Painting the Town

The weather is finally warming up and some of the beer gardens will start to be opening soon – so below is a roundup of Prague beer gardens to prep yourself for the transition from underground to outside beer drinking. I get the feeling that it’s entirely possible I might have missed some smaller gardens, so comment or email me at ccontiguglia@praguepost.com if there’s any you would like to add! I’m a little short on pictures at the moment but I’ll try to get some up soon, or if you have any you would like to share, do it!

Prague 2:

Riegrovy Sady

Known as one of the better beer gardens in Prague, Riegrovy Sady is off of the Jiřího z Poděbrad Metro on line A, or on the Vinohradské tržnice stop on the 11 tram line. It’s got several self-service options, from beer starting at 20 Kc, light snacks like sausages and chips and even a stand for cocktails. There’s a television screen, some games involving tables (I forget what they are because I’ve never played them) and even some covering if it starts to drizzle or what have you… On a nice night, I’ve never seen it less than almost full, with people lined at the comfortably large picnic tables set up in rows. It’s a great place to be for the atmosphere and the beer garden experience – if you want to see a fun video that’ll give you an idea of the atmosphere, there’s one by food and drink reviewer Czech Please here.

Hospůdka Na Hradbách, or Na Vyšehradě, or let’s just call it the beer garden at Vyšehrad, is my second favorite for the view (Letná is first for view). Located at K rotundě 2, or off the Vyšehrad stop on the metro, it’s smaller. But that’s probably a good thing because more complicated food and drink stands make the flow of people slower. However, the more complicated stands have more choices… you don’t have to stick with just two different kinds of sausage here. One could potentially make the atmosphere here a little more intimate than the bigger beer gardens if they wanted to… yes I’m saying if I was going to take someone on a date to a beer garden, I might do it here…

Prague 3

Bunkr Parukářka is pretty classy because they let you get a real glass as opposed to a plastic cup for a 30 Kc deposit, which is exciting.It’s off the 5,9 and 29 trams at Olšanksé Naměstí. I haven’t been here before, but I hear it’s also on the small side with some great views because of its location on a hill, and according to Prague TV, there’s a kids’ play area and a grill near the beer garden. And it’s in Žižkov, and I think that somehow gives it more street cred…

Prague 5

Na Verandách

I personally try to avoid Anděl when I’m thinking of places to go out, but apparently the beer garden at the Staropramen’s brewery is a great experience, mostly because the beer comes fresh from the brewery. Apparently there’s a good selection of beer food as well. Located at Nádražní 84, off the Anděl metro stop, the beer garden with a capacity of 50 people is connected to a larger indoor area. This beer garden is also right down the street from another Staropramen restaurant at Nádražní 23, if you want to get some larger eats.

Prague 6

KC Kaštan at Bělohorská 150, or off the Břevnovský klášter stops on tram lines 15,22, 25 and 57, is a really cool place. You’ve got your beer garden, which is quite large and lively, and then you’ve got the cultural center part of it with theatrical events, concerts and film screenings. It also has a grill with a pretty wide range of things you can order, and though I’ve never hung out in the beer garden for that long, Expats.cz says it’s a pretty quiet place despite its proximity to two large roads.

Prague 7

Letenské sady

view from Letna

Finally we’re at my favorite!! Letná – for whatever reason (we all have them, right?) I’ve decided Letná park is my favorite place in Prague for the moment. Ijust love the view, and the break from being surrounded by beautiful architecture to be on a flat plain with the huge metronome going back and forth and skateboarding kids doing tricks off crumbling walls covered in graffiti. The beer garden is quite large, and allows you to sit right on the edge to see the whole of Old Town. Beer is served in plastic, and there are some light snacks like sandwiches and chips available. To get there you can take the metro to Hradčanská or trams 1,8, 25, 26, 51 and 56 to Letenské náměstí. Or you can just scale the cliff to get up there.