A brewery and beer hall that has been making one dark lager on the same site since 1499, in eight rooms seating 1,200. Touristy, expensive by Prague standards, and the beer is very good.
The oldest
Brewing is documented on this site from 1499, which makes U Fleků the oldest brewery in Prague still operating in its original location. It makes exactly one beer: a 13° dark lager, brewed on the premises, unfiltered and unpasteurised, and it is genuinely excellent — malty, coffee-ish, and far better than the dark lagers sold elsewhere in the city.
The complex is eight rooms and a courtyard seating around 1,200, with painted vaults, long communal benches, a brass band in the evenings and a small brewery museum.
The honest assessment
It is the most touristed pub in Prague and it is priced accordingly — a beer here costs perhaps three times what it costs in an ordinary pub in Žižkov. Locals do not go, and Czechs will occasionally roll their eyes when you mention it.
It is also genuinely 500 years old, the beer is genuinely very good, and it is the only place you can drink this particular one.
Go once, expect the price, order the beer, and enjoy it. Do not go expecting to find Czechs.
The becherovka
The one thing to be ready for. Waiters move between tables with trays of shots of Becherovka, the herbal liqueur, and place them down without being asked. They are added to the tab.
This is not a scam — the price is on the menu — but it is a practice designed to work on people who assume it is hospitality. Decline clearly if you do not want it, and check the tab before paying.
The same applies to the accordion player and to any food that appears unrequested.
Where Czechs actually drink
Prague has an exceptional beer culture and almost none of the best of it is in the centre.
U Zlatého tygra, Husova, in the Old Town — a genuine local that has resisted becoming a tourist pub, where Bohumil Hrabal drank daily and where Havel took Bill Clinton in 1994. Small, crowded, and you sit where you are put.
Lokál, several branches — a modern chain doing Pilsner Urquell from tanks with proper care, and it is the most reliable good pint in the city.
U Slovanské lípy and Pivovarský klub in Žižkov for the craft end.
Vinohradský pivovar in Vinohrady.
The beer gardens at Letná and Riegrovy sady in summer.
How to order beer in Prague
Say the size. Velké is 0.5l, malé is 0.3l. Ordering “a beer” gets you a large.
A tick on a slip of paper on your table is how the count is kept. Do not lose it.
Beer arrives until you stop it. In a traditional pub, an empty glass is an order for another. Put a beer mat on top of the glass when you are finished.
Do not tip on the bar; round up when paying the waiter, and tell them the total you want to pay rather than leaving money on the table.
