U Fleků

Prague's most famous beer hall and one of the few breweries in Central Europe that has made beer on the same site for more than five centuries.

Brewing is recorded in this house on Křemencova street in the New Town from at least 1499. The name comes from the Flekovský family, who owned it in the eighteenth century. Through wars, occupation and nationalisation, the small brewery kept going, and it still makes a single beer: a dark, sweetish lager, served only here.

The brewery restaurant is a warren of wood-panelled halls with painted beams and a large beer garden in the courtyard, with space for hundreds of guests. There is accordion music, a small brewery museum and a cabaret hall. Tables are shared, and the beer arrives as soon as you sit down.

U Fleků is famous and very popular with tour groups, and prices reflect that. Waiters also walk round with trays of shots of Becherovka or other spirits: they are not free, so say no if you do not want one. Check your bill, enjoy the beer and the atmosphere, and read Czech beer hall etiquette before you go. For the history behind the glass, see Czech beer history.