Ferdinanda: Washing it down

While Malá Strana is a joyous place to get lost in the maze of cobbled streets, it can get frustrating on a limited budget come meal time. The majority of restaurants among the storied buildings and souvenir shops are either accordingly priced fine-dining establishments or rip-off tourist joints touting "traditional Czech food" for practically the same prices as the four-stars.

So even though the food isn't stellar at Ferdinanda, it's certainly cheap, and its excellent range of beers (from the Ferdinand brewery in the town of Benešov) makes it a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

This outpost is the second Prague location for Ferdinanda, the first being a popular pub close to Hlavní nádraži. The cellar the new restaurant takes over is even more strategic: on Karmelitská street, steps from Malostranské náměstí. The subterranean web of rooms verges on the dungeon-like, with no windows and sparsely decorated, whitewashed walls. But the arched, low ceilings and long wooden tables and benches give the place a certain beer-hall feel. The atmosphere succeeds in feeling authentic and not kitsch, and there were significantly more locals than tourists on a recent visit. Several rooms are nonsmoking, but it's easy to imagine the place becoming quite foggy if enough people in other areas were puffing away.

The service is similarly "authentic," as in gruff and preoccupied, albeit efficient. Many of our orders consisted of us craning our necks and starting to say something as the server glanced at us and walked on past. He usually managed to return with what we'd ordered, although he did bring the wrong entrée at one point.

The beers are definitely the stars at Ferdinanda. Three varieties are poured - the 11° light and dark lagers (27 Kč) and a 12° lager (29 Kč) - and the prices are amazing considering the location. Ferdinand beers are quite sweet with caramel tones, which well-suits the dark lager, especially, while some might find the light lagers not hoppy enough. In any case, they are a refreshing change to the ubiquitous Pilsner or Staropramen at every other restaurant nearby.

Food at Ferdinanda is also cheap, with nearly all items except for one - the roast pork knuckle, for 334 Kč - comfortably under the 150 Kč mark. The menu is small, sticking to variations of beef, pork and chicken steaks, along with traditional snacks like pickled hermelín, beer cheese and grilled sausages.

The item that stood out as the best deal was the goulash, which, for 118 Kč, includes a small beer. The goulash was also the nicest of the dishes sampled. The beef chunks were generous, low on gristle, and tore apart easily, bearing testament to a long stewing. Accompanying bread dumplings were decent and fresh, serving well their purpose as sponges for the sauce without being overly dry. A sprinkling of shredded raw onion rounded out the Czech classic, and while there are certainly more memorable versions around town, the price makes it a good option.

The grilled sausage, likewise, was better than most street-stand offerings, but that's not saying much. It had a nice, crispy skin and well-ground fat on the inside, but the flavor was a bit too mild and greasy, quickly overwhelmed when dipped in the plate-side mustard and horseradish. It came with a few slices of fresh tomato and cucumber, as well.

The fried bread with blue cheese was surprisingly nice, as the cheese was smoother and not as "footy" as cheap types can tend to be. Crumbled generously over the fried bread, it was a good light bite combining the right amount of crunch and creaminess and complementing the beer excellently.  

A Greek salad, however, was thoroughly boring. Essentially the same as the ubiquitous šopský salad, but with olives, it was simply a bowl of chopped cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers, doused in sugary vinegar and coated with grated, salty Balkan cheese.

Two steaks, pork and rumpsteak, were decent but over-seasoned. The pork one, ordered with herb butter, was a good-size plate, with two malleted-flat pieces of meat. There was a nice light gravy and lots of pepper, and the "herb" aspect was slightly noticeable, although the main taste was generic bouillon.

The rumpsteak that arrived was not the one we'd ordered. The fly-by-night waiter obviously hadn't heard us say "rumpsteak with bacon," and instead chose to bring us rumpsteak with peppercorn sauce. Surprisingly, the beef was cooked medium-rare on the inside, which saved the cut from being completely subsumed by the salt-and-pepper dribble.

Thin-cut french fries, ordered with both steaks, were flavorless, pre-salted and clearly from a freezer bag. The only other side option, American potatoes, fared slightly better in their defrosted state, as they were at least fluffy on the inside, but were still pretty dire.

It's hard to go wrong with fried cheese, but Ferdinanda managed it. The breading on the eidam, while far from being greasy, was stale and dry, resembling clumped sand in texture and taste. Mediocre fried cheese can usually be coped with by slathering tons of tartar sauce on it, but there was something questionable about the tartar sauce that came with this one: Either there was mistakenly too much vinegar in the concoction or it was simply off; either way, it went untouched.

Overly salted, dry foods do make one thirsty, so perhaps this is Ferdinanda's game. And the beer is definitely quaffable, and not just to wash down the mostly forgettable food.

Fiona Gaze can be reached at
fgaze@praguepost.com