Fancy some traditional Czech food in Plzen? There are several restaurants in the old town area that offer really good food at reasonable prices.
It is often possible to sit outside, but we also really enjoyed the rustic dining rooms. If you are out and about at the usual “meal times”, it is better to reserve a table in advance. It can be a little quieter outside of the “peak times”.
The Švejk restaurant is part of a restaurant chain that can be found in several Czech cities. The restaurant concept is always quite similar, but the food on offer varies, although it is always typical Czech cuisine.
The restaurant is located in the historic city center of Plzen. There is a small outdoor terrace in front of the restaurant and if you walk through the restaurant, you will find a cozy beer garden. I also really liked the seats in the restaurant.
Patrick opted for a typical Czech meal – meat with dumplings. The meat was tender, served with a great sauce and a not too firm dumpling at a good price.
I ordered a schnitzel without any side dish. Much to the amazement of the waiter, who asked me three times if I really only wanted the meat. But I had deliberately chosen this, as I was aware of the quantity I would be served. The meat was really cooked to perfection.
My highlight, however, was my dessert. Dumplings filled with nougat and served with vanilla sauce!!!! A dream. I think I could eat this for a long time.
The restaurant “LÉKÁRNA” is located directly on Republic Square with a view of the beautiful church. There is a small terrace with a few seats, so you can also sit outside.
There is a little more space in the guest room, which is located in the rooms of an old pharmacy. The rooms are furnished in a slightly more modern style. I found the acoustics somewhat unusual due to the vaulted ceiling structure. Some pitches were difficult to understand when the restaurant was full and there was a lot of talking.
The restaurant is known for its modern interpretation of traditional Czech dishes. I’ve eaten there several times now and have always been impressed.
The large salad I ate was well prepared. Patrick tried a chicken dish that he really liked. The dishes range in price from around €7 to around €15.
On subsequent visits, we were able to see the consistent quality of the food for ourselves. The chicken dish with the potatoes was cooked to perfection and I would have liked to take the sauce home with me.
I particularly liked the dish “Smoked beef tongue with pretzel”. The wonderfully tender and super thinly sliced meat with a spicy marinade was a real treat.
The U Mansfelda restaurant is also located in the old town of Plzen. In the warmer months, you can sit on the terrace and enjoy the view of the Šafářovy sady park while eating typical Czech food.
The special highlight of the restaurant is the Mansfeld plate (from 2 persons). Here you are served a rich selection of typical Czech dishes. The selection on the plate ranges from roast duck, pork knuckle, marinated pork ribs, roast pork neck, smoked pork neck and roast rabbit to various types of dumplings, red and white cabbage and potato pancakes.
If you like goulash, you should definitely try the Urquell goulash with bacon dumplings and, of course, drink a Pilsner Urquell with it.
Šenk Na Parkánu is located right next to the Brewery Museum and the Historical Cellars of Plzen. Visitors to the cellars receive a voucher to try an unfiltered beer. This can be redeemed at Šenk Na Parkánu.
The building where Šenk Na Parkánu is located today housed the municipal malt house from 1824 until the end of the 19th century. In the years that followed, the building was used by a wide variety of trades – from a locksmith’s workshop to a bookbindery, and even part of a hospital. Šenk Na Parkánu then opened in 1966. In 1998 the building had to be renovated and since 2004 you can drink beer and eat well here again.
It’s not just worth stopping in for a beer. Traditional Czech cuisine is also on offer. In good weather, you can sit outside or find a seat in the dining room, which is always very busy. A covered and heated veranda for around 40 guests is open all year round. The dining room is cozy and can seat around 100 guests.
I was able to see the quality of the restaurant for myself at dinner. How about beef tartar steak with roasted garlic bread or roasted pork cubes in black beer with stewed sauerkraut and potato dumplings? The portions were large, the price was great and it tasted good too. The meat was wonderfully tender, the tartare had a great taste of its own and the black beer sauce was delicious.
I couldn’t resist and ate dumplings filled with nougat with quark, sugar and melted butter for dessert. It may not look quite as appealing, but it tastes simply fantastic. Just the right dessert for someone who loves sweets.
Traditional Czech food in Pilsen naturally goes hand in hand with a beer. Šenk Na Parkánu is one of the few places in the city that serves unfiltered Pilsner Urquell. For me, this beer tastes much better than the filtered beer you get in other restaurants.
U Salzmannů has existed in Plzen since 1627, making it the oldest restaurant and guest house in the city.
Admittedly, I had heard a lot about the restaurant beforehand and it sounded to me like a typical restaurant for tourists. But far from it, the Czechs love going here to eat and drink just as much as visitors to the city. The restaurant has made a name for itself with its good Bohemian cuisine, which also attracts celebrities. For example, Czech President Václav Havel and US Ambassador Craig R. Stapleton have dined here.
U Salzmannů has a garden area in the inner courtyard, a closed salon (suitable for events, with its own entrance from the parking lot) and a very cosy dining room with seating for around 180 guests.
Typical hearty Bohemian cuisine is served at U Salzmannů. For example, I ate the homemade potato dumplings. These are filled with smoked meat in the traditional way and are served with braised cabbage and roasted onions. We were there for lunch and when I was served the plate with the huge portion, I was very surprised by the portion size. Potato dumplings are very filling and the side dishes – 4 dumplings simply overwhelmed me. It tasted very good. The dumplings were juicy and the smoked meat had a good taste of its own.
My tip: U Salzmannů also offers unfiltered Pilsner Urquell. If you received a voucher for a beer during the tour of the historic cellars, you can redeem it here!
The Purkmistr Brewery is located just outside the city. Don’t let this stop you from going there by bus or cab.
There is a hotel, a beer spa and a restaurant on the premises of the brewery. It is possible to take part in a brewery tour and once a year there is a beer festival where numerous microbreweries from the region present themselves.
I was there during the “Sun in the glass” beer festival, which really attracted a lot of visitors. It was therefore a good thing that a table was reserved, otherwise we would certainly have waited a while for a free seat.
The restaurant extends over two floors. The second floor seats around 90 people. I liked the large dining room on the first floor better. There is room for around 80 people, seated at tables of different sizes. The copper kettles in which beer can be brewed are very typical of a brewery pub. Even though the kettles are sometimes no longer used, I find that they always create a brewery feeling and symbolize “cosiness” to me.
The restaurant offers typical Bohemian food. The dishes are traditionally prepared, the portions are large and I enjoyed them. I opted for the brewery goulash (beef) with bread dumplings, onions and peppers. The person sitting next to me had the roast sirloin in cream sauce with Karlsbad dumplings and was also very satisfied.
The Purkmistr brewery’s restaurant naturally serves its own beer. The brewery produces light, dark and semi-dark lager beer. There is also the wheat beer Písař®. All beers have an alcohol content of 12%. I drank the pale lager, which is brewed in the Pilsner style. A drinkable beer with a nice taste of its own – not too malty and the tart Pilsner flavor comes out well.
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