(Not a picture of our actual meal, but close enough)
So today, Mrs. Vinny & I headed to the Bistro Praha Cafe for lunch as part of our lunch eat-and-shop adventures. We had seen the cafe during our Co Co Di lunch, and had both read some pretty fantastic reviews about the European fare at this bistro. Needless to say, expectations were high for the food, and low for the atmosphere, when we arrived.
The server was very busy when I first got to the bistro, so I walked into the restaurant and asked him if I should seat myself. I didn't pay much attention to the interior decor of the place, but I did see that the tables had wooden chairs and an "ye olde pub" casual feel to it. The server told me to go ahead, so I chose a table for two in a bit of shade on the patio, and waited for Mrs. Vinny. The server came by right away and asked how many people would be dining, and then promptly brought out 2 glasses of water. He also dropped off the menu, the first half of which offered up quite a few different types of salads, appetizers, and entrees (such as goulash, dumplings, breaded chops, and Hungarian sausage). A separate page was devoted entirely to desserts, describing several types of crepes prepared with a variety of different sauces and fruits. As a virtual non-drinker, I pretty much skipped over the second half of the menu that was dedicated to wines and other spirits and ales.
When Mrs. Vinny had arrived and we had worked our way through the first half of the menu, we both decided to try the half-order of wiener schnitzel; as part of the meal I asked for a green salad with mine, and she asked for a tomato salad with hers. The salads were brought to us right away, and mine was perfectly dressed in Italian dressing. Little squares of some parmesean-looking cheese had been added to garnish my dish, and this provided a nice complimentary flavour to the greens. Mrs. Vinny commented that her salad, which consisted mostly of white onions and tomato pieces, was also perfectly marinated.
The entrees were brought out at a good time, shortly after we had finished our salads. I was surprised (and a little disappointed) to see that the wiener schnitzel didn't come with any type of sauce on the side except for a wedge of lemon; I was, however, happy to see that a scoop of potato salad mash had also been provided. The schnitzel size was quite generous, and though it covered a lot of surface on the plate, it was also thin enough not to be too heavy to eat. I am admittedly not much of a connoisseur for this type of cuisine, but I found the meat to be tender and the breaded coating to be very tasty, in spite of being deep-fried. The schitzel did not taste oily in the least, and was as good as, if not better, than the schnitzel I had tried at Bauernschmaus. The potato salad mash had a hint of lemon taste to it, and was probably my favourite part of the meal. It wasn't laden with mayonnaise, and the portion was the perfect amount.
After we finished off our entrees, the server came by again to take our dessert orders. In spite of myself, I decided to try the apple strudel. I was expecting a very flaky, shortening-heavy pastry similar to those sold
in grocery stores with bakeries, but when the server brought it out, the strudel looked very different from what I had expected. The strudel was served with a large mound of unsweetened whipped cream, and was made with a phyllo-esque crust. The many apples that filled this strudel had been cubed into small pieces, and were not overly sweet to taste. The phyllo crust was also not terribly sweet, and I could not tell if it had been previously sprinkled with any type of sugar. Although it tasted quite good, I have to admit that the strudel didn't wow me at all. In fact, it was a little bit boring, in my humble opinion.
Our half-order schnitzels totaled $9.95 each (before tax), which we still thought to be reasonable for good food in the downtown core. My average-tasting apple strudel cost me $5.25, however, which is anything but average for the cost of a lunch-time dessert. The server took a little while to get back to us to take our payments, which gave us more time to chat. However, we felt a little neglected that he only came by to refill our water once during the meal.
Generally speaking, then, Bistro Praha was a bit disappointing given the rave reviews we had read before coming. It definitely did not live up to its reputation as having the best Euro fare in the city, because surely this is not the best that the city can do for fine European cuisine. It was, however, an affordable meal with good generous portions, and a meal that was well-worth its $10 value. My recommendation is that if you want some goulash or schnitzel, then this is a good and affordable place to go. If you want quality high-end European cuisine in a fine Euro setting, then you may want to go somewhere else.
Rating: 7 / 10
The server was very busy when I first got to the bistro, so I walked into the restaurant and asked him if I should seat myself. I didn't pay much attention to the interior decor of the place, but I did see that the tables had wooden chairs and an "ye olde pub" casual feel to it. The server told me to go ahead, so I chose a table for two in a bit of shade on the patio, and waited for Mrs. Vinny. The server came by right away and asked how many people would be dining, and then promptly brought out 2 glasses of water. He also dropped off the menu, the first half of which offered up quite a few different types of salads, appetizers, and entrees (such as goulash, dumplings, breaded chops, and Hungarian sausage). A separate page was devoted entirely to desserts, describing several types of crepes prepared with a variety of different sauces and fruits. As a virtual non-drinker, I pretty much skipped over the second half of the menu that was dedicated to wines and other spirits and ales.
When Mrs. Vinny had arrived and we had worked our way through the first half of the menu, we both decided to try the half-order of wiener schnitzel; as part of the meal I asked for a green salad with mine, and she asked for a tomato salad with hers. The salads were brought to us right away, and mine was perfectly dressed in Italian dressing. Little squares of some parmesean-looking cheese had been added to garnish my dish, and this provided a nice complimentary flavour to the greens. Mrs. Vinny commented that her salad, which consisted mostly of white onions and tomato pieces, was also perfectly marinated.
The entrees were brought out at a good time, shortly after we had finished our salads. I was surprised (and a little disappointed) to see that the wiener schnitzel didn't come with any type of sauce on the side except for a wedge of lemon; I was, however, happy to see that a scoop of potato salad mash had also been provided. The schnitzel size was quite generous, and though it covered a lot of surface on the plate, it was also thin enough not to be too heavy to eat. I am admittedly not much of a connoisseur for this type of cuisine, but I found the meat to be tender and the breaded coating to be very tasty, in spite of being deep-fried. The schitzel did not taste oily in the least, and was as good as, if not better, than the schnitzel I had tried at Bauernschmaus. The potato salad mash had a hint of lemon taste to it, and was probably my favourite part of the meal. It wasn't laden with mayonnaise, and the portion was the perfect amount.
After we finished off our entrees, the server came by again to take our dessert orders. In spite of myself, I decided to try the apple strudel. I was expecting a very flaky, shortening-heavy pastry similar to those sold
in grocery stores with bakeries, but when the server brought it out, the strudel looked very different from what I had expected. The strudel was served with a large mound of unsweetened whipped cream, and was made with a phyllo-esque crust. The many apples that filled this strudel had been cubed into small pieces, and were not overly sweet to taste. The phyllo crust was also not terribly sweet, and I could not tell if it had been previously sprinkled with any type of sugar. Although it tasted quite good, I have to admit that the strudel didn't wow me at all. In fact, it was a little bit boring, in my humble opinion.Our half-order schnitzels totaled $9.95 each (before tax), which we still thought to be reasonable for good food in the downtown core. My average-tasting apple strudel cost me $5.25, however, which is anything but average for the cost of a lunch-time dessert. The server took a little while to get back to us to take our payments, which gave us more time to chat. However, we felt a little neglected that he only came by to refill our water once during the meal.
Generally speaking, then, Bistro Praha was a bit disappointing given the rave reviews we had read before coming. It definitely did not live up to its reputation as having the best Euro fare in the city, because surely this is not the best that the city can do for fine European cuisine. It was, however, an affordable meal with good generous portions, and a meal that was well-worth its $10 value. My recommendation is that if you want some goulash or schnitzel, then this is a good and affordable place to go. If you want quality high-end European cuisine in a fine Euro setting, then you may want to go somewhere else.
Rating: 7 / 10
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