact, in my family, Grandma is apt to start preparing for lunch just after breakfast is over. "You have to eat," she says.

Other lunch meals may include sauces of one kind or another. These can be anything from dill to cream based sauces that are poured over potatoes, rice or dumplings. And, there's always a meat of some kind to help slop it up with.

Czechs also aren't afraid to drink at lunch. You'll see many businessmen and women having a beer at lunch. And, you will certainly see construction workers carrying a few bottles back to their work site.

Dinner

Generally speaking, in most homes dinner is a low-key affair. Meanwhile, restaurants will basically mirror the lunch offerings.

At home, Czechs prefer a light dinner since their lunch is the main meal. The exact type of dinner will depend on a particular family's style, but you might find dinner to include cold dishes with meat, cheese and vegetables.

Czechs like to eat open-faced type sandwiches as well. Often called chlebičky. For example, in delis you will see sliced bread with butter or cheese spread, a slice of ham and a pickle or slice of boiled egg on top.

Czech Desserts

Let's not forget the desserts! After a hearty plate of Czech food, you might find a dessert to be a bit much. Maybe that's why many Czechs prefer their desserts in the afternoon or after a light dinner.

Most typical Czech desserts are found at sweet shops or cukrárna. This is where average Czechs get their sweets and sit sometimes for a coffee or tea in the afternoon.

The sweet shop will have a variety of desserts - cream based cakes cut into small rectangles, fruit layered cakes, colored marzipan for the kids, etc. You will also find ice cream in most shops as well.

Czechs are also famous for their crêpe style pancakes, or palačinky. These are flat pancakes that are covered with jam on one side and rolled into long tubes. After rolling they are often covered with whipped cream, powdered sugar or chocolate. See our Czech recipes for more details.

Czech Food in the Garden

Czechs typically love the outdoors and their gardens are usually filled with goodies. Even in the smallest of residential gardens you might find currants, fruit trees and tomatoes. Just walk in any villa neighborhood outside of the city centre to find well maintained gardens growing treats - from walnuts to peaches, it's all there.

Homes are often flavored by what's harvested at cottages or gardens of friends. Many people outside of Prague will can, dry and pack whatever a garden will provide. Grandma's garden is wild and fun - just look at this list:  dill - cherries - tomatoes - beans - zuchinni - currants - apricots - walnuts - apples - pears, etc., etc.

Czechs also love to harvest mushrooms. These free goodies in Czech forests are used to add flavor to soups and meals all winter long.

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Have a question about Czech food? Or, do you want to share your favorite Czech recipe? Drop us a line. We'd love to hear from you.

Of course Czech food isn't the only food served in Prague restaurants. You'll find food from all over the world - Mexican, French, Thai, Afghan - to name a few of our favorites. Or, how about the food of El Salvador … delicious tamales, pupusas and so much more!