Beer, Beef and Becherovka: Prague Beer Hall Trifecta

When I think about my best food experiences recently, breaking bread with strangers and drinking beer at Lokal, a Prague beer hall, comes to mind.

This is odd because, well, I don’t like bread, and I don’t drink beer. But hey, that’s the thing about aging—or wait, I mean travelling—it teaches you strange new things about yourself, like how to enjoy two things you usually avoid.

I wasn’t particularly hungry or excited when we entered Lokal, Prague’s longest beer hall. It was part of a food tour, so I thought, “At least Fafa will have fun.” We walked all the way inside, covering almost the entire 73 meters of the hall, a tiny workout in between our meals.

Czech Beer in Prague Beer Hall

First up? Beer! In the Czech Republic, that’s basically mandatory.

The freshly brewed beer on tap was our introduction to the fascinating world of Czech Republic culture, where beer isn’t just a drink but practically a national sport.

They have three ways of serving it: Hladinka—one-fourth foam, Šnyt—three-fourths foam, and Mlíko—foam, foam, and did I mention foam?

I went with the Mlíko Pale Lager because why not drink mostly foam? Fafa opted for the Hladinka Dark Lager because, well, someone had to be the grown-up.

The beer came cold, in chilled glasses, delivered like a military operation—everyone got theirs at the same time. We cheered, and I took a sip of my foam—I mean Mlíko Lager. It was surprisingly light with a hint of sweetness. And shocker—it was delicious! Who am I?

Prague Beer Hall Food Culture

I assumed beer hall snacks would be tiny, maybe something you could hold with two fingers while exchanging pleasantries. Ha! The Czech Republic takes its beer hall snacks seriously.

It’s like, “You want a snack? Well, here’s a meal!“

First up, Prazska Sunka (Prague Ham), with a generous side of horseradish cream. I’ve had ham and horseradish before, but this combo was on a whole new level—delightful and, dare I say, gourmet?

But then came the dish: Tatarák, the Czech rendition of steak tartare. It arrived with five slices of pan-fried rye bread, five garlic cloves, and a mountain of seasoned tartare. We were supposed to rub the garlic on the bread—I went for extra points—and top it with a hefty spoonful of tartare.
It was phenomenal.

Best. Dish. In. Prague.

Then came Nakládaný Hermelín, pickled cheese.

“Pickled cheese? This could be interesting!” I thought. Nope! It was… well, just weird in my mouth. Maybe it’s an acquired taste, maybe because my beer was finished, or maybe my taste buds still lingered on the tartare’s flavour. Either way, I wasn’t a fan.

Thankfully, the pickled cheese wasn’t the last thing I had at Lokal. The grand finale was Becherovka, a Czech digestif that apparently doubles as the perfect palate cleanser. After all the food we had—and were about to have—it was the perfect ending to a gloriously unexpected afternoon in the historical Prague beer hall.

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