Himalaya

Himalaya is a Nepalese restaurant that shares space in the old water barracks with the Irish bar 'The Crack'. If you've been in Olomouc a few days and are looking for a change from the excellent but heavy traditional local food, Himalaya is the place.

At lunchtime, everything except the entrance foyer is a smoke-free zone, and that's good for non-smoking travellers on a budget, because lunchtime is the best time to go.

Every week day between 11am and 2pm the Nepali chefs serve up a buffet of meat and vegetarian curries, dhal, naan, and home made chutnies to transport your tastebuds to another continent. All you can eat for 100Kč!

The buffet table is in the first main dining room and the usual procedure is to help yourself to a metal tray and cutlery, load up as much as you like and find a seat. It's possible to return to the buffet for more helpings, so there's no need to overload your plate on the first visit. Unfortunately some people confuse all you can eat with all you can waste, so please don't embarrass yourself by joining that club.

There's also an especially good range of drinks, including the renowned Lobkowicz beer from North Moravia, bottled Guinness, Svatovaclavský wheat beer from the microbrewery across town, and an outstanding non-alcoholic Jamaican Ginger beer that's likely to dampen the brows of all but the fieriest spice lovers.

Nepal Himalaya
Mlýnská 4
Tel: 585 208 428

Atlant

Aside from being the largest bowling alley in the centre of town, Atlant also offers a pizza and pasta restaurant.

Bowling is priced per hour per lane. So even with a group of 6 you’d pay the same as when you’re alone. The price varies according to the time of day, the day of the week and the season, Friday or Saturday nights being the most popular and priciest. In the summertime during the day, they frequently offer good discounts. (160-320Kc most of the year, 120-230Kc in summer holidays).

When you arrive to hire the lane the guy at the counter will ask for the names of all the players. You pay for the lane hire after you have finished playing. There is no charge for shoe hire and if you want to play another hour then just ask before your time is up. Staff from the restaurant come into the bowling alley to take drinks orders and you’ll pay them when you leave.

The Atlant restaurant 'Gastroland' offers pizza, pastas and mains at reasonable prices (95-250Kc for mains). They have an English menu, funky fish tanks and a nice view from the front window onto the courthouse building.

Atlant Olomouc
Tř. Svobody 31
Tel: 587420213

Arktic

The main thing you need to know about Arktic is that it's the home of Olomouc's biggest and best Hamburger.

The hamburgers are huge. And they come with fries and a coke for 100Kc. There's a normal hamburger or a chicken version and they are served with salad, cheese and sauce in a baseball-sized sesame seed bun that needs to be held together with a small skewer.

Arktic is above and behind a jewellery and watchmakers' store opposite the old cast-iron lampost where Ostruznicka and Ztracena streets run into Denisova.

Up one flight of stairs, the space has an outdoorsy feel thanks to the cane furniture, the potted plants and the big skylight. Local student artwork is sometimes exhibited on the walls, and the staff seem to have a preference for rap, hiphop and electro music, which is at least a nice change from the golden oldies radio that plays in a lot of the restaurants and cafes. The one tall guy that seems to be there most of the time speaks English quite well.

Arktic also has a fast food outlet where they make baguette sandwiches while you wait with your choice of fresh ingredients. It's on Havlickova not far from Olomouc's busiest nightlife area and is open at least until midnight.

The big burgers are available at both locations and they're the best reasons to seek out either Arktic. Just don't leave your appetite at home.

Arktic cocktail bar and restaurant
Denisova 6
Tel: 585 203 003

Arktic casual food
Havlíčkova 11
Tel: 585 222 223

The Crack

One of two ‘Irish’ pubs in Olomouc, the Crack is housed in several brick arch-roofed rooms connected by more exposed brick archways. Full of armchairs and couches, the only problem will be finding a vacant one since, as well as locals, the bar is very popular with international students from Olomouc’s Palacky university.

It’s true that Crack should be spelt Craic, but if you pronounce ‘Craic’ in the Czech way, it doesn’t sound like the kind of place you would go willingly. The owner is a Scottish bloke and would have spelt it the Gaelic way if he’d wanted to.

The bar serves Guinness and Kilkenny, but only from bottles. Probably a better option is to try one of the local brews, such as Kelt (36Kc), a dark, thick, creamy, Guinness-like substance. A second choice is Velvet (32Kc) which is an English-style bitter.

The bar is open from 11am to 1am Monday to Thursday, till 2am on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday from 4pm to 2am and 1am respectively. The kitchen is only open on weekdays, from 11am- 2pm and 6pm to 11pm.

The Crack is also the home of Himalaya, a Nepalese restaurant run by Nepalese people, which means authentic food; No “Czechalese”! See ‘Himalaya’ for more info.

The Crack Irish Pub
Mlýnská 938/4
Tel: 585 208 428

Café/Restaurant Caesar

Inside the town hall building is one of the best situated restaurants in Olomouc. Caesar serves Italian food under the gothic vaults of the 14th Century radnice. Prices here are the same as any other restaurant in town of the same standard.

There is a non-smoking section to the left as you enter the restaurant. In the main hall there is a view through to the interior courtyard of the town hall where summer time concerts are sometimes held. Exhibitions of local artists’ works are often colouring the walls.

In summertime Café Caesar has a large beer garden comfortably sitting beside the astronomical clock. Food is available here as well. The wait staff of Café Caesar are well known for their surliness; don’t take it personally.

We can highly recommend the pasta dish Penne con Melanzane (tomato/eggplant) for 105Kc, pizza Capricciosa for 144Kc (480g) or 170Kc (640g) or Insalata Thessa (chicken, fruit and nut salad) 75Kc.

The kitchen is open until 22.00 daily and the restaurant closes at 24.00.

Cafe Caesar
Horní náměstí - radnice, Olomouc
Tel: 585221472

Drapal

Drapal has a long history in Olomouc. During communism it was one of the nicest restaurants in Olomouc. It suffered a few years as a dingy, old fashioned staple after the 1989 revolution but has recently been turned into a Pilsner Urquell themed restaurant. Consequently, although you could find the same offerings in any Pilsner Urquell restaurant, the menu is very good and the beer good quality and the prices standardised.

The left hand section of the pub is always non-smoking and the right hand is non-smoking until 14.00. Both sides have lofts to maximize the capacity. The openness of the rooms and large windows contribute to a cheery atmosphere. Typical customers are in the mid 20’s to mid 50’s age range.

Pilsner Urquell’s cheaper cousin, Gambrinus, costs 22Kc but if you’re after the real thing, a Pilsner Urquell is 28Kc. Sometimes they offer speciality beers too. Vegetarian risotto is good value at 80Kc and Pork Steak Lostice which is served with the local Olomouc smelly cheese, Tvaruzky, costs 165Kc.

Drapal is a popular pub and is open until midnight every day except Sunday when they close at 23.00.

Drápal
Havlíčkova 1
Tel: 585225818

Green Bar

Green Bar is Olomouc’s vegetarian salvation, in the style of a traditional Czech lunch-time buffet. Customers take a tray and serve themselves from the selection of salads and vegetarian hot meals.

At the end of the line the cashier will weigh your plate and tell you how much to pay. The price per 100g is around 17 Kc, which means a big plate (500grams) works out to less than 90Kc. It’s cheap and mostly healthy food. Help yourself to the drinks from the fridges or drink machines and pay along with your food at the end of the line.

Green Bar is busiest around midday when people are on their lunch breaks and it closes at 5pm so don’t plan to have dinner there. The atmosphere is a bit like a school canteen but you’ll often meet art students and trendy young hippies chowing down on soya meat and mung bean sprouts there.

Green Bar is open weekdays and Saturdays from 10am until 5pm.

Green Bar
Ztracená 3
Tel: 777 749 285

Hlava 21

Hlava 21 is a funky modern restaurant/bar/club tucked away in a backstreet (Uhelna) behind the lower square near Olomouc’s old brewery. The décor ranges from cool to scary, depending on the artworks that are hanging in the main dining area. Service is generally good and the crowd is mostly people from their 20s to 40s.

Food here is usually very nice and the lunchtime menus offer an interesting selection of meals for under 100Kc but bring a menu decoder as they don’t have an English menu.

One of the best things about this bar is its cocktail menu and their prices. They sometimes have a happy hour for cocktails after 11pm week days or after midnight on weekends. There might even be happy hour in the afternoon between 15-19.00 (that’s more than an hour!). A non-alcoholic cocktail will cost under 40 Kc and the real thing is usually priced between 80Kc and 130Kc.

There is also the chance to wow fellow punters on karaoke nights. The selection of songs in English or languages other than Czech isn’t huge but there are enough standards with badly spelled names to get you rockin.

Opening times are 11-24.00 Monday to Thursday and 11 – 03.00 on Friday and Saturday nights. Sundays 12 – 23.00.

Hlava 21
Uhelná 21
Tel: 776662330

Jazz Tibet Club

Jazz Tibet Club is a non-smoking venue that holds regular concerts ranging from jazz, blues and rock to reggae and funk. There are concerts most Thursday nights during the academic year. When there is no live performance they tend to play good music on the sound system.

The Jazz club is a long open hall with an arched ceiling and murals on the walls and the furniture is all wooden. The bar is under the mezzanine floor opposite the stage, but there’s always table service and the wait staff eventually find their way through even the thickest crowds.

If you’re seeing a concert there, you’ll get a numbered slip of paper at the door. It’s very important not to lose it. Your drinks will be marked on it by the waiters and the security staff will not allow you to leave if you cannot present it with the imprint of the club’s PAID stamp. It’s clearly explained at the bottom of the slip (in Czech) that if you lose it, they will calculate your drinks bill at 2000Kc. That’s enough for one main meal and 85 glasses of beer.

The Jazz Club is also a quite reasonable restaurant. It has a good menu; Turkey skewer is ? Kc and chicken with lemongrass is . The coffee is well made and there’s an extensive drinks list, as the owners of the Jazz Club also have a small wine store.

Tibet Jazz Club is open Monday through Saturday until midnight, but the kitchen closes at 10pm.

Jazz Tibet Club
Sokolská 48,
Tel: 585230399

Moritz Microbrewery

Moritz was Olomouc's original non-smoking microbrewery, and remains a highlight of the pub scene in the city.

The bare wooden floorboards, coloured glass windows, ceramic coasters and checkered tablecloths give Moritz the feel of a classic old school beer-hall.

At one end of the L-shaped space, plate glass windows offer a peek into the brewing room where Moritz's three beers slowly ferment in their open-topped vats. There are no organised tours of the microbrewery but if you're there during the daytime and the brewmaster overhears you speaking English and showing a genuine interest, you might be lucky.

Moritz attracts patrons of all ages, which is a refreshing change from some of Olomouc's student venues where a thirty-year-old can be the oldest person in the pub by about eight years.

The main beers are the 10° Moritz, the 11° Maisel half-dark and the stronger Moritz 12°. Start with the 10° and work your way up. The CAMRA 'Good Beer Guide to the Czech Republic' rates them all either 4.5 or 5 stars.

The menu is of similar quality. Dishes range from the 42Kč spicy sausage snack up to 210Kč for the monster pork knee or 230Kč for the 200g prime beef steak in mushroom sauce. Try the pork with plum sauce for a real taste of the local region.

In summer there's a large outdoor seating area (smoking permitted) and Moritz is the favourite pub of many an Olomouc local. The only negatives are connected with its popularity; it's sometimes hard to get a seat and the wait staff can be brief when they're under pressure.

One of the best pubs and the best beer for miles around might just be worth the wait though.

Moritz microbrewery
Nešverova 2
Tel: 585205560

9a Bar & Boulder

The enigmatically named 9a (the number given to the most difficult of rock-climbing routes) is a basement bar opposite the mill channel not far from the cathedral. Its main drawcard is the fact that it has a bouldering room set up with hand and footholds across the walls and ceiling above a thick layer of mats for anyone with finger-strength more suited to beer glasses.

Throughout the bar the original brick and stone walls have been stripped of their plaster and the dark wooden floorboards and blonde wood furniture give the wide uncluttered spaces a warm and comfortable feel.

Halfway between the university library and the student dorms outside the centre, the bar is very popular with uni students but everybody is welcome and the average age of the average crowd is probably around 25.

The prices are as student-friendly as the location. Staropramen 12º is 18Kc for a small glass and 28 for a large, while the Staropramen 10º is 17 for a small glass and 24 for a large (cheaper only at Vertigo and the Outdoor Cinema). If you’re a) not partaking of alcoholic beverages, or b) would like something to mix them with, a cup of tea is 25Kc, soft drinks are 27Kc, Juices 25Kc and Red Bull is 55.

The restaurant serves pasta, hamburgers and tasty fish dishes.

Café Opera

Café Opera beside the Moravian Theatre is an old Olomouc institution that has been renovated and revived in recent years. It’s a popular place with locals for its main square location, summer time outdoor seating, good selection of ice-cream and the children’s playroom at the back.

The ice cream selection and quality is excellent, albeit more expensive than at other ice cream counters. Service, on the other hand, could certainly do with some improvement.

As well as the usual range of cakes and coffees the café serves pizza and pasta.

The main areas in the café are non-smoking but there is a smoking section on the left as you enter the room. You’ll have no trouble finding the children’s playroom, as the squeals and general kids noises will reveal all within your first few steps inside.

Capuccino is 37Kc, tiramisu 31Kc, ice cream 10Kc per scoop, large waffle cones 5Kc, pasta farfalle with mushrooms and chicken is 115Kc.

Open from 8.30-22.00 daily.

St Wenceslas Microbrewery

The old St Wenceslas Microbrewery (Svatovaclavsky Pivovar) was one of Olomouc's best places to try a good locally brewed unpasteurized pivo, until it suddenly stopped serving its own brew and removed many of the seats and tables to make space for electronic gambling machines.

Apparently the owners of the original microbrewery decided it wasn't worth continuing when their landlord radically raised the rent and started searching for a new location.

'St Wenceslas Microbrewery' (Svatováclavský pivovar) was never trademarked so now there are two very different businesses bearing the same name. The new brewery at Mariánská 4 run by the original founders is the one you want.

All the old beers are back. The 10º Vašek (25Kč) is the understudy to the stronger and more flavourful 12º St Wenceslas, 'Mr Brun's 13º dark beer', the wheat beer, cherry beer and flavoured beer (all 31-32Kč a pot) and 'Mr Jošt's half and half' (řezané) which goes for 28Kč.

St Wenceslas' new space has a real old-school beerhall ambience. The double copper boilers watch over the beerhall like a ship's bridge and for sunny days and cigarette smokers there's a big outdoor seating area on the poop deck.

Beneath the brewery is an old cold war nuclear fallout shelter which has been converted into a 'beer spa'. Spa-goers bathe in a large oak tub filled with dark beer and a special mix of herbs, and complimentary light beer is served. The two hour 990Kč spa package also includes a massage and a classic sauna.