22 Best Restaurants in Stare Mesto (Old Town), Prague

One of Prague's two Michelin star holders is this elegant tasting room, where diners are taken on a superlative culinary adventure via a Czech-inspired tasting menu over an extended evening. The menu roves around Czech and European cuisine playfully and stylishly, including classic local specialties with a twist, like pork belly, cabbage, and mustard or a dessert of cream, blueberry, and basil. You'll need a full appetite to last the multiple, delicious courses, so you'll want to come hungry. One word of caution: the tasting menu is 2,450 Kč before drinks are even considered, and dinner for two, with wine and tip, can climb into the 10,000 Kč territory. But for many, the experience is worth every koruna. Book in advance.

One of Prague's hottest tables, La Finestra is the meaty counterpart to its sister restaurant, Aromi, right down to the wooden tables and brick walls. Catering to local gourmands and boldface names, this restaurant lives up to the hype. As at Aromi, waiters display an array of freshly caught fish that comprise the day's specials, but here they also do the same with meat, including cuts flown in from Italy.

Sleek and relatively sophisticated, Lokál Dlouhááá takes the Czech pub concept to a new level with fresh local ingredients, perfectly poured beers, and friendly, efficient service. It makes for an idealized version of a corner restaurant out of another era, right down to the stark white walls, waiters in vests, and bathrooms wallpapered with old pinups and airplane posters. Many of the dishes have a modern twist: schnitzel is made from pork neck and served atop buttery whipped potatoes, while the Czech classic of svíčková (beef tenderloin in cream sauce) is tangy and fresh (not often the case at most pubs). Lokál also has pub-restaurants in Malá Strana, Karlín, and Vinohrady.

This sweet little café with tiled mosaic floors, globe lights, and mint-green decor provides an inviting spot for a light lunch. It's similar to the nearby Bakeshop Praha, but with a certain Gallic flair. Like its neighbor, it too has a few seats, although it also boasts a garden in the back, where you can enjoy a salade niçoise or a tomato-and-mozzarella sandwich.

Great coffee and cool vibes in this cavernous, slightly rough-around-the-edges café in an interesting, historic building, which also doubles as an art and community space.

A pleasantly airy American-style bakery and café counter, Bakeshop Praha sells familiar U.S. favorites, from avocado BLTs to entire pumpkin pies. Though it gets crowded during peak lunch hours, there is indoor seating, and the space, with penny-tiled floors and ceiling moldings, has a retro charm. But the takeaway sandwiches, bagels, giant cookies, and good coffee make it easy to grab and go.

Enjoy fresh, zingy Vietnamese food at this small, trendy spot on Rybná, from the eponymous baguettes to rolls, salads, and pho. There are good Vietnamese joints all over Prague thanks to ties between formerly communist Czechoslovakia and Hanoi, but until recently Staré Mĕsto was lacking its own standout. Founder Hung Le and his team have delivered with this branch, part of a minichain that brings authentic Vietnam by way of Berlin and California.

While Prague isn't famous for its Mexican food, Burrito Loco is a notable exception: fresh, spicy takeout burritos and nachos, at affordable prices, right by Old Town Square. There are a few branches around the city.

Having settled into its role as a leading light on Prague's culinary scene, the kitchen here dwells on crafting definitive Italian fare, overseen by chef Marco Veneruso. The comfortable Four Seasons restaurant and terrace (which has fantastic river views) graciously serves some of the finest Mediterranean cuisine in Prague. Even fish, the bane of many a Czech restaurant kitchen, arrives here as intricately flavored John Dory with a Champagne sauce. It pairs nicely with the hotel's own vibe, that of unquestioning luxury. Servers move seamlessly, the courses are expertly timed, and the sommelier eagerly suggests his recommendations. Despite the high prices and reverent treatment of the ingredients, the light, airy dining room is quite welcoming. And in a nod to the many family guests, there's a kids' menu, along with staff who love to pamper them.

Right behind the soaring spires of Staré Mĕsto's Týn Church, Beas offers inexpensive, Indian-style vegetarian and vegan food just a short walk from Old Town Square. Don't expect upscale service—you're going to bus your own table—but these dishes are worth the extra work. Great curries, dals, grilled flatbreads, fragrant basmati rice, rich grilled eggplant, and other vegetarian delights make you forget that nothing you're eating contains eggs, meat, or fish (and let's face it, that in itself is a bit of a rare treat in meat-loving Central Europe). Although meal prices are already low, the availability of free tap water makes it even easier on the wallet. There are a host of similarly reliable Beas branches around town.

The simple decor—white walls and plank floors—at this wine-centric Italian restaurant on a quiet street near the Týn Church belies the quality and complexity of its food. Whether you stick to a simpler beef carpaccio or try something more complex like goat cheese and truffle mousse, the dishes are skillfully prepared and attractively presented. Beef cheeks braised with marsala and spinach or loin of wild boar with garlic polenta make excellent entrées, but if you're not up for a huge meal, opt for a pasta. The all-Italian wine list is one of the city's best.

This old-school canteen dishes up classic Czech grub very cheaply, and aims to do so within five minutes of getting the order, so unsurprisingly it can get very busy at lunchtime. The soups in particular are a bargain and very traditional.

Easily the city's best-known café, Slavia serves good coffee, drinks, and light snacks, as well as the greatest hits of Czech cuisine: roast duck with potato dumplings and sauerkraut, beef guláš, and roast smoked pork with white cabbage and potato pancakes. Plus, the café offers rich views of the National Theater and Prague Castle. The spectacular location has a historic air that reaches back to the days of Viktor Oliva's painting The Absinthe Drinker (which hangs in the main room) through the 1970s and '80s when the late Václav Havel was a regular.

There are lots of pub-restaurants in Staré Mĕsto like Krčma—all beer, hearty Czech classics. and brick-lined cellar—but this is the best of the bunch. Staff are friendly, prices are reasonable, it's not usually mobbed, and it retains a whiff of authenticity.

Vegetarians, you're in luck: the Czech Republic's best vegetarian restaurant just happens to be a five-minute walk from Old Town Square. Here, veg food is not viewed as a radical departure from other cuisines; indeed, most of the dishes, a mish-mash of global favorites, look and taste close to the originals, only without the meat. The interior design is attractive but a bit space-agey, with swoopy fabric light fixtures reminiscent of giant white mushrooms, which coincidentally turn up in many of the entrées.

This little bakery was set up by a Danish chef in 1999, which means predictably good Danish pastries and brilliant breads, including the house special, rye bread with sunflower seeds.

You don't have to splurge at expensive places like Kampa Park for regal dining vistas over the Charles Bridge or Prague Castle. For the price of a pizza or pasta, you can sit on the deck of this marina, anchored off the Vltava River. And on a warm summer evening, there's almost no better place in town to take in the cityscape. The quality of the food is surprisingly good, especially when the kitchen and the staff aren't too harried by the crowds. Understandably, you'll have to book well in advance to secure one of the coveted deck-top tables, and at busy times, it's best to book in advance to get a spot at all.

Butcher shops are serious business in the Czech Republic and many have barely changed for generations, at least in terms of offerings. This newly updated version, with friendlier service and a handy lunch counter, stocks dozens of sausage varieties, classic smoked meats, and delicate fillets of pork and beef. All are available to take away or to be cooked for you on the spot. Situated on a colorful street full of bars and boutiques, the shop makes for a handy refueling stop that offers an authentic taste of Bohemian tradition. It now offers a quirky dinner with the butchers Monday–Wednesday, too. On a table that's lowered down from the ceiling—it's stored there in the day to save space in this tiny shop—are served a host of meaty Czech specialties with a side of storytelling thrown in. The only negative? It gets absolutely packed.

With its hip signage and location, you could be forgiven for assuming that Piknik is style over substance. But the lines to the counter would quickly set you right, as customers line up for delicious pastries, cakes, sandwiches, breakfasts, and coffee. There are some tables, too, but as the name suggests, it's a good spot to load up on provisions to take to Letenské sady (Letná Park) just across the river or farther afield. It opens at 7:30, for those who want to get ahead of the tourist hordes.

For Czechs, this traditional bar--restaurant remains one of the most popular spots to take visitors for a taste of local cuisine without the stress of tourist rip-offs. And it's a solid choice. The wood-and-copper decor gives off an appropriate air of a brewery taproom, and you can wash down traditional meals with a mug of unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell. Success has led to the opening of a whole "Kolkovna" chain of restaurants; you'll find branches near Můstek, Na příkopě, and west of Most legií (Legions Bridge).

Yami is sushi without the pretension that often accompanies a sushi place in Prague, and while the prices have crept up in recent years, the sushi sets and rolls are still cheaper than much of the competition (without any compromise in quality). The soups and appetizers are excellent, too. Try to reserve in advance around mealtimes, because the quality hasn't gone unnoticed and this place can get crowded.

Since opening in 2011, Zdenek's Oyster Bar has established itself as the city's best seafood bar. Aside from oysters (more than a dozen different varieties), head chef David Vlášek has developed creative entrées around mussels, shrimp, crab, lobster, and various types of fish. The restaurant occupies a quiet corner in the middle of Staré Mĕsto. The interior is classy but relaxed, and while the prices here can be high, you get what you pay for and there's never any pretension or attitude.