My Cup of Coffee: Beans of Bohemia

Prague's eastern district of  Karlín was gutted by floods in 2002. For many in the city this was no great loss. Although Karlín is only a short walk from the magnificent city centre, it had for a long time been looked down upon, due in part, to its large Roma population. Ten years have passed since the floods and renovations are still being carried out, but investment has precipitated a dramatic transformation in the neighbourhood. Now Karlín is regaining its pre-World War II reputation as an area which accommodates the whole spectrum of society. 

Karlín 2002

Although damage is still visible, bars and restaurants are appearing along  Karlín's Křižikova street, whose cliental are an increasingly younger and more urbane crowd than may have been seen there before the devastation of ten years previous.

Karlín is growing and maturing and remains blissfully untainted by fast food chains. Můj Šálek Kávy, is your first port of call. The name means, "my cup of coffee" (which in Czech  has the same sense as the English, "my cup of tea" to mean simply, something you like). By my estimation, it is Prague's best café.  In a more central establishment, you will undoubtedly pay double the price for half the quality and quantity of Můj Šálek Kávy. 

Hanging above the cashier's desk in the café are pieces of chalk art and diagrams depicting the various intriguing ways their coffee is filtered. Ornately decorated cakes sit in glass display cases lining the walls upon which an enormous cup of coffee has been tastefully gratified. 

"...We serve godly coffee"

Their coffee is outstanding and comes from farms situated all over Africa and South America. During my visit, I crassly asked for milk with my drip coffee, but quickly retracted this request, deferring to the expert advice of the waitress. Můj Šálek Kávy treats its coffee like fine wine, and it pains them to see their products adulterated with any lactic impurities. Their menu describes which varietals (breeds) of bean they serve, how they are processed and precisely which notes and flavours should be coming through. 

 Their food matches the quality of its coffee. You won't find any traditional Czech cuisine, of which the staple is often merely boiled potatoes, stodgy dumplings and cremated meats. My one guilty pleasure of Czech origin is Smažený sýr: a heart-stoppingly fatty dish, consisting of edam cheese, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried. Prague's McDonalds offer this deep fried delicacy in a bun: the McSmažak. Yet another weapon in their ongoing war with the human vascular system.

The menu in Můj Šálek Kávy is lighter, fresher and more international than almost anything else in the city for the price. For breakfast there is a choice of Müsli with fruits and yoghurt, or eggs done to your specifications, fry-ups and more. They even offer bacon resembling the sort one might be able to get in the United Kingdom, which is very rare find on the continent. Their lunch menu comprises salads sandwiches and omelettes and runs through to closing time at around 10pm, so they can be ordered as a light dinner, possibly accompanied by a glass of one of their lesser-known local beers.

Prague is a city saturated with tourists being constantly ripped off and overcharged in tacky, kitsch eateries, where more attention is payed to the outward appearance of the establishment than customer service or quality of food.

Moreover, it is quite disheartening, arriving on a weekend break abroad, to be met by vast congregations of beer soaked revellers from your own country. 
Being armed with a little local knowledge will improve your trip dramatically.

Můj Šálek Kávy is certainly worth leaving the centre for. It is only a short metro ride away from Můstek station. Křižikova, the street it can be found on, is also a great place to discover other more reasonable places to eat, if you fancy more of a restaurant atmosphere than a café.


http://www.mujsalekkavy.cz/