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Husova 228/17, Staré Město, 110 00 Praha 1, Czechia
Nearest Square: Staroměstské náměstí
Nearest Metro Stop: Staroměstská
Hours: 15:00 – 23:00, Monday-Sunday
Reservations: +420 222 221 111
- Quality and/or choice of drinks – 8/10
- Style and Décor – 8/10
- Character, Atmosphere and/or Local Life – 8/10
- Amenities, Events & Community – 6/10
- Value for Money – 8/10
- The Pub-Going Factor – 8/10
Anyone with a mild interest in the European bar scene orthe city of Prague will no doubt have heardofU Zlatého Tygra (At The Golden Tiger), the historicCzech pub andcity institution basedslap-bang in the tourist hub ofPrague’s old town.
Reading about the pub’s stories,its literary connectionsand seeing the photosof Bill Clinton andhis ilktucking into schnitzel and beer sat among localsmay generate a degree of excitementalone, butI will beup front with youabout the good – andnot so good– aspects of U Zlatého Tygra.
Let’s begin with the good stuff first, of which there is plenty!
The pub signage with its bas-relief tiger and gold lettering is striking and one of Prague’s trueicons.The signindicates not only thebusinessbut also thehistoricalidentity of the building, which pre-dates its current use. The interiorhashosted various previousoperations such as a patriotic café and reading room before the second world war, andundergone rebrandssuch as U černého tygra (The Black Tiger), U kopáčů (The Dice), and U Kraftů (The Craft) in the past. Its literaryleanings continued through the 20th Century, not least due to the patronage of writer Bohumil Hrabal, (now made permanent life President) who had a favourite area of the pub in which he would hold forth on the topics of the day, and just as often sit there quietly absorbing the atmosphere and consumed in his own thoughts. Hrabal passed away shortly before the turn of the century,but the pub keeps his memory alive in the best way possible, with tributes that are lovinglywell-pitchedbut don’t turn the place into a shrine.
The entranceisbased down an alleyway rather than on the street-front which I generally quite like as this increases a sense of cosiness and clandestine activity, vital for building the atmosphere in traditional venues like this. Heading inside, the design and layout is an archetypal Czech pub with communaltables, bench-seats installed along the walls, woodenpanels, cream (going on yellow)walls andthose curved arches so typical of the pivnice style. The stained glass windows (with tiger insignia) allow light in but effectively block out activity from the busy street, creating that cocoon-like feel that most of the best Czech pubs offer.
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Look around and note manyframed photographswhichpresent thethree key themes of the pub – tigers (of course), famous patrons from sport, art and politics and,as could be predicted:Pilsner Urquell. Thislager, while brewed by Plzeňský Prazdrojin Pilsen, not inPrague, is neverthelesssynonymous with Pragueand Czechia due to its ubiquity. The Golden Tiger was only the second pub in the city of Pragueto secure a contract to service it so there is a long-standing connection not likely to be severed or alteredany time soon.
When you consider the old town mean average pricefor a half-litre of Pilsner Urquell, theprices hereare fair-to-middling given the central location,and the first pint of itarrives without your say so (as does a second and a third unless you make a point of putting the mat over your drink). Beware, if you turn up thirsty you could easily find yourself processing several glasses in short order. This is one of those pubs where it’s virtually impossible to leave without at least two.
A slight quirk is an insistenceon using0.45l glassesmeaning they gain 10% on each beer.Annoying and cynical, but not worth fussing over too much.
The place sells very little else to drink (see their menu here), and even has a policy of not serving spirits! Highly unusual as nearly every otherpub in the countrywill offer you at least Slivovitz, Becherovkaor Fernet Stock.
U Zlateho Tygra was for decades and up until the war a bit of an all-boy’s club,refusing women service anddirectingthem tofind the nearest cinema while the menfolk held forth in the pub. However, this culturewas broken in fittingly macho fashion bya woman called Lady Helenka, as the tale goes:
“She came here with her fiance Vaclav Prymek, who was an officer and an army pilot. When Lady Helenka was stopped at the door, she promised to keep track. And when the waiter counted the lines on the bill, there were 44 of them. Lady Helenka managed 22 beers that evening, as did her future husband. The waiter laid a white napkin in front of Helenka on the floor, kneeled down and said: Madam, this seat by the counter will always be yours, even if the Egyptian king Faruk comes in.”
22 pints? Sounds crazy but you wouldn’t rule it out.
Nowsome bad stuff. A famous pub is, as you’d expect, a popular one, with the problem that it cannot accommodate locals and tourists at the same time without losing itsappeal pretty quickly.Therefore they have strucksome form of compromise.
You may or may not be aware that Czech pubspermit reservations even for the right to perch on a bar stool. This system, so unlike the first-come-first served approach in English pubscan result in disappointment. At U Zlatého Tygra you may as well forget even trying to turn up in the evening unless you have reserved your spot wellin advance,though it may be worth enlisting a Czech friend to help secure that.
In the evenings, as there are reservationsit feels almostlike a private member’s club where you need to stay all evening to get full value for the exclusivity.
Here comes the compromise:there is a way in but it relies on your being prepared to begin drinking mid-afternoon, not always everyone’s favourite starting point. Turn up at 2.50pm, 10 minutes before opening time,join the queue (which at this point may be snaking around the front of the building), and if you’re in the front 30 or so you should be assured of a seat unless you’re in a large group. If you see people pushing in at the front then choose whatever retribution you see fit.
This may not be a concern of yours, but I feel a certainduty, given that I am waxing lyrical about the place,to point out that U Zlatého Tygra is not a museum, and the enduringappeal is because it is not spectacular but authentic and traditional. Even though there is some nice stained glass and a sturdypreserved atmosphere, it’s hardly La Sagrada Familia. Therefore, treat it as the pub it is meant to be – eat, drink and be merry. If you show the staff the respect you would show a host who invited you in, you will not be badly treated.
Inevitably, the authenticitycan be occasionallyvandalisedby sometourists who believe it to be a fairground ride instead of a pub. Their behaviour is offset in amusingly curtfashion by the servers who adopt an uncompromisingly stony-faced approach to anyone who isn’t their mates and anything they regard as bullsh*t (quite a long list).
This is – depending on your point of view –chauvinistic, deeply cynical in order to maintain their asset, or their absolute right as publicans.
While this can be intimidating, consider it a pushback against the place being overrun with tourists and gentrified, as it surely would be without a little resistance.
While it is easy to have a pop at tourists, in one sense their custom helps keep the philosophy of the place alive – people from all walks of life sitting around together and enjoying themselves. The pub website explains further through this anecdote:
“There is the story, in which the pre-war French Prime Minister Herriot visited U Zlatého Tygra. He was accompanied by the section chief of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a permanent guest U Zlatého Tygra. They bought pork neck with bread and mustard and fitted incognito in the beer hall . While Herriot was drinking, showed to the opposite side and said : “There is sitting thechair of the Chamber of the Deputies of the Parliament Malypetr, but the gentleman sitting next to him I do not know . ” – The section chief said: ” There is sitting a master of painting from Melantriška. ” Herriot greeted again and then whispered : “But there is sitting the president of the Administrative Court , but the gentleman next to him I do not know. ” Also the guide did not know. Then their neighbour to the rightsaid:” This is a manufacturer of funeral lamps from Karlovka. ” – Surprised Herriot turned to that neighbour and asked : ” And who are you ? “That gentleman raised up his glass and answered” I am a caretaker from Skořepka, please . ” – Then the Prime Minister declared : ” Gentlemen, fault! Democracy is not in France but here ! “
Once the crowdsare seated, and after their first beers have been extinguished theatmosphere inside quickly gets going.Among them,comfortable and surrounded by the excitable friendlycrowd, with dishes of hot food emerging from the kitchen,itreally feelslike the place to be.
Whilst seatedyou will notea stouttapster workingflat outto replenish glasses, pausing the flowonly to greet and converse withthe stamgastywhose presenceensures this most Czech of pubs stays that way.
Due to the tourist trade it’s not somewhere I would choose to go every week– there areotherplaces to go in Prague for an authentic traditional pub experience,without the hype and tourist hordes(Hostomicka Nalevarna, for example, which you can read about by following the link), but there’s no doubtthe Golden Tigerhas a certain sprinkling of magic borne from its history and ultimately its significance. Try it on different dates and times of day in order to work out when to absorb the most local flavour. As hackneyed as it is to say, you can’t really miss out on a pint in U Zlatého Tygra while in Prague. Which, as discussed above, meanstwo.This really is a pub to be reckoned with.
