La Republica, Prague, Czech Republic

On your second day in Prague, Nancy and I went on Viking’s overview tour of Prague, about which more later, and then walked 15 or so minutes from the hotel over to La Republica. It’s on Na Poříčí just up and across the street from Next Door by Imperial.

There are some seats on the busy sidewalk outside but we chose to sit in the high-ceilinged interior that boasts the “highest bar” in the Czech Republic.

La Republica is a relaxed, casual place that specializes in Czech cuisine. Ithas a very wide selection of beers, most of which have an alarmingly high alcohol content. There’s live music in the evenings.

I ordered a beer, and found that La Republica offers Prague-brewed Staropramen, but no Pilsner Urquell. I gather that places serve one or the other in Prague, but not both, much as places in the United States serve either Coke or Pepsi. That foiled my plan for a side-by-side taste-test — at least until I got on our Viking ship.

We studied the menu as I sipped my Staropramen and then ordered. I started with a duck pâté, and it arrived accompanied by several slices of good brown bread, almonds, some pickled onions, an onion marmalade, and watercress.

I enjoyed the pâté quite a bit. It was a huge serving, enough for two or even three. The flavors were well balanced, with the pickled onions and watercress helping to lighten the very rich dish.

Nancy, who is more sensible than I, ordered baked eggplant. which came atop ratatouille and pesto, and topped by some arugula.

Nancy was delighted with the eggplant. The dish had a good blend of complementary flavors, plus the portion was a reasonable size.

For my main course I ordered a roast duck leg.

I’d hate to run into that duck in a dark alley. The duck leg was huge, 500 grams, according to the menu, and it sat perched atop a mountain of “assorted dumplings and cabbage.” There were two types of cabbage, a red that was a little bit sweet and a white that was a little bit tart. The duck itself had a heavenly crisp skin and moist, flavorful meat underneath. The fried onions on top were a nice touch. This was good duck, and the cabbages were a good accompaniment.

I’m used to dumplings used in chicken and dumplings (puffy) and chicken pastry (flat — see here.) As you can see from the photo, these dumplings were very bready and rather than swimming in moisture like their American counterparts, They didn’t have much flavor, but they were a fine vehicle for soaking the gravy and other juices on my plate. All in all, I enjoyed the meal and ate as much of it as I could.

I was, of course, seriously full by this time. Nancy, who’d ordered sensibly, decided that we needed some apple strudel with raisins and walnuts. You can’t tell from the foreshortening, but It stood at least three inches high and at least seven inches long.

And it was delicious. Remember how on Thanksgiving and Christmas you can gorge on turkey and all the trimmings and still have room for desserts? I’ve read that there’s an extra “shelf” in your stomach that’s always ready for dessert. I have such a shelf, and I did my share or more on the strudel. The crust was light and a little flexible (there’s a touch of vinegar in the dough, as I later learned from an on-board strudel demonstration). The whipped cream was entirely unnecessary, but what the heck, and the mint leaves on top were a nice freshener at the end of the meal.

What a grand meal! And hat a large meal! The food at La Republica is terrific, and I highly recommend it, especially if you go with friends to help share the food. I also recommend that you think ahead and order judiciously. And plan to do a lot of walking (or in my case, waddling) afterwards.

***

And while you’re at it, click “follow” on our front page to receive blog posts in your email box.  Or bookmark us and check in from time to time.  If you’re planning a trip, you can “Search” the name of the destination city, state, or country for good restaurants (in Europe, often close to sites, like the Louvre or the Van Gogh Museum, that you’ll want to visit in any event).  Comments, questions, and suggestions of places to eat or stories to cover are very welcome.  And check our Instagram and Twitter pages, johntannerbbq.