This week’s Restaurant Review

› Home › Prague Tourist Information › Restaurants in Prague › This week’s Restaurant Review

Are you interested in Beer? Have a look at this article Czech Beer: Extra Special by Evan Rail on the Prague Monitor.

Review from the Prague Business Weekly

Giardino enoteco con cucina

Záhrebská 24, Prague 2
Open:Mon-Sun 09-23H
Tel: 222 513 427

This restaurant is close to our Luzicka Apartment.

So often, it seems dining in Prague means settling for inattentive service by waiters who can’t be bothered or, worse, regard the customer as a source of irritation.

How refreshing it was, then, to go to Giardino, an Italian eatery that opened a few months ago on a calm street near nám?stí Míru. None of the service shortcomings for which Prague has become infamous can be found at Giardino. On the contrary, the staff was exceptional.

We were immediately and kindly welcomed by a server who showed us to an open table. At 9 p.m. on a Saturday night, we didn’t need a reservation. The atmosphere of the restaurant was relaxed, with an understated elegance. The comfortable, inviting decor was accentuated by warm, muted earth tones: walls painted soft moss green and light chocolate brown, and chairs upholstered in eggshell-colored cotton. A selection of pop music favorites one might call adult contemporary played softly in the background.

The staff was attentive without being obtrusive or overbearing, gracious but not cloying. A number of different servers waited on us, but we didn’t mind as they all seemed open to helping us and interested in making our experience a good one.

The first thing we noticed about the menu is that there were only two wines by the glass to choose from (Kc 85, or € 3.37, each for 0.2 liters). There was, however, an extensive list of wines by the bottle. We would have appreciated a greater single-glass selection, but settled on a glass of pinot grigio, which was good, and a cocktail.

The waiters were helpful in answering our questions about the menu, and when we asked if the ravioli with ricotta and spinach was served with tomato sauce, the waiter said it wasn’t but immediately added that it could be if we preferred, thereby making it clear that any preferences would be happily accommodated.

After ordering, he asked if we would like some bread and, while we said yes, we may have reconsidered had we known that a few slices of average bread would cost Kc 70.

We started our meal with giardino con pomodoro, a green salad, (Kc 125) and insalata cezar, or Caesar salad (Kc 145). Unfortunately they suffered from a bit too much salt. While the vegetables in the green salad were ripe and flavorful, the dressing was flat and oily. Thankfully, there was a bottle of sweet balsamic vinegar on the table.

The Caesar salad, to the chef’s credit, was spared the mayonnaise coating drowning so many Caesars in town, and instead was tossed with a dressing closer to that of the traditional version. What was untraditional were the cucumber slices and bits of bacon.

We ordered the ricotta ravioli (Kc 165), without the red sauce, and the mushroom risotto (Kc 195). The consistency of the risotto was perfect, and the ravioli was thin but savory, but again, both had a little too much salt and lacked depth of flavor. Richer flavors with more dimension would have helped the dishes stand out.

For dessert, we opted for a slice of chocolate cake with a sherry topping and homemade tiramisù (each Kc 95). The tiramisù was rich and classic. A delight. The chocolate cake, also very good, was glazed with a sumptuous ganache. Both servings were large and filling.

At dessert, the staff surprised us with complimentary glasses of limoncello, a lemon liqueur from southern Italy. We very much appreciated this unexpected and generous gesture. Although it was past closing time, the staff was not rushing us. We left feeling contented.

Back to Restaurants in Prague.