Prague street food: what to eat, what to skip and where the markets are

Prague is not a street-food city in the way Istanbul or Bangkok are. The Czech habit is to sit down — in a pub, a canteen or a bistro — and many of the best cheap meals are eaten at a table. But there is a real tradition of snacks eaten standing up, a good market scene, and a few tourist traps worth knowing about. Here is what to look for.

The real Czech snacks

Chlebíčky. Open sandwiches on slices of white bread, topped with potato salad, ham, egg, cheese, gherkins or fish spread and decorated like small cakes. They are the Czech party and office snack, sold from glass counters in delicatessens and specialist bistros. Point at two or three and eat them at the counter.

Klobása and párek. Grilled sausages served with mustard and a slice of rye bread, sold from stands, notably around Wenceslas Square. Simple and filling; check the price before ordering.

Smažený sýr. Breaded, fried cheese — usually Edam — served in a bun or with fries and tartar sauce. A late-night classic and a student staple.

Bramboráky. Crisp potato pancakes flavoured with garlic and marjoram. You will find them at markets, festivals and Christmas stalls, and on pub menus.

Langoš. Fried dough rubbed with garlic and topped with cheese and ketchup. Originally Hungarian, fully adopted here, and best at markets.

Utopenci and nakládaný hermelín. Not quite street food, but the classic beer snacks: sausages marinated in vinegar and onion, and a soft cheese marinated in oil with peppers. Order them in any beer hall.

Sweet things

Trdelník. The rolled dough cake grilled on a spit, dusted with sugar and now often filled with ice cream, sold on every tourist street. It is fun and warm on a cold day, but it is not a traditional Prague food: its roots are elsewhere in Central Europe, and it became a Prague "tradition" through tourism. Eat one if you like — just don't pay extra for the story.

Koláče. Round pastries filled with poppy seed, curd cheese or plum jam, sold in bakeries. These are the real thing.

Větrník and věneček. Choux pastries with caramel or custard cream, found in traditional pastry shops and cafés.

The one trap: ham on Old Town Square

The spit-roasted Prague ham stalls on Old Town Square and at the Christmas markets are the classic tourist trap. The price shown is often per 100 grams, and the portion cut for you can be far heavier than you expected, with the bill arriving only after it is weighed. If you want some, ask for a specific weight and the total price before they cut. The safety guide lists other common tricks.

Markets

• Náplavka farmers' market — on Saturday mornings on the embankment by Náplavka, with bread, cheese, sausages, cakes, coffee and cider and a view of the river. The best all-round food market in the centre.
• Jiřího z Poděbrad — a neighbourhood farmers' market on the square of the same name in Vinohrady, under the modernist Church of the Sacred Heart.
• Christmas and Easter markets — on Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square, with sausages, potato pancakes, mulled wine and hot mead. See Christmas markets.
• Food halls and street-food parks — Prague has several covered food halls and seasonal food-truck gatherings; their line-ups change, so check what is open when you visit.

Where to eat cheaply sitting down

If the aim is good food for little money, a Czech canteen-style bistro or a pub lunch menu (*polední menu*) beats most street food. On weekdays, many restaurants offer a soup and main course at a fixed lunch price. The restaurants section lets you filter by area and budget, and our is Prague expensive? guide explains what meals typically cost.

Five tips

1. Read the price unit. Per 100 g is not per portion.
2. Walk one street away from Old Town Square and Charles Bridge; prices fall and quality rises.
3. Carry a card, but have some koruna for small stalls.
4. Drinking in public is restricted in many central areas; take your beer to a beer garden instead.
5. Try a bakery breakfast — a koláč and a coffee standing at the counter — rather than the hotel buffet, at least once during your stay.

For the history behind Czech dishes, from dumplings to goulash, read the origins of Czech cuisine.

A street-food walk

Put it together in one afternoon: start with *chlebíčky* at a delicatessen in the New Town, walk to Wenceslas Square for a grilled *klobása*, cross to the Old Town for a *koláč* from a bakery away from the main square, and finish on the embankment with a beer as the sun goes down. On a Saturday, reverse it and start at the Náplavka market in the morning. Either way, you will have tasted more real Prague than any trdelník queue can offer — and you will have spent less doing it, too.