Cafe Prague

Café Prague is now closed. The new place is called The Sycamore and glancing at the menu makes me sad because there are no veggie options. Beer & fries it is!

I’m not quite sure how to rate this place. So I will tell you my experience and hopefully you can get an idea why I rated them so low.
Myself and the bf + our 2 neighbors decided to try this place out b/​c of a recommendation from a friend. There was no wait for a table and the ambiance of the place was nice. We took a look at the menu and tried to order (here is where I had the problem).
We ordered the garlic potato fries– «Sorry we are all out,»
ok, well can we get a Cesar salad? «sorry we’re out»
alright forget about it. We’ll just have the fish, «sorry we just sold the last one.»
Seriously dude? why don’t you just tell me what you DO have?
— We ended up ordering the tomato gnocchi soup, fried cheese, polish sausage and paprika goulash. Everything was good, not great, but good. We get the bill and find out they don’t take credit card, so our neighbors ended up having to spot us for the entire tab (pretty embarrassing). I guess it is our fault for not checking ahead of time, but seriously, what NICE restaurants don’t accept credit cards?
I thought about giving them 3 stars, but I was just so irritated by the time we left I just can’t do it. There are too many great restaurants in SF for me to be throwing around stars like its nothing!

There was one good thing to come of the incessant cold weather and wind of the weekend. I wanted something something warm for lunch, and Café Prague’s organic chicken and oats seemed perfect.
Getting comfortable in my chair with a fresh copy of the Saturday Chronicle, I had no idea I was about to get one of the best bowls of soup I’ve ever had. So much chicken and veggies, so much flavor. The bread pieces on the side were perfect for dipping, and I couldn’t believe it was less than $ 6. I tipped generously, and told the guy helping me he should charge more, it’s worth it.
Speaking of that guy, perhaps the owner, he’s awesome. Sipping a beer, relaxed as could be, chatting up customers, clearly enjoying his little establishment. The vibe was as good as the food.

If you need a hearty meal that is 90% meat, 10% everything else this is the place to come.
The Polish sausage appetizer was really good and there was nothing to complain about with the paprika goulasch or the roast pork with cabbage. They don’t take credit cards and when we asked for a box to take stuff out, they didn’t have any, so be prepared to eat everything on their very large plates. They also didn’t have the bratwurst so it seemed like there was several things they weren’t able to do for us. But they’re a small operation so no hard feelings.

This place was better before the hipster wannabes discovered it.
Last time was here, waited about 50 – 60 minutes for meal to come, and our appetizer never came. Asked a guy who was going around taking orders and bringing out silverware about our food, and he told us he’s not a waiter (so what is he doing taking orders?) and to go inside and ask the «other guy».
We were sitting in the back ‘beer garden’, and it was a bit busy, although it’s no excuse to have been forgotten. The spanish/​caribbean music playing in the ‘beergarden’ certainly did not match the atmosphere either. I’ve been here many times and have never heard eastern european music, it is usually spanish, for some odd reason (and no, it is not coming from next door, or somewhere else in Mission — it is coming from the restaurant patio speakers themselves).
All in all, it was quite disappointing — don’t know if I’ll be back again after this past episode, and seemingly unhelpful staff, even though we were extremely patient and it was not so unbearably busy for us to have been forgotten. When I asked the guy inside about our appetizer (after having waited 45 minutes for anything at all — no water even ever came at any point during the entire meal) he said he needs to wait until the «larger table inside» clears. Whatever. Horrible service.

Company: Ben and a dog
Meal: Paprika goulasch and szeged goulash with dumplings, dark czech beer. Extremely hearty meal.
Judgement: Bomb-​ass
Recommendation: bring your dog to hang out in the beer garden.
Warning: It’s close to 16^th st. Bart, watch out for public pee-​ers. We had a near «incident» which doesn’t need to be described in a review about the awesomeness of Café Prague.

Went here with Kelly J. after taking 2^nd place in the First Annual Inner Mission Pinball Invitational and I had worked up a bit of an appetite and it was a little late at night so we dropped in and were warmly welcomed by the staff.
Since I’d had some strong beers at Benders before I knew a little greasiness would be smart insurance so I got the fried cheese. While fried cheese is not that complicated to make this one was pretty damn tasty and HUGE.
Kelly had some sorta goulash which was terrific too. I’ll definitely be back to do a better and more thorough inspection of all their menu items since so far they are two-​for-​two — woot!

I’d been meaning to check this place out for quite a while and found myself walking by it at noon one Saturday and made a split second decision to walk on in.
The bathroom is a nightmare. The only worse public bathroom I’ve seen outside of a third world country is the one at Pop’s bar. They need to completely tear it down and start at the beginning.
The rest of the décor is funky but has a homey feel to it. The hallway to the back has a floor that goes up and down like a roller coaster; I’d hate to have to try walking here after a few beers. Also there’s a nice little beer garden in the back that I could see being popular on warm nights.
I walked in and the place was empty. The cook came out from the back to greet me; he was the only staff member there at the time.
I didn’t see any beer that I liked so he offered me samples of the two Czech beers they had but one was too light and the other too dark, he suggested half and half and I said «what the hell», the beer was OK.
First he gave me a complimentary taste of some soup that’s his specialty.
I can’t remember what it was called but it was orange colored with heavy cream, sausage, and Sauerkraut. It was tasty but very rich and I wouldn’t want any more than the small portion he gave me.
I asked for the schnitzel and he told me it wound be 20 minutes for mashed potatoes so I agreed on having fries instead but when I asked him if it came with gravy he looked at me like he’d never heard of it before.
My schnitzel took a long time and while I waited the place filled up, I smelled something burn twice, I heard the cook make two frantic calls begging the café owners to come help him, and he kept having to go back to tables to tell people he couldn’t make what they ordered.
Finally my schnitzel came.
My pork schnitzel seemed a little pink in the middle and the lemon slice is covering a dark spot; meaning that the cook both under and over cooked my food. I don’t blame him one bit though because he was clearly swamped and abandoned during the lunch rush. Two things not mentioned on the menu were the asparagus and the gross mayonnaise cucumber sauce. I didn’t eat the asparagus for personal reasons but the schnitzel was so dry I had to put the sauce on it.
Just as I was finishing up the owners (I assume) came in with sneers on their faces. They propped the front door open so they could load in supplies letting in a foul wind from the street that blew up the paper table cloths and blew in pigeon feathers, hypodermic needles, and Mission Street funk just as everyone was trying to eat.
The only thing I enjoyed about my lunch here was the free sample of soup but not enough to ever come back.

A girl friend of mine and I try to maintain our Thursday night-​out dinner tradition. This past Thursday she suggested this place which she had been to before with a friend to have beer and said that the food looked delicious. Czech food? Absolutely, I’m down.
The meal was delicious and our waiter was a cute, all-​smiles guy who was very friendly. We ordered both dark and light beer varieties and Chardonnay (although, I recommend the beer over the wine here) to drink. For food we shared a mixture of the Steak Tartar (which comes with yummy pickled veggies along with toasted bread)– which is delicious! Additionally I ordered the Sauerbraten as an entrée, which is a choice you will not regret (it’s like Thanksgiving dinner but with an edge of Czech delight); my friend ordered the Polish sausage and the mixed greens. We also ordered garlic fries – a must!
Overall, we happily enjoyed Czech food while merrily drinking beer. The small table looked like a celebratory feast.
Highlights of all that food were definitely the Sauerbraten and dark beer combination. I would pass on the salad– you can have greens anywhere else… it’s just a waste of your appetite with all the other good stuff!
Café Prague is a must– no matter where you live in the city, it’s worth the trek.
The next day I had to get my butt to the gym… ;-)

Liked the ambience, felt like I stepped into a completely different place from the busy South of Market.
The food was excellent, fresh and well made, heard the meat was from Double Rainbow so less guilt for my companion meat eaters.
Definitely worth returning to if only since we missed the apple strudel because it was still in the oven; everything’s made from scratch.

Ever since communism fell in Eastern Europe, I’ve dreamed of lounging in a state of Hemmingwayesque ennui and alcoholic haze. Happy I was to find a little bit of Prague has come to me instead.
A companion and I came on a chilly weeknight, a little after the dinner rush, and it was easy to get seating. The restaurant is cozy and as unpretentious as you can get. There’s nothing fancy here, but there’s a subtle charm nonetheless. The staff is courteous, friendly, without being chatty, which I like. I had a Krusovice for the first time, which I found to be a tasty lager, and served in a mug that strained my wrists when I drank. If I worked in a factory, I’d probably drink it with more vigor.
I had the sauerbraten, and my companion had the schnitzel. The sauerbraten was tender, but seemed to drown in the sauce. I preferred my companion’s chicken schnitzel which had a flavorful and lightly crunchy crust covering the flattened filet of chicken. It’s probably one of the better ones I’ve had in the city.
The portions are large, so bring a healthy appetite, or share. There’s a small patio in the back that on a warm day would be an excellent place to enjoy a monstrous mug of Czech lager. Hopefully the place stays low key and mildly loved so it continues to be a relaxed and intimate bit of Prague in the Mission.

Did this place relocate from North Beach???
Anyhoo, I always like outdoor seating and Café Prague has a nice cozy patio in the back. I ordered the Goulash paprika, which was good, not salty. Came with good bread and butter, but a tad overpriced. The service was gut. Inside, it is almost too cozy (read: claustrophobic), but the place does have a bar counter. Next time, I will try the strudel!

This is a cool sort of old-​fashioned, comfy cozy friendly place with unique Czech beers on tap, a fun happy hour, and a cool menu.

…and I had such great expectations too. Total fail. I am usually very cool and moderate about experiences in restaurants where the employees cultural values may be different from mine. (as exemplified by service speed, etc). I actually love that part, as it makes me slow down and notice things or have a different experience some times.
From the beginning, it was awkward. The basic set up is that it was nearly 8 PM pm on a Friday. I thought that there would be a wait. There was only 1 other table. Bad sign and vibe, right? We sat and were offered drinks and menus. There were some men seated at the bar and going back and forth between the bar and an area down the hall at the back of the place. They had that thug feel and looked over their shoulders at us from time to time. The only server there was a younger female and she was clearly entertaining them.
Readers digest version: the food was slow as a glacier to come out. The server was not mentally on the same planet, the guys at the bar with the leather jackets turned out to be owners (maybe) as when she got a couple more tables, they started bussing other tables.
The quality of the food in temperature, preparation, and flavor was horrible. I knew it would be dicy when I saw a guy in an apron head across the street to get tomatoes from the corner stand to finish the salad. We have been to Prague and have had great experiences there with food. They don’t have a great range of cuisine but it’s usually hearty and they can rock a good duck anytime.
Bottom line: no way. Epic fail in every way. I am disappointed. In our place here in the Mission there is a vast array of specific, unreal and amazing food. They are going to have a tough time here at this location without authenticity.

Jack & I were escaping from homelessness in Alameda so we took Bart over from West OAK to the city. I thought the Mission would be nice for a change. We first saw a Yucatecan place (we will try this in the future) but then saw Café Prague. The authentic Budvar enticed us in. We ended up meeting a really nice German fella on a business trip.
The service was nice; a woman from the CZ Republic.
As for the food: my paprika gulash was salty, paprika-​y, and caraway-​y. Jack’s szegediner gulasch was somewhat better.
So go there for the ambiance, the atmosphere, friendly service. Aber nicht fuers Essen. (Not for the food!)

This place is very good. Tad and I have been twice in two weeks. I am actually very surprised there aren’t more people there. The beers great, cute little space and awesome food. If you like German food, you’ll like food from Prague too. There’s even a back patio if you want sit outside.
We will be back for sure.
Thanks for the good food!

We’d walked by Café Prague countless times and decided last Thursday to stop in. We were looking for a nice, light quiet meal. Upon entering Café Prague, we were immediately greeted and told to chose a table. The tables have festive table cloths and walls are painted warm colors making the restaurant very inviting.
We had Steak Tartare to start. It was a healthy helping for an appetizer. It came with 3 hearty slices of toasted bread. We weren’t sure if the bread was drizzled with olive oil or butter, but it was delicious.
We also decided to split the Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and each have a bowl of soup. He got the Tomato with Gnocci and I got the Split Pea with Bacon. Based on the $ 5 price tag for the soup we weren’t expecting 16+ ounce helpings. The Bratwurst was delicious but we were stuffed (we took it and half of each soup serving home to eat later).
If you’re moderately hungry, be advised that the portions are large and if you’re looking for a light meal (and don’t want to worry about leftovers), sharing a bowl of soup and one of the appetizers is the way to go.

Yes, I am a fan. I can’t say that my soup was exactly what I’d anticpated/​desired, but now that I know what it is…
Nonetheless, and more importantly, the atmosphere and spirit of this place is irresistible. There is an outdoor patio that they’re planning changes for; it was a little chilly with the wind. The beer is delicious and the inside comfortable and jovial. I’ll definitely be back.

I had my birthday dinner here last night. Being of Eastern European descent i am partial to this type of cuisine. I’ve also been to Prague and i have to say this food reminded me of being in the old city. The dumplings were EXACTLY like the ones i had there. the goulash was so tasty. the sausages delicious. I’ve read they get bread from tartine, can’t confirm that, but can confirm that the bread was incredibly tasty especially the garlic one that came with the steak tartare.
the hostess/​waitress was so accommodating to us. very friendly and helpful and oh so nice.
will i be going back… you betcha!

Extra stars for convenient outdoor bathroom! Wooooooohooooooo!!!
Mission and Sycamore Streets… not exactly someplace that you expect or want to dine al fresco. And really, you probably shouldn’t. But that did not stop my daughter and I because we are fearless like that. So what if that is one of the most pee-​soaked corners in the mission, they added a potted tree! You can *almost* forget where you are… until, of course, that crackie tries to bum some change and a smoke off you.
The food? Honestly, it was great.
Our caesar salad was fresh and crispy and large enough to share. The bratwurst came with a tasty mustard and a large pile of kraut. And my beer was tremendous. And when the check came, it was under $ 20. The service could not have been better. While I would totally go there again, I will dine inside next time… even though that would mean losing the mission street and crackistan ambiance, the opportunity to bump into friends, and the ease with which one can expect their illicit drug purchasing.