Not just black and white

Sometime in my late childhood, I came to that shocking realization that life in the era of black-and-white photography hadn't actually been black and white (and before that, sepia-toned).

Growing up brings the step-by-step revelation that life, lived whenever, cannot be categorized as either black or white; there are enough shades of gray to fill history books.

One's impressions of a restaurant are rarely so cut-and-dry, either, and Republika, a 1920s throwback jazz bar, restaurant and dance hall, is one such place. Despite having one offensively bad (and overpriced) entree there on a recent visit, and several apathetic appetizers, the atmosphere won me over.

It could have been the lighting: candles on each table; low, Art Nouveau lamp fixtures; a dominant, lit-from-within curved bar and backlit bottles. The room opens up to a busy street through windows reaching the high ceilings, overlooked by a balcony of more seating. Everything is sleek, dark wood, black leather and brass fittings - materials that convey texture and a color scale, even in black-and-white photos.

The stage, kitted out with a retro handheld microphone, features live music every night from 8 p.m., a rotation of jazz performers whose music blends artfully with the chatter and bar noise. On a recent night, an older couple got up from their seats to sway together in the small clearing.

That same visit though, it was annoying to have been seated (despite having a reservation) directly in front of the speakers by the stage, as the music was very loud. We watched people without reservations get better tables in an oversight of table-planning that would be best corrected.

Service was quite friendly, though we had to wait 10 minutes for a menu at the beginning and then had difficulty catching our waiter's eye for the bill. But during the meal, a slew of waiters served our table, making for some confusion, despite their kindness. Moments after one waiter had cleared our appetizers, another strode over and asked if we'd like coffee or dessert. At another point, an unordered beer was brought to the table, and the bearer disappeared so quickly there wasn't a chance to send it back. Apart from that, the servers were proficient, and made a point at the start to say that the restaurant only accepts cash.

Republika's menu covers the ground between grilled meats (all of which include side orders, a nice touch) and Czech specialties, with several seafood dishes, salads and pastas thrown into the mix.

The kitchen is most capable with simpler (and subsequently, cheaper) dishes, such as the svičkova and the Parma ham risotto. Other items, however, are mind-bogglingly inadequate. A starter of grilled prawns looked nice enough, with five plump prawns skewered on bamboo. But the meat was overdone and chewy, with a vaguely unpleasant taste that had me nervously waiting out the following 12 hours. There was little seasoning, and while the accompanying garlic bread was nice, I didn't want to finish the plate.

Another starter, baked tomato stuffed with mozzarella and Parma ham (115 Kč), was excellent. Cooked to the perfect consistency, the tomato had slight char marks on it, opening up to reveal a ball of gooey cheese held together by thick, flavorful, salty ham. The balsamico drizzled around the plate added a nice tartness to what turned out to be a well-rounded and satisfying appetizer.

The Caesar salad disappointed. There wasn't enough dressing (or enough tang in what dressing there was) or ingredients to warrant the price, and there are other, much better versions around town for considerably less.

The svičkova is excellent. Normally, I'm not fond of the Czech favorite, finding most incarnations leaning too sweet in the sweet-and-savory balance. But Republika's is wonderful, with a thick, meaty sauce tasting of long hours in the making. The tender cut of beef was actual sirloin, true to the name. Bread dumplings were large and fluffy and in the right proportion to mop up the remaining sauce.

Another dish, the baked chicken breast with mashed potatoes and gravy, was comforting, if not amazing. The menu listed it as "baked with tomato, broccoli and mozzarella," but the tiny amount of those in the dish hardly warranted the description; indeed, the simple meat'n'mash combo was better once the veggies were scraped off.

The worst dish sampled - and the most expensive - was the grilled lamb chops with grilled vegetables and buttered potatoes. Clearly, no thought had gone into this dish, evident both in its composition and price. Four measly chops huddled together among bland boiled potatoes and rubbery vegetables, practically shivering at their lack of meat. By the time I cut past fat and gristle, each chop yielded only one decent-size bite of lamb, which was completely unseasoned. And, for the whopping price of 375 Kč, those might have been the four most expensive bites of my life.

Republika's desserts, at least, were definitively good. A chocolate soufflé was a nicely presented fondant, brought in a tea cup, and was dense and rich with quality chocolate. The homemade cheesecake was lovely, a big lemon-infused wedge, topped with fresh strawberry.

Republika somehow harks back to a simpler time, when things seemed more black and white. The retro atmosphere even succeeds in easing the hurt of some decidedly bad dishes, while memories of the better ones get stronger with time.

Fiona Gaze can be reached at
fgaze@praguepost.com