Výčep Restaurant, Prague (2): Kulajda, Halušky and Beef Bourguignon
An old Tesla television set stands at the back of Výčep, and it's on. I'd walked straight past it on my earlier visits; this time I couldn't take my eyes off it, because what's playing isn't sports or the news but a live feed from the pass a few meters away, where the plates get their finishing touches and go out to the waiters. A pub TV that shows cooking instead of soccer.
Výčep Restaurant in Prague's Vinohrady is a modern eastern Moravian pub with a Michelin Bib Gourmand - and this is the report from another lunch, the one I used to check whether the "knockout" from my first article had been a fluke. It hadn't.
Kulajda with Truffle Oil, Halušky with Cracklings
Lunch opened with kulajda, the Czech mushroom-and-dill soup, made here with porcini, egg and pickled mushrooms, for 125 CZK (5 EUR). Truffle oil in a pub soup sounds like it has no business being there, except that here it fit: the mushroom flavor came through strongly, the soup was pleasantly sour and the truffle oil took it up another notch. Kulajda is one of my favorite Czech soups, so the bar was high - and it cleared it without breaking a sweat.
The second course sent lunch one country over: Slovak halušky, little potato dumplings, baked in lard with sheep's bryndza and smoked cracklings, buried under crispy fried onions, for 285 CZK (11.40 EUR). I'll keep the description short, because the dish doesn't need a longer one: simple, hearty, perfect.
Beef Bourguignon and a Strawberry Sundae
The main course then traveled all the way to France: beef shoulder bourguignon with mashed potatoes, carrot, button mushrooms and pickled onions for 295 CZK (11.80 EUR). Boeuf bourguignon is a French classic, and on the menu of a Vinohrady pub it looks as unexpected as that television - and just as much at home. The beef melted on the tongue and the grilled carrot was a beautiful centerpiece of the plate. I love mashed potatoes and I know how much can go wrong with them, even though plenty of people write them off as a simple side - these were superb. The whole plate looked every bit as good as it tasted.
This time there was a choice for dessert: next to the classic choux ring, the lunch menu had a strawberry sundae with vanilla whipped cream for 185 CZK (7.40 EUR). Freshly whipped cream dusted with grated lime zest, under it a scoop of strawberry ice cream ringed with pickled strawberries and lemon balm, and right on top a Štramberk ear - a crisp Moravian gingerbread cone planted in a Prague sundae.
Lunch with a View into the Kitchen
Another visit only confirmed it: Výčep is a knockout. You'll find it among the Czech holders of the Michelin Bib Gourmand. And if you're heading there, do one thing better than I did: it took me several visits to notice the television at all, so sit down right away where you can see it. The feed from the pass is a lovely little curiosity, and I could watch it out of the corner of my eye all evening.
Výčep
