Phew this was a stressful experience but well worth it given the deliciousness of the food. There was a queue when I arrived but it moved fairly quickly. When you walk in, you're given a paper slip for your order. First thing in line is soups. If you want one, you order and hand over your ticket so they can mark your order on it. When you get to the main counter, you do the same with main dishes. Everything is out and ready to go, so by this point you don't have to wait at all for your food. Keep your ticket on you and you pay at a booth when you leave. I ordered a small borscht (all of the soups come in half and full sizes) and a pork dish with sauerkraut and dumplings. The borscht was unlike any I've had before; it was tasty but I wouldn't get it again. The pork dish however was excellent. The sauerkraut was fabulous - best I've had in my life. The pork was a little too fatty in pieces but had a really nice flavor. The place is super clean and the bathrooms were adequate especially considering how busy it was around lunchtime. Would return/recommend! read more

Havelská Koruna - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

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This place is popular with locals and tourists. We waited on the line for a few minutes to get inside during lunchtime rush. You'll be given an order ticket when you enter and you'll need to keep the ticket with you at all times. You would handover your ticket when you place your order for food and drinks. When you finished eating, then you handover your ticket at the payment counter to pay for your meal when you leave. There's a menu outside the restaurant that you can look at ahead of time. There was also a sign inside the restaurant listing the top 15 Czech dishes. I got the beef with rice in a mushroom sauce. The meal was quite delicious and very filling. The prices here are pretty affordable. There's a lot of seating in the restaurant and you can sit anywhere you want. It was pretty busy when we were here for lunch. We were lucky to grab a table for four and we sat together with our friends. read more

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PRO tip: read the menu outside and decide what you want before you enter because it's sensory overload and the people working there have zero patience. This is 100% authentic CZECH cuisine and experience. Generous portions, gruff service, cheap prices. There's a mix of locals and tourists so be prepared to be jowled and jockey for a seat. With that said it's filling, tasty, and 100% authentic. You have to have at least one meal here in order to say that you visited Prague. No ambience :) read more

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Great affordable traditional Czech food. You're given a slip & you'll wait in line to order. They'll write down your order and the plate will be made infront of you. Make sure not to toss the slip, as there's a fee for lost slips. read more

Havelská Koruna - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

If you are looking for very affordable, quick, traditional Czech food in Prague, this is your place! It's like cafeteria style dining here, where you are handed an order slip upon entry and they have a dessert station and a main course station. You walk up to each one, tell them what you want, and they will give it to you right there and note it down on your order slip. Then when you leave, you hand the lady your slip to check out / pay. As for the food, it was very traditional and very good! Fried Gouda and mashed potatoes - This was a very simple plate of one large piece of fried Gouda with some mashed potatoes but it was great for a cheese lover like myself. The cheese was fried in such a way that it was nicely crispy on the outside but still soft on the inside. It actually went very well with the mayo-like sauce on the side. Fruit dumpling with apricot and cheese cream - This was like a soft dough ball filled with sweet apricot and cheese cream on top. Very yummy. Both of these plates together only cost me the equivalent of $12 USD, so a great deal! Environment: The place has a traditional kind of vibe with many wooden booths for seating, which offer a nice and somewhat private seating space. As you might expect, the atmosphere is very casual and there was a handful of others there for lunchtime. Service: While it is super fast, my only slight complaint is that the staff could have been a bit more friendly, but it's not like they did anything particularly unfriendly either. Overall, if the staff were just a bit friendlier, I would've given 5 stars here, but regardless, this place is great value and I highly recommend it, especially if you are on a budget. read more

Havelská Koruna - Interior - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

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I came here after trying to find authentic Czech food at an affordable price and was very pleasantly surprised. We ordered: -#2A Morovian pork sparrow, cabbage, potato dumping -#4A Beef goulash with bread dumpling -Beet salad The total ended up being $24.82 Canadian !! For everything !! I highly recommend them both. The meats were flavourful and the consistency of the dumplings really tickled my pickle. The beet salad was also very good. Additionally, this place is conveniently located at the heart of the city. Highly recommend ! read more

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This place looks like it is right out of the communist era in Prague. The somewhat confusing system slowly becomes apparent as you wait in the long line. When you enter they hand you a blank order card that carries a warning that if you lose it you have to pay a big fine - what? This card is used by the workers to mark off what you order as you go through the cafeteria line. Fortunately there are lots of pictures to help with selecting. After you eat you stop at a booth on the way out and they tally up what you ate and you pay. The food itself is inexpensive and basic. I tried the Hungarian goulash and my wife the local goulash. I decided mine was better - it had more spice and flavor. The bread dumplings while good for sopping up the gravy were just OK. Worth a stop to experience an old school dining hall that the locals flock to. read more

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Fried Gouda cheese 48%, mashed potatoes 179kc It was crowded but worth visiting. Recommend it read more

Our second time coming here (first a few years back). Great affordable way to get a good meal with lots of options and simple cafeteria style atmosphere to order but once grab a table it's relaxed and nice wooden booths that feel private enough and old world charm. read more

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Came at around Lunch time on a Thursday and there was a longish line to get the food and finding a table can be difficult if in a group, otherwise there is very quick service and all the food looks really good. Nice prices aswell. read more

Havelská Koruna - Beef Goulash with bread dumplings and Pilsner Urquell - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

We had such a delicious meal here. At first we were a bit confused but then they instructed us to grab a tray and order by number at the counter. We easily found a table and were comfortable eating our delicious dinner. read more

Havelská Koruna - Fried cheese was amazing! - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

Came here because I wanted to try traditional Czech food even though I anticipated it would probably not be digested well. How it works is that you wait in line for food, tell the workers what you want (they don't do modifications), take your tray, find somewhere to sit and eat, and then finally pay at the end when you leave. There are lots of food options which can be overwhelming, but luckily everything has a photo to reference. They even tell you which dishes are the most popular. Everything is affordable, and you can eat a quick meal here if the line isn't too long. The seating is limited though, but the turnover is fast. I had the Moravian Pork Sparrow w Cabbage & Potato Dumplings. The potato dumplings were so filling and made me feel like I just competed in a food competition. Glad I tried it, but I'm just not used to eating Czech food and would have preferred something a bit lighter. read more

Havelská Koruna - Moravian Pork Sparrow w Cabbage & Potato Dumplings - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

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A cafeteria style traditional Czech restaurant in the heart of praha 1 amongst all the tourist spots. It's off the main strip but it is definitely worth tracking down and coming in to enjoy a meal. Probably one of the best deals in the area. Most plates are $5 or less and the beer is even cheaper. Just make sure you know what you want by the time you get to the front of the line with your lunch tray because the ladies have very little Patience since there are plenty of locals waiting behind you to get their lunch. read more

Havelská Koruna - Stewed pork with creamy sauerkraut and bread dumplings - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

havelská koruna is a canteen style czech restaurant located in old town. it's a no-frills spot to try a lot of different traditional czech food for some of the lowest prices in the area. in my opinion though, you're getting what you pay for lines vary but when we went for dinner there was only a short queue. grab a tray, look at the menu (pictures and english) and take a seat to eat. bring your ticket to the exit in order to pay when you leave. i got the half portion (~70czk) of the goulash with bread dumplings (they charged 18czk. the half portion is good if you're not hungry but the amount of beef is very small and the dish is mainly sauce. i found it to be too salty for me. the bread dumplings were standard. my mom got the #1 dish, the steak with cream sauce and bread dumplings. the cream sauce is quite sweet which i wasn't expecting and wasn't really my preference. the steak doesn't taste like steak, more like regular meat. good portion size for normal order. overall it's a good place to try czech dishes low risk because it is inexpensive. however, i thought the food tasted so so (maybe i just didn't like the dishes we ordered though). it would be good to come with friends and split a bunch of dishes. they also have a dessert counter too read more

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Simple, good, Czech food at a very affordable price. Cafeteria style so you take a tray and then order by number. Beer on tap if course! It's easy to find a table and the ambience is traditional. Lots of locals. Highly recommend for lunch. Close to the main tourist square but out of the hubbub. read more

Havelská Koruna - Pork Schnitzel and Moravian pork sparrow and borscht - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

If you like traditional Czech food and great price this is the place. We ordered for delivery at home to avoid restaurant noise. It came as expected. Still warm. Serving size was perfect! Did not last long! ;-( I will order again when visiting Prague. YUM! read more

Affordable and delicious! If you don't have time for a sit in restaurant, this cafeteria style place is satisfying. Grab a tray, order, get a ticket, then pay when leaving. We ordered #1. Svickova (sirloin with cream sauce and bread dumplings, #4A Gulyas (Beef Goulash), #8 Kurekci maso (creamy paprika chicken with pasta), #6A fried Gouda, refreshing dark beer. All hearty, authentic, and decent portions. read more

Havelská Koruna - Svickova! - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

Did not eat here so can't say much about the food. When I tried to order every dish we were interested in was not available, asked about salads and a bowl of something in plastic wrap was thrown at me. Zero ambiance. read more

The "lunch ladies" at Havelska Koruna, a rustic, cafeteria-style restaurant, dish up plates of traditional Czech food behind a metal steam table. The atmosphere was old-school yet clean and charming, making it a great place to escape the tourist bustle of Prague. The Svickova na smetane was a dish made of a slice of beef sirloin topped with a spiced cream sauce and a dollop of cranberry sauce, along with airy bread dumplings; and the Moravsky vrabec (Moravian sparrow) was made of crispy, tender cubes of pork shoulder in a savory meat sauce, served with sauerkraut and dense, chewy potato dumplings. Both of these dishes were flavorful, meaty, and delicious, and the bread/potato dumplings were the perfect vessels for soaking up the sauces. We also got a side of Shepherd's salad, made of chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers, topped with grated sheep cheese. The chopped vegetables had a refreshing crunch, and the cheese added just the right saltiness to the salad. Overall, this was a great place to stop for a simple yet delicious meal that came at an extremely affordable price! read more

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Cheap and easy food for when you want to try a variety of traditional Czech food. It's a canteen style, where the worker hands you a paper at the entrance, and as you order your food at the cafeteria-style line of hot foods. When you tell the people at the counter what you want, you hand them your slip of paper and they write down what you got. You then hand this to the worker at the door before leaving to pay. I got the small portion of the goulash and potatoes, and it was the most flavorful thing I've had in Europe thus far! I couldn't even begin to describe the types of spices and seasonings they used, but it was great. I read that the Czech version is thicker and stewier than the original Hungarian Goulash, but I think the consistency was just right. We went at around 6pm on a Thursday night and they had sold out of a few dishes already, so I would recommend getting there a little earlier if you want to guarantee a wider variety. read more

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As Anthony Bourdain said "Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o'clock". Do that here and you got a damn good meal my guy.

Unfamiliar with Czech food but interested in indulging? Then you definitely need to check out this spot here for some great Czech dishes at very affordable prices. It was so good that my friend and I came here twice in two days for lunch. Havelska Koruna is a cafeteria style eatery where you can sample some of the best homemade Czech dishes. Located in the center of Prague, their menu is accompanied with English on most items that seem a bit more tourist friendly. When you first enter the restaurant, you are given an ordering sheet that you take to the different stations to order your food. You've got plated dishes, stews, beer, etc. to choose from, and you can go back up as many times as you'd like. We headed straight to the Czech dishes area where they plate a dish for you with a protein, side, and sauce to top it all off. Note that everything (including the sauce) is an additional fee. My recommendation: get anything in stewed pork and potatoes. The pork here was very flavorful with the sauce options that they provide. While it can be a bit on the saltier side, use the sides to help mask some of that flavor. Plus, the side of potatoes (both mashed and baked) themselves were phenomenal. Once you've filled your tray with some of the best Czech in town, you'll have to find a seat- and that is the hard part. When you come during peak lunch time, it can be hard to find a spot. Be open to asking for folks to share a table with you if they've got some space. It never hurts! Your plate will likely come up to be about 150kc - 200kc which is not terrible at all for a hearty meal. read more

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A friend recommended this place for our travels to Prague. Did not disappoint, food was awesome and reasonably priced.

Good food at a good price. Dinner cost about $10 US per person. We went around 7p and unfortunately it seemed like they were out of several things. No worries though, they had a menu of about 40 items. read more

Havelská Koruna - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

Great cafeteria style restaurant, grab a tray, point or order by number. It's al la carte style. By 7pm every table was filled, mostly with locals. Family of 4, dinner was $37 read more

I watched a vlog on youtube which recommended this place and I am so glad we were able to have a meal there. This place is the definition of traditional home cooking. The restaurant is set up cafeteria style, you pick a tray you are handed a plate and then you get a ticket. After eating you pay up front. The goulash was to die for, and especially on a cold night , it was the perfect hearty meal. you could taste the paprika, chili in the gravy and the big chunks of meat were seasoned to perfection. The quantity was pretty huge too! and a big plate would cost you about 4$ if that. I wish we had more time to go a second time, but needless to say the next time I am in Prague, I know the first stop I will be making. read more

This is one of the few places I found in Prague's old town that has traditional Czech food. Not my favorite type of food but taste is always subjective. I would never be able to recreate the name of these plates but it's essentially meat in mushroom sauce with bread, and a lentil soup. read more

Havelská Koruna - Czech beer! - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

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I came for lunch and just beat the rush. The food was good and fresh, but I was not too thrilled with the flavor. The sauce on the Svíčková was a little sweeter than I like. It was a good, quick lunch so I could get back to exploring the city. The total cost for the meal including a small beer was very reasonable. read more

Budget-friendly, casual, and yummy - this cafeteria-styled dining establishment is probably one of my favorites in Prague. It was a little confusing at first, but basically: - get a blank ticket from the cashier at the entrance - head to the back of the restaurant and grab a tray - order and give the people behind the counters your slip - take back your slip, find a seat, and pay on your way out! I had no idea what to order, so I asked for recommendations and ended up getting a spicy beef goulash and potato dumplings. Everything was delicious and with beers, our total for two people was around 14 US dollars! read more

Havelská Koruna - spicy beef goulash and dumplings - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

While we were wandering around Prague, we found this restaurant on Yelp for traditional Czech food so we came by around 3pm. It was pretty empty since it was an odd hour to be eating anyways. That was a good thing for us. It's a different type of service to many restaurants that I'm used to in the sense that right when you enter, there's a lady that hands you this paper that you apparently hand over to your server. It's a cafeteria style where whatever you choose to eat, the server will write it on your bill. I got their pork with dumplings dish while SF got their beef. Pretty good! There were plenty of tables to choose from but if you're in a big group, their biggest table is like two benches and there's also an outside area. The food was tasty and when we walked out, we paid with the same lady that gave us the slips. read more

Havelská Koruna - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

This is a fantastic, cafeteria-style restaurant that is both efficient and relaxed. Having lived in the Czech Republic and Slovakia for several years and having sampled food at literally hundreds of restaurants during that time, I can't say this restaurant serves the absolute best versions of the Czech classic dishes. However, without a doubt, I can recommend this restaurant to anyone who visits Praha and wants some good Czech food in an unpretentious environment. As many reviews already expound upon the cafeteria ticket process of getting your food, I'll skip that and get straight to why I really like this place: 1) The cafeteria layout allows you to not only look at each food before you order it (perfect for newcomers), but it also allows you to move at a leisurely pace, possibly holding back for a minute or two just to get an idea of which dishes seem most popular at that time. 2) As you can easily leave your table and pick up another item, there is little worry that you will leave while still hungry. Just bring your tray and ticket to another counter to try something else, or return for seconds if you find something you love. I regularly return for additional dumplings. 3) Although prices at nearly all restaurants in Prague are typically 20% higher than you would find in smaller Czech cities (especially in the little cafe-style establishments surrounding a town square), the prices at Havelska Koruna are quite reasonable. Picking this restaurant over a US chain like TGIFridays will save you a bundle, and provide you with valuable exposure to delicious Czech dishes. This is a perfect place to sample dozens of Czech-specific dishes in a casual environment. I highly recommend this restaurant, particularly to those new to the Czech Republic or only spending a short time in the city. Additional Tip: Many of the classic Czech entrees, particularly those with a sauce, will be served with knedliky (approximately 3" circular slices of steamed dumplings...far tastier than that sounds). One of the most common points of confusion and delay here can be avoided by knowing how many dumpling slices you would like with your food in advance. The servers will love you for holding up three or four fingers (or more) when they're asking how many you would like, especially since this restaurant is typically on the noisy side. read more

I would say i had very low expectations when i entered but it was quite a good experience . Food is good , presentation not the best but food turned to be good read more

Very affordable, casual and authentic Czech cafeteria style restaurant FTW! Glad I found this place because it was exactly what I was looking for and a good change of pace from the chaos of crowded tourist areas. Just at the end of Havel's Market or Havelska. Grab your order slip from the cashier up front as you enter. Then grab a tray and head to the back of the restaurant where at the counters you choose your meals, appetizers, desserts and drinks. I ordered the beef goulash and potato dumplings, Pilsner Urquell 0.5 L as is the custom, and a coca-cola - all for only 185 czk! Cash only in czk. Unfortunately as it was dinner time nearing closing time, Smazak or fried cheese was not available. Some items are listed in English, worst case scenario smile and point to what you'd like to order. Don't lose your order slip and pay at the cashier on your way out. Really enjoyable experience all around. Give this place a try if you're in Prague! read more

Havelská Koruna - Beef goulash, potato dumplings. Pilsner Urquell pivo - Czech Near Me - Prague, Puerto Rico

Awesome experience - so this is what it felt like during the Soviet / Communist days. They hand u a blank dining bill when u enter and then u line up and order ur food at a canteen / cafeteria like place where they handwrite what was ordered. You better make sure everyone in ur party has their own ticket as they get mad if u don't. The food was delicious and the Pilsner Urquell beers were inexpensive, cold and plentiful. Not a high brow foodie experience but one of our best meal experiences in Central and Eastern Europe. read more

Havelska Koruna is this spacious self-service cafeteria of sorts where you can get all the traditional Czech foods you want for significantly cheaper than everywhere else in old town. If you're traveling on a budget, like good food, or just want a chill place to sit down and not be around a bunch of other tourists, this is a good choice. When you go in, the attendant at the door will hand you a piece of paper. Grab that and a tray and head to the back of the restaurant, where you give the people behind the food counter your paper slip. As you tell them what you want and they put it over the counter, they'll mark on the slip what you got. Go sit down and eat, and after you've finished and returned your tray, go back to the person at the front and give them the slip, which will allow them to calculate your total. You then pay and leave, satisfied. I can definitely recommend the mushroom soup and the beef goulash, which is really hearty. Get a beer if you so choose, but if you want water then bring your own, because they make you pay for bottled water instead of just giving you tap, just like everywhere else. read more

Havalska Koruna is like eating authentic Czech food at the house of your grandmother if your grandmother is a mediocre cook. Not everybody's grandmother is Craig Claiborne, you know. Think of your stereotype of restaurant food in Eastern Europe under the Communist Regime and you have Havelska Koruna. Say what you will, they are completely uncompromising. There are no concessions to tourists, yuppies, vegetarians, light eaters or any new food trend since 1953. This is a cafeteria. You go to the back, you read what they have, you say what you want and they ladle it on a plate. Liver and onions with gravy. Plain pork meat. Plain beef. (Sauce is extra but available.) You want cabbage? Ask for it off the menu and they plotz it on your plate. They open at 11 with a full line of dishes and when they run out they run out. There are more choices at lunch than at dinner - which was bad news for the vegetarian who saw most of the things she had come for no longer available at dinner. How is the food? Plain. Liver. Onions. Gravy. Potatoes. Spinach was the green stuff that made children hate spinach. Cabbage was sweetened so that was better. Dessert was plum dumplings with shredded cottage cheese. Grandma's desserts were not always so wonderful either. The dumpling sits in your stomach like a rock. The plums are the boiled to death plums of fruit compote. Old style fruit compote is a duty rather than a dessert. The minced cottage cheese has powdered sugar and a very light syrup poured on it. That part is actually good - but it still comes with the dumpling. The only consolation prize. They serve Czech beer. You drink to drown the sorrows of your meal. If I had grown up eating this kind of food, I would be fat, unhappy and alcoholic. And speaking of Eastern European stereotypes ....... read more

Located on the historic street that houses the greengrocer outdoor vegetable market...I loved staying at a pensione around the corner. Be ready to pay according to how much your plate weighs (hint: bramboraky are heavy!!), and let the olde-school home food and cheap prices begin. Cafeteria style: like the lunch lines of yesteryear, grab a tray and slide it along, pointing at what you want. For me, gulas....forever. Came here a good few times...trapped in time with their fare and their interior, I personally loved it. Not for the foodies, I fear. They might be screaming inside their heads: "methinks not!" read more

Cheap Czech food, I have found thee. The real struggle was figuring out the whole restaurant setup and how to actually get the food. Life has never been so confusing being American. They will give you a slip on paper when you walk in. Pick a tray and you can walk towards the back of the restaurant with the cafeteria-like setup. You pick items off the menu (hung on the walls). The items all have a corresponding id number, which they will write on your paper after you receive the food. Seems simple enough? Except the items are listed in Czech so time to be surprised by your food! LOL. Sometimes it's pretty easy to figure out and you can just point to the food. I ended up with goulash and bread and was perfectly satisfied by that. My meal was probably around $4 or something but was super filling. They also have a salad and dessert section. Bathrooms are located down the stairs. Quick food for anyone who is trying to save some money and be satisfied! read more

Goulash! This place won't win awards for gastronomic feats, but it is a great place to get quick, cheap, straightforward, classical Czech food, especially considering the central location. The decor is quite inviting -- they could have settled for far more utilitarian furniture. As many have said: cash (CZK) only, not much English, don't forget the slip of paper. read more

Some of the best Hungarian goulash, tasty chicken noodle soup, and plentiful beer! I just wish there was more seating.