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September 8th, 2008
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Best of a banner year

Standouts from 2007 and some reasons to look ahead

By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
January 9th, 2008 issue

Jan Přerovský/THE PRAGUE POST
Interesting dishes and solid service tag Hilton's maze as a top new spot.
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Before the old year fades away for good, it’s worth one more glance at what was certainly one of Prague’s best dining seasons ever.
At my old posting in the States, we tallied up “best ofs” each year covering many different categories (research for best bartender was, I vaguely recall, a particularly grueling exercise). Determining the top new additions to Prague’s restaurant scene in 2007 proved equally difficult, considering the flurry of rather decent openings.
Naming the best new pizza joint is pretty easy: Pepe Nero, a corner spot on Bílkova in Old Town.
But other notables emerge only after a turbulent back-and-forth session. Who deserves, for example, the nod for best new restaurant? The obvious frontrunners are maze and La Degustation. Yet Le Pavillon in Prague 4 rivals both as a dark horse entry.
So we end up with the following exclamation points to an interesting year in food: Best new foreign kitchen goes to Man-na, an authentic Korean experience in Old Town, beating out Smíchov’s purely Japanese space, Gozen. In the best new hybrid foreign kitchen category, Masala (mostly British Indian) nudges several competitors. Best new fusion restaurant? Monsoon wins easily.
La Degustation takes home the prize for best new concept. It’s a protracted evening of seven tasting courses and six amuses bouche for those willing to commit time and crowns to a meal.
Gordon Ramsay’s protégé, Philip Carmichael of maze, picks up the award for best new chef. His dishes ride the wobbly, treacherous line between plebeian and pretentious with great confidence. Case in point: his deft presentation of lowdown pork belly.
And maze earns the best new restaurant title.

Be it resolved

Several changes for the new year, some ridiculous (the overrated La Scene refreshed as La Scena, for one), some not really sublime, but at least approaching normal:
The most exciting bit of news: Sofia Smith is back behind the stove in her own kitchen, the just-opened Angel Restaurant in Old Town, near Tretter’s in the former Ocean Drive location. The well-known chef promises refined, contemporary pan-Asian cuisine.
Coffee fans, however, might find confirmation of Starbuck’s rumors more interesting. Seems that Kampa Group is searching for a new location for Square; meanwhile, the Seattle-based chain is starting work on a launch in Square’s old space at Malostranské náměstí. Their rather ambitious plan calls for renovation, hiring, training and grand opening all to be completed by the end of this month. We’ll see.
Small change
The short-lived (and for good reason) pizza place Libertas has been transformed into Mořský Panny. Once almost revered in a cocktail-starved city, Alcohol Bar slipped into a brief coma before reviving under a new moniker — Zaba Bar. Another cocktail bar, La Familia, opened in the New Town labyrinth between Tesco and the river. Personable barman Ondřej Spěvák mixes things up at this new nightspot. Finally, the quirky Prague 10 restaurant/lounge Park nixed pizza from their menu.
Final (slurred) words
One Saturday during the holiday slump, the owners of Kabul Karolina crept to work about two hours late, much to the dismay of a few would-be diners milling about and occasionally tugging on the door. The owners redeemed themselves nicely, offering a drink on the house for their patient guests. Decent food, reasonable prices and genuine acts of atonement — no wonder the place remains popular.

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (9/01/2008):

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