Problem
We had hunted all over Prague for somewhere Michelin standard to eat and the top restaurants seemed too expensive. Then we found two in one day. The other one was the TV tower, out of town.
Answer
The most centrally located is the dancing house. If you are staying in or near the old town or spending the afternoon there you can walk to the dancing house (and save on a taxi fare).
Story
HISTORY
The building was a bomb site for many years after WWII. I won't say that's a sad story (don't know whether people inside lived or died) though obviously the landlord of the day would have been devastated, and it's a tut tut story for the Allies who apparently mistakenly bombed Prague thinking it was Dresden. (Why? Many armies, not only terrorists, drug soldiers sent on dangerous missions go give them courage and daring, so if you have to be drugged up to go on a flying mission, which in wartime is not for those with a fear of flying nor a fear of dying, that might account for a few so-called 'friendly fire' 'errors') But I digress. Let's stick to the jolly stuff.
ARCHITECTURE
The Dancing House is certainly a masterpiece. Out of disaster comes opportunity, as the motivational speakers want us to believe and here's a prime example. To fill the space in prime position facing the river (with a VIP living next door), somebody called in world famous architect Gehry (who designed the sail shaped Guggenheim art museum which is the focal point of tourism in the riverside city of Bilbao in Northern Spain). The Gehry effect is to attract tourism to any city or area which was in the doldrums.
I'd seen the dancing house in passing previously and considered it an oddity. Not as pretty as the curvy Gaudi buildings in Spain which are also more ornate. But it has many features which are more obvious inside. In my view a great building has the elements of:
1 Curves
2 Colours (or white rather than black)
3 Practical
4 Pretty
5 Surprising - the wow factor
6 Co-ordinating with surroundings, yet adding
7 Neat symmetry
8 Restful - eg a water feature such as a reflective pond or fountain
9 A focal feature, a centre
10 A grand entrance
11 Entertainment inside
12 Sensual surfaces
13 Glamour or luxury - such as gold or marble
14 A free element for the onlooker
15 Souvenirs
16 Safe
17 Welcoming
18 Friendly
19 Entertaining
20 Instructional - a learning experience.
Entertainment can be active or passive - watching others, letting them decide, entertaining you as you watch others pass, or teaching you a skill.
1 Curves (and 5 and 6). It's difficult for a building to both surprise and match the surroundings. The Dancing House scores on surprise. It does have curves, but unsettling curves in the supporting pillars. You wonder how it stays up. The supporting pillars are solid looking.
2 The colour is white. (How do they keep all that glass clean?)
3 Practical. Yes, there's a lift. No miles of walking. Terrace for smokers.
4 Pretty? The view of the floodlit hilltop castle is seen all over the city, but the view here is across the river, unobstructed - unless you are stuck behind the pillar as I was. We swapped seats half way through the meal so I got my share of the view.
I thought the Fred room with its white draped ceiling was prettier, larger, jollier. The glass Ginger room has only about five tables, so more secluded. We could not hear the people at the next table, although we could hear loud American voices and a shrill child, a high-pitch boy at the back.
5 Constant surprise. You keep noticing more things. The chair backs are wavy, diagonal, at least two different styles. Or maybe if you put two diagonal back chairs back to back you get the illusion of two different styles. Later we noticed some dining chairs had paintings of animals on the back.
The first surprise is the pencil with your knife and fork wrapped in a napkin. The second surprise is the place mat of thin card shaped like a palette. It is not for mixing colours but for you to draw on.
They should have give you a 2B pencil, not HB, and pointed out the water colours for sale upstairs.
Only when I went for a wander did I discover that the upstairs bar had souvenirs for sale and a cabinet displayed artwork done by visitors.
FRED AND GINGER
When I heard the name of the restaurant, Fred and Ginger, I thought that like Marks and Spencer, they were the names of the owners or chefs. No. Fred and Ginger are Fred Astaire and Giner Rogers, dancers, to match the name of the building The Dancing House.
A picture of the two dancers is in the building. We missed the significance of the picture on the way in, but noticed it after we knew what it meant. I also loved the quotation on the wall:
They were both great dancers. Fred was a great dancer. But Ginger danced just as well, backwards, in high heels.
FUN FACTORS
1 The outside of the building.
2 The drawing materials.
3 Animal pantings on the backs of chairs.
4 Odd shapes of chair backs.
5 Two different styles of dining room.
6 Upstairs bar / observation deck if you have no time nor money for dinner.
7 Cheese trolley shaped like a cow with cow's rear protruding at one end into the space between tables - from a nearby table I saw this first.
8 Ginger and Fred theme inside matching the exterior.
FOOD
Finally the food. Prettily presented. A small free surprise taste compliments of the chef. Plentiful portions. Enough for us to take some home for the next day. Every dish a delight to look at. Wonderful food with the wow factor.
Can't wait to go back. Next time I shall take my own pencil and watercolours.
Tips
If you are entranced by your partner, or family, you might not mind seeing the view on the way in and out and looking at your loved one(s). But if you want a view and are stuck behind the pillar, swap seats half way through the meal to give everybody a turn.
Which room? I preferred the Fred room, the concrete room which is cosier with its white draped ceiling. My dining companion preferred the picture window glass room, like a conservatory, the Ginger, which I thought looked colder and emptier. I'd like to be in the Fred room as a change on a second visit because I was in the Ginger room the first time. On a first visit either will do. I asked how they decided which room diners would be allocated. A waiter told me that it might depend when you booked and how many bookings they had when you booked, and other factors.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram. Please like my posts and share.
