Bistro Praha’s Czech Delights
It’s an Edmonton institution for over 40 years (since 1977). Bistro Praha has been in the heart of downtown Edmonton for as long as I can remember, and it’s one of the few landmarks which have stayed static over the years of growth in our city.
The restaurant offers Czech delights was originally founded by Frantisek Cikanek, and was located at the old Kelly Ramsey Building before it burnt down in 2009. The restaurant was then purchased by a former worker Sharka Svajgr with family co-owners. She died in February this year, but the legacy of this restaurant lives on.
Bistro Praha is now located at the Empire Building on Jasper Ave and 101 Street, beside Exit E at Central LRT Station.
The interior has an anchor painting of a European landscape of mountains and misty rolling hills, will golden fall trees in the foreground. The furniture is hand-crafted wood with cushioned seats, with matching tables and coat rack. Above waist-level is a more modern walls and fixtures. Overall, it does feel like being in Prague, with the old and hints of modern elements which don’t interfere much with its main features.
Like other European menus, the restaurant offers small entrees (appetizers) to start with, and are one of few remaining establishments to offer half orders, which means it’s always a good opportunity to try several items on the menu in one sitting.
For our entree, we ordered a Prague Egg with Caviar ($14.95). The egg was perfectly poached to order (medium), and oh my, where else in the city can you enjoy caviar with your eggs? This dish comes with garden salad components, a pickle, and cold cuts with mustard.
For the main course, we had a half-order of Wiener Schnitzel (Half $17.95 / Full $24.95), served with a choice of potato salad, lemon and small greens, or tomato and onion salad. We chose the latter. Who knew tomatoes and onions with parsley could be so refreshing to begin a main course?
The wiener schnitzel was of course done the Viennese-style, but at Bistro Praha, this deep fried goodness is prepared according to a famous recipe from old Vienna. The veal was perfectly thin with a lovely golden bread batter. It came with a potato salad as a side.
When it comes to crêpes, there’s no question that’s what we’d likely try out off the dessert offerings. We selected the Crêpe “Henry Christian” for $11.95. We’re not sure who Henry Christian is, but we did find a few churches named after this individual. This dish consisted of steamed kiwi with orange liqueur, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. The tart elements helped to lighten the crêpe after two courses before.
The meal took me right back to my 2016 pilgrimage through Europe. After seeing the sights of Old Town in Prague, along with this gorgeous view from Prague Tower (image below), with the tip the same height from Old Town as the Eiffel Tower in Paris with their French crêpes, the first thing I ate in Vienna (Wien) was of course a wiener schnitzel.
Prices in this article were from November 23, 2019. This post is not sponsored.
