Czech cooking is classic Central European comfort food: roast meats, rich sauces, dumplings and cabbage, shaped by centuries of Bohemian, Austrian and German influence. It pairs perfectly with Czech beer, which many consider the best in the world.

Classic main dishes

  • Svíčková na smetaně: beef sirloin marinated and braised with root vegetables, served in a creamy vegetable sauce with bread dumplings, whipped cream and cranberries. It is the Sunday lunch of choice.
  • Vepřo knedlo zelo: roast pork, dumplings and sauerkraut, often called the national dish.
  • Guláš: a Czech take on Hungarian goulash, thicker and milder, served with dumplings and fresh onion.
  • Pečená kachna: roast duck with red cabbage and dumplings, a festive favourite.
  • Smažený řízek: breaded pork or chicken schnitzel, usually with potato salad.

Dumplings

Knedlíky are the backbone of Czech cooking. Bread dumplings (houskové knedlíky) are sliced and used to soak up sauce; potato dumplings are denser. Sweet fruit dumplings (ovocné knedlíky) are filled with plums or strawberries and topped with quark, butter and sugar.

Street food and pub snacks

Smažený sýr, fried breaded cheese with tartar sauce, is a student favourite. Pub snacks include nakládaný hermelín (Camembert-style cheese marinated in oil with onions and peppers) and utopenci, pickled sausages literally called "drowned men".

Trdelník, the spiral pastry sold all over Prague's old town, is not actually a traditional Czech food. It became a tourist staple in the 2000s, and most locals rarely eat it.

Soups

Lunch usually begins with soup. Try kulajda (creamy potato and mushroom soup with dill and a poached egg), česnečka (garlic soup, a classic hangover cure) and bramboračka (potato soup).

Beer culture

Czechs drink more beer per person than any other nation, around 130 litres a year, according to Czech brewing industry figures. Pilsner Urquell, first brewed in Plzeň in 1842, created the pale lager style now copied worldwide. A few things to know:

  • Beer is often cheaper than soft drinks in pubs.
  • Waiters keep a tally on a slip of paper at your table and bring a new beer when your glass is nearly empty. Place a beer mat on top of your glass to stop.
  • Try mlíko, a glass of almost all foam, and šnyt, part beer, part foam.
  • Toast with "Na zdraví!" while making eye contact, and never cross arms with someone else's toast.

Customs and etiquette

  • Shoes off: remove shoes at home; hosts usually offer slippers.
  • Formality: use "dobrý den" (good day) when entering shops and the formal "vy" with strangers.
  • Name days: Czechs celebrate the day assigned to their first name in the calendar, almost like a second birthday.
  • Christmas: the traditional Christmas Eve dinner is fried carp with potato salad, and many families keep a live carp in the bathtub for a day or two before.
  • Easter: on Easter Monday boys playfully whip girls with braided willow branches (pomlázka) in a folk fertility tradition.

Eating out

Lunch menus (polední menu) offering soup and a main for 150 to 200 crowns are the best value. Tipping around 10% is customary in restaurants: tell the waiter the total you want to pay rather than leaving cash on the table. See our Czech Republic guide for typical living costs.