This restaurant has been a favorite of ours ever since it opened. We mostly find ourselves there when we have a family celebration or when there is a larger party of us. Funny, but we never go there when there is just the two of us. What makes this restaurant so popular is the consistent quality of food and flexible service, it doesn’t pose a problem for them to assemble assorted plates of food for the whole table and they will easily adjust any dish according to the customer’s wish. The interior is a bit cramped, but there is a certain charm to it and their garden is beautiful.This time we were there for another family celebration.
The usual bread and spreads arrived. I love their white bread, I could it eat all the time.We ordered appetizers for the table.
Grilled calamari. This is a crowd pleaser and we always order this, these were fresh, moist and very good.
This is the assorted appetizer platter with a double portion of grilled peppers. The cured ham is very good, it’s soft and moist, not one of those overly dry hams you would get elsewhere. The cheeses are quite forgettable. Grilled, marinated peppers are one of my all time favorite foods. I make them at home all the time in season. Too bad they don’t serve any salty feta-like cheese with them, but otherwise they’re delicious.
Lamb sausages, another popular dish. Juicy, savory sausages go very well with the grilled peppers and the fluffy, soft bread.
Grilled dorade (sea bream) – I don’t know where they get these small sea breams, the ones sold in shops around town are much bigger. This was as good as it always is - moist and flaky. I bet that sea bream and the seabass are the two most popular fishes in this restaurant and I must admit that we never order other fish. It’s always fresh and perfectly cooked.
Grilled lamb chops – they could be a tad softer, but still these are better than many of the lamb chops you’ll get elsewhere.
Lamb sač (pod pekom) – this is another big favorite. The tender chunks of slow cooked meat, stewed with potatoes and carrots melt in your mouth. But this time the dish needed a good pinch of salt. Next to the lamb is the šopský salat, it is quite big and costs only 65 crowns, it’s one of the best value šopský salads I know of. Most importantly they don’t skimp on cheese and the tomatoes in their salads are edible all year round.
Seafood risotto – it tasted rather of cream than of tomato and was a bit too dry, although it doesn't look like it. There was plenty of seafood, mostly small prawns and squid and 3 big mussels. It was flavorful but there are better seafood risottos in Prague.
We were too full to fit in desserts.
I wouldn’t call this place cheap, but most of the dishes are reasonably priced. Add this to the considerably “expensive” location and you will realize that the ROI ratio is very reasonable. What I don’t like is the fact that they serve German mineral water in big bottles, local Mattoni is readily available and I do not appreciate these widely spread attempts to make money out of nothing. We can always ask for imported water if we want some. What we do like is their house wine and the wide choice of fruit spirits.
Lamb sausages, another popular dish. Juicy, savory sausages go very well with the grilled peppers and the fluffy, soft bread.The main courses:
Grilled dorade (sea bream) – I don’t know where they get these small sea breams, the ones sold in shops around town are much bigger. This was as good as it always is - moist and flaky. I bet that sea bream and the seabass are the two most popular fishes in this restaurant and I must admit that we never order other fish. It’s always fresh and perfectly cooked.
Grilled lamb chops – they could be a tad softer, but still these are better than many of the lamb chops you’ll get elsewhere.
Lamb sač (pod pekom) – this is another big favorite. The tender chunks of slow cooked meat, stewed with potatoes and carrots melt in your mouth. But this time the dish needed a good pinch of salt. Next to the lamb is the šopský salat, it is quite big and costs only 65 crowns, it’s one of the best value šopský salads I know of. Most importantly they don’t skimp on cheese and the tomatoes in their salads are edible all year round.
Seafood risotto – it tasted rather of cream than of tomato and was a bit too dry, although it doesn't look like it. There was plenty of seafood, mostly small prawns and squid and 3 big mussels. It was flavorful but there are better seafood risottos in Prague.
We were too full to fit in desserts.
I wouldn’t call this place cheap, but most of the dishes are reasonably priced. Add this to the considerably “expensive” location and you will realize that the ROI ratio is very reasonable. What I don’t like is the fact that they serve German mineral water in big bottles, local Mattoni is readily available and I do not appreciate these widely spread attempts to make money out of nothing. We can always ask for imported water if we want some. What we do like is their house wine and the wide choice of fruit spirits.
*** It's been more than a month since I posted for the last time. The reason for it was the fact that I wasn't too keen on food in the last 3 months. There are certain changes going on in my body that prevented me from eating most stuff except Mcdonald's, apples, kefir and crackers...if you know what I mean ;-) I couldn't look at food, I couldn's smell food and I couldn't cook food. Poor husband had to cook himself and eat in the bedroom sometimes. But now it seems that I'm beginning to feel fine and so this blog is alive again, at least until late August :-)
