I'm Tomáš — I'll Take You to the Prague Pub Culture That Czechs Are Actually Proud Of

My name is Tomáš and I grew up in Žižkov. Czech food has a bad international reputation and some of that reputation is earned — the tourist restaurants near Charles Bridge serve something that is technically food. The real thing is different. Svíčková made properly is one of the great Central European dishes. Czech pub culture — the specific ritual of a well-poured Czech lager, the food that goes with it, the hospoda as a social institution — is one of the most overlooked food cultures in Europe. I take groups through Žižkov and Vinohrady across an evening: a proper svíčková dinner at a neighbourhood hospoda that has been there since 1921, Czech beer poured correctly at a pub where no tourist has accidentally wandered in, and a Moravian wine stop in Vinohrady. I explain what Czech food actually is when someone who knows it is cooking it.