Notorious is a word with dual meanings, the first being merely "well-known," the second being "well-known in an unpleasant or negative way." Fraktal, the hard-drinking bar in Prague 7, enjoys both versions of notoriety, as it is often linked to white nights and killer hangovers, even sometimes those of such high-style individuals as newspaper reporters. It is a bar euphemistically described as a den of iniquity, and more often — and more accurately — described as a hole.

Thus it may come as a shock to at least one former Prague journalist (you know who you are) that the double-fisted Fraktal is now a restaurant, one with some pretty decent cheap eats. Yes, they still serve beers by the barrelful, well past the stated closing hour of 1 a.m. But surprisingly, the food is generally better than just OK, ranging up into high-class recipes for more than a few of the selections.

A case in point: the burger with goat cheese and pistachios. This is a well-cooked patty of ground beef topped with a thick slice of chevre, beautifully melted and runny, pleasantly sour and a great contrast to the juicy meat and crunchy nuts. Served on a fluffy sesame bun, it's probably the second-best burger in town after Mozaika's, as good as or better than most of the burgers at Jáma, and well priced at 160 Kc ($6.60) in the 125-gram (4.4-ounce) portion. Who would have thought?

Also good are the nacho chips, one of the few starters on the limited menu. Though the white-corn chips are not made in-house (think "factory"), they are good and fresh and served with a decent tomato-red-pepper salsa and fresh sour cream. The accompanying guacamole is whacked, though, creamier than I'm comfortable with and flavored with some unusual spice — is that tarragon? It's not terrible, but it's not right, either.

Another ace: the chicken quesadilla. In a show of veggie-friendly cooking bordering on sheer madness, this includes slices of well-cooked zucchini, eggplant and red bell peppers, served with another shot of the bell-pepper-onion-and-tomato salsa and sour cream. The chunks of white chicken breast meat are well cooked, maybe even overcooked, but the whole thing comes together nicely.

The same can't really be said for the Greek salad, a not-so-Greek plate of iceberg lettuce, red and white onions, more red bells, tomatoes and black olives with chunks of innocuous balkansky´ sy´r. Balkansky´ sy´r is Central Europe's inadequate answer to Greece's feta; the black olives are Spanish-style and the dressing — balsamic vinegar — is, at least in origin, Italian, making this neither fish nor fowl nor horiatiki and merely OK, a big step down from the goat-cheese burger.

Also just passable is the burrito. Better ones exist in town, most notably at Picante, though the price here at least includes table service. There's another off-taste to the rice, though the black beans are fine, and the portion certainly is large enough. However, when you're stuck praising portion sizes in order to find something nice to say ...

Nor do portion sizes give you something nice to say about décor and atmosphere. In case you're worried that Fraktal sold out to the yuppies, rest assured that it is still a dirty pub with plenty of smoke and spilled beer, just the way its customers like it, and that the soundtrack includes such dinner-music classics as Public Enemy and what sounded like Pantera. Service is fine, far better than most pubs, casual and informal.