Where can you eat in Prague without having a full meal?
I highly recommend the Green Stove, for the decor and the owner. We were staying at the Golden Star hotel next to the castle on the hilltop in Prague. On our last day it was pouring with rain. So we just went a few steps in either direction exploring the nearby street which is full of amusing shops, restaurants and bars. A few steps uphill was the Green Stove, advertising a free coffee or tea with any cake.
Story
In we went. At lunch time they were full, only a few tables, so we had to take the last table for two just inside the doorway. I put my feet down and discovered we were sitting at a table with the rocking pedal of an old sewing machine.
I went to the counter to look at the cakes and saw some postcards. The waitress told me that I could see them on the door of the toilet.
I had wanted the vanilla cheesecake but was persuaded to have another cake, which had fruit on top. It wasn't a cheesecake and I'm sorry I didn't stick to my original choice. Having persuaded me to choose the more healthy option, my companion then chose a meringue, the unhealthiest concoction imaginable, consisting entirely of sugar (and egg white). The meringue wasn't in the special offer but cost extra.
My long latte was good and my companion was pleased with his genuine mulled wine. We had looked at mulled wine sold from kiosks around the castle and weren't sure that the so called mulled wine contained spices, or was just hot wine. We had found the real thing.
The owner Martin was an entertainment. He told me three interesting things. I said it was a pity Kafka had not visited the place, or passed by.
He said the road outside was originally the king's highway for approaching the castle, before the new entrance was built. Kafka had almost certainly used this street.
The pub is called the green stove because it has the old green tiles below the counter.
Finally, his name, Martin, which is both Czech and English, comes from the Roman for the God of war.
We had a discussion on language and I was sorry to leave.
Tip
Enjoy one of the tables on the left hand side of the room.
The toilet door locks on the first door, not the cubicle.
More pictures in the next post.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
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