Czech Food and Restaurant Etiquette Guide

Enjoying Czech Food

It was during a visit from friends that I detected a note of fear. The fear of going into a restaurant that had a Czech menu with no English translation. We went in and I ordered Czech food from a Czech menu for all resulting in a great meal and everybody agreeing that the cabbage was never this good in England. At that time I sat down and tried to work out the best way of introducing the average tourist to Czech food, restaurant etiquette and tipping Czech style. And so below you’ll find my Czech food and menu guide. Or take a look at my Top Czech Food Picks. Or get some translations and tips on the Chalkboard Menus post. Or understand how to take advantage of the Czech Lunch Menu. Or see what Prague Gluten Free options there are or be prepared if you have any Food Allergies to deal with.

czech food prague old town restaurant — Czech Food and Restaurant Etiquette Guide

Czech Food – A Czech Restaurant Menu Guide – Entering the Restaurant

As you look around a Czech restaurant, the first question is where to sit. You would not normally be shown to a table. A Czech restaurant usually does not have no smoking areas. A restaurant may have tables for four or six people and it is normal practice to ask someone if you can sit at their table if no others are free. The most simple phrase to find out if the seats are free is to ask “je to volno” (yeah too volno). Unless there is a very definite shake of the head, it means you can sit down. Be careful of hearing the word “no” as in Czech this is a shortened version of the word “ano” which means yes. Look at the mannerisms of the person already at the table. Congratulations, you have just sat down.

Czech Food – A Czech Restaurant Menu Guide – The Waiter

You will now be approached by a waiter who will give you the menu and immediately ask “co si date k piti” (what do you want to drink). You might not fully understand the Czech phrase but, they’ll be waiting for your drinks order. You have options, “pivo prosim” (beer please) this should get you a 0.3l glass of the house beer however, you may be asked if you want “male nebo velke” (ma-lay neb-oh vel-kay) small or big (0.5l glass). You may be asked about the strength of the beer and you may hear the waiter say the word decitku (des-seet-koo) this means a Czech beer with a strength of 10 degrees (UK 4.5%) which is standard here.

If you want juice, a restaurant will stock orange pomerancovy (pomeran-chovee) and most stock multivitamin (moolti-vitameen). There maybe a question of how much juice. The Czechs have a specific measurement called deci (dessy) and a 0.3l glass of juice in Czech would be tri deci (tree dessy).
To order two beers for example you can say “dvakrat male pivo prosim” (dvakraat ma-lay pivoh proseem) or for two orange juices “dvakrat pomerancovy dzus prosim” (dvakraat pomeran-chovee dyoos proseem)
If you are on your own substitute the word dvakrat (two of) with the word jedno (jednoh – one of). Congratulations, you have just ordered your drink.

Czech Food – A Czech Restaurant Menu Guide – Menu Format and Layout

A restaurant will have a Czech food menu which will follow the format as listed below;

Predkrmy – Starters both hot and cold.
Polévky – Soup
Drubež – Meals based on poultry.
Speciality – House food recommendations.
Hotová Jídla – Ready made food served quickly.
Minutkova Jídla – Available meals but, must be prepared and will result in waiting.
Ryby – Fish
Saláty – Salads
Prílohy – Vegetable/Accompaniments (Chips, Sauces etc)

Optionally you may find;

Bezmasá Jídla – Vegetarian or more accurately “food without meat”.
Moucníky – Dessert
Detské Menu – Childrens Menu
Denní Menu – Daily fixed lunch menu, maybe two or three courses with drink NOT included.
TOP TIP – If you order similar Czech food i.e. all beef or all pork etc, you will find the service much quicker than if you order a range of different meats as all meals will wait for the slowest one to be prepared.

Czech Food – A Czech Restaurant Menu Guide – Starter

A restaurant will offer two or three kinds of soup. Soups will be under the category called “Polévky”,
1) Hovězi (hovee-ehzi) polevku or bujon. It will be a clear beef soup and may have an addition of noodles (hovezi s nudlem) or small meat balls.
2) Gulašovy (goolash-oh-vee), thick goulash soup with pieces of ham and sausage, onions and peppers.
3) Bramborovy (brambor-oh-vee) thick potato soup with green veg and sometimes mushrooms although this is only popular in the winter months.
4) Boršč (borshch) A left over from Russian times. Similar to goulash soup with heavy use of beetroot, cabbage and sausage.
Bread usually comes with the soup, in some places it is free but, in others you pay 2 or 3kc for a slice or a long roll. If you have to ask, say “mate rohliky prosim” (maatay-rohh-leeky) Do you have bread rolls?

Other popular menu starters are;

Sunkova rolka se šlehanou a křenem – A roll of ham with cream and horseradish sauce.
Tlačenka s otcem a cibuli – Brawn with vinegar and onions.
Smažene Zampinony – Fried mushrooms.
Topinky (se syrem) – Fried garlic bread (with cheese).

Czech Food – A Czech Restaurant Menu Guide – Main Course

Hovězi Gulaš – beef goulash – This classic Czech food will automatically be served with sliced bread (houskovy) dumplings. The meat will be garnished with fresh onions and peppers.
Vepřove Gulaš (vepr-oh-vay) – pork goulash – Again, a Czech food staple. Same as above but with pork meat.
Svičkova na smetane – slices of beef – (svichkova-na-smettan-eay) will automatically be served with sliced bread dumplings. The meat will be covered in a gravy and topped of with a slice of lemon, cranberry jam and cream.
Smaženy kureci rizek – chicken fried in breadcrumbs. Similar to a Wiener Schnitzel but in the Czech food style they don’t use cheese. Most often served with a cold potato salad “bramborovy salat” or boiled potatoes “varene brambor”.
Smaženy veprove rizek – same as above but, with pork.
Kuřeci prsa – chicken breasts – can be served with anything but often a dish which can come with “bramboracky” (bramboratchky) which is potato that has been grated and then fried into small patty cakes.
Biftek – beef steak – With Czech food, meat is generally cooked medium. If you want well done say “propecene” (propetchenay). Normally served with chips “hranolky” and possibly with an egg on the steak “vejce” (vigh-it-seh).
Pfeffersteak – Pepper Steak – Steak cooked to your requirement with peppercorns on the steak or with a side dish containing the sauce or with the sauce already on the steak. Czech food, especially meat, can be served with a lot of sauce.
Pečena Kachna – roast duck – (pecena means roast but, the ‘ch’ in Kachna has no English equivalent as it is a sound made in the back of the throat. The closest description is the sound made before you spit) served with sliced bread dumplings and “zeli” (zeli looks like sauerkraut but, it is much finer and sweeter).
Smaženy Syr – Cheese fried in breadcrumbs served with a side salad.
Kralik (kraaaleek) – Rabbit, usually roasted and served with zeli.

Some other useful Czech Menu translations;

Směs (smee – ess) – possibly you will see “Kureci Smes”. Basically, it means that the meat is in small pieces. Literally it means “mixed”.
Prsa – Applied to chicken only it means you will get the breast.
Piquant or Dabelsky or Pálivy (paa-livy)- The meal or the sauce is spicy or served with chilli’s.

Czech meals are highly adaptable, if you like the basic food but, for example, don’t like the sauce, just ask for it without the sauce. The phrase you require is “Bez Omacku” or (Bess omatchkoo) translated as “Without sauce” and is useful when ordering a steak etc. The same applies to the type of potatoes etc and there is an example in the next category.

Czech Food – A Czech Restaurant Menu Guide – Ordering the meal

Don’t be too surprised if you smell garlic in the air. It’s used in varying degrees in Czech food. The waiter will have returned to your table with the drinks and will now take your Czech food order. Lets say that your meal will consist of the following; (based on one person ordering for himself).
1 x Hovezi Polevku
1 x Svickova
“Si dam jednu hovezi polevku a jednu svickovou prosim”
see daam jednoo hovee-ezi polevkoo ah jednoo svichkovo proseem
(I will have one beef soup and one svickova na smetane, please).
The second person may have a slightly different Czech food order;
1 x Hovezi Polevku
1 x Kureci Smazeny Rizek

There may be two problems here as the letter ‘r’ in these words is unpronouncable for most Czechs let alone the rest of us, you will only need to point to the food guide to stop any confusion. Let’s say however that the meal comes with boiled potatoes (varene brambor) and you want potato salad (bramborovy salaat). You can say to the waiter;
“Si dam jedno hovezi polevku a jedno kureci smazeny rizek ale bez brambor, si dam bramborovy salat” (I will have one beef soup and one chicken fried in breadcrumbs but, without boiled potatoes, I will have potato salad).

The accompaniments to the main meal (on a Czech food menu it will say “Prilohy”) are;

houskove knedliky – bread dumplings
bramborove knedliky – potato dumplings
ryže – rice
hranolky – chips
bramborák – fried potato cakes
smažene brambor – fried potatoes
vařene brambor – boiled potatoes
zeli – sweet cabbage

You may see something called “oblouha” at the end of the meal. This is just small offer of lettuce, red cabbage, white cabbage and maybe pepper. It provides colour.

The waiter may also ask if you want a salad as many Czechs will have it as a side dish. These can be;

Michany – Mixed pieces of cucumber, tomato, peppers etc.
Sopsky – (shop-ski) Same as above but, with Balkan cheese on the top (strong flavour).
Rajcata (rye-chatta) – Tomato salad, just slices of tomato.
Okurky – Cucumber Salad

Congratulations, you have just ordered your main meal.

Czech Food – A Czech Restaurant Menu Guide – Dessert

You’ve not had enough yet? Any restaurant will offer at least two of the following;
1) Zmrzlinovy Pohar – A glass with fruit and ice cream.
2) Palacinky (palachingky) – On it’s own it is just a pancake but “palacinky s ovocem a zmrzlina” turns it into a pancake filled with fruit and ice cream.
3) Kolac – (kolaach) Cake.
4) Jablecny zavin – (yab-bletchnee zaavin) Apple Strudel.

Czech Food – A Czech Restaurant Menu Guide – Tea/Coffee

When you have finished your meal you can call over the waiter. You may be asked if you want coffee “si date jeste neco? kavu?” (see daatay est-yeah nyee-et-so, kaavoo) Do you want something else, coffee?.
You may reply “ano, dam si jedno videnskou kavu” I will have a Vienna coffee.
For two coffees it changes slightly to “dame si dvacrat vidensky kavy, prosim” (daamay see dvacraat videnskey kaavy proseem). Tea is not popular here and a restaurant may offer only cerny Caj (cherny chai – Black tea) or ovocny caj (ovots-nee chai – Fruit Tea). If you want tea with milk you should go for the Black tea and to get milk you have to add the following phrase “s mlekem”. Saying it in Czech phonetically will be “cherny chai smleekem prosim” (black tea with milk please). The sugar either comes with it or is already on the table.

Czech Food – A Czech Restaurant Menu Guide – Paying the Bill

To pay the bill you have to ask for it first. When the waiter comes over simply say “za platim” (I will pay).
Generally it works like this;

The same person who you ask for the bill takes the money or a different person will come to the table to take the money (a smaller restaurant may only have one person who takes the money).

The waiter may say the word “dohromady” (doe-hromar-dee) which means do you want to pay altogether. It is easier to settle one bill but, they will separate the bill if you want. If paying seperately, you need to say the word “zvlast” (zvlaasht).
We use 10% or “Round-up” so if the bill comes to 230kc, you can give the waiter 250kc and tell him to keep the change. If you feel more comfortable, let him give you the change and you immediately give the tip back to him. Czech people do not leave a tip on the table.

Czech Food – A Czech Restaurant Menu Guide – Bar Food

The latest addition to this Czech Menu guide may come in handy to those brave souls willing to tackle a Czech Bar when you look up at the chalk board menu and wonder what the hell it all means. Below you will find some of the more popular “bar food” and what it is.

Klobasa – That BIG German sausage thing that really should be called salami in a sock. Served with bread and mustard.
Párek (or parky) – Little sausages that have the appearance of frankfurters only the Czech ones taste better. On the street it is called Parek v rohliku (sausage in a roll) but, in the bar you will normally get two sausages joined together and served with bread and mustard. If you hear the phrase “dva nozichkey” just nod your head as you are confirming the normal order of two sausages.
Tlačenka – Pronounced “tla-ching-key” it is like brawn in a thick jelly. My least favourite meal.
Sekana – As mentioned above it is like meatloaf but, will almost certainly be served with only bread instead of potatoes as like a main meal.
Topinky (Topinek) – Is essentially fried bread and you wipe raw garlic on the top mmmmmh. It’s my favourite (I’m a garlic fiend). Also maybe called Dabelske Topinky which is the above with the addition of cheese and chilli seeds.
U Topince (or U Topenec) – Not to be confused with Topinky. This is locally known as the “bloated man” i.e. it is a short fat sausage completely submerged in vinegar. Usually served with onion/vinegar, sweet pepper sauce and dry bread.

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