The James Joyce sits on U Obecniho dvora near the Convent of St Agnes, the Old Town pub that claims the title of Prague's oldest original Irish bar.
Its founding claim is specific and citable, the first pint of draught Guinness in the Czech Republic poured here on 5 November 1993 at 17:59. The pub later took over the U Obecniho dvora address that Molly Malone had held since 1994, and its own site still leads with the Guinness history. The lineage is the selling point.
The room is the classic Irish template, dark wood, an open fire in the cold months and snug corners built for a long sit. It runs small and warm rather than a barn, which keeps it closer to a Dublin back bar than a tourist hall. The Old Town location puts it a short walk from the river and the Convent of St Agnes.
Order the Guinness, which the pub stakes its name on and pours among the better pints outside Ireland. Behind it sits a whiskey list running to 50 Irish expressions alongside Scotch and bourbon, so a drinker can build a flight. The kitchen runs Irish pub food, stew, fish and a full breakfast, to soak it up.
The crowd mixes expats, visitors and a steady local trade, busiest on match days and weekend evenings. Best time to go is a quiet weekday afternoon for a settled pint by the fire, or a big rugby or football fixture for the full room. It opens daily at 11am, later on Fridays and Saturdays.
Who it is for: Guinness drinkers, whiskey hunters and anyone who wants a proper Irish pub with history attached. Who should skip it: visitors after a Czech beer hall or a cocktail bar.
The history is worth getting straight, because the address has carried two names. Molly Malone had held the U Obecniho dvora spot since 1994, and the James Joyce, which lost its original Liliova Street home in 2003, moved in and eventually took the corner over. Foursquare now lists the old Molly Malone's as closed, so the James Joyce is the operating pub at the address today.
The Guinness claim is the anchor, and the pub leans on it hard. Its own site dates the first Czech pint of draught Guinness to 17:59 on 5 November 1993, and the pour remains the order to lead with. A pub that stakes its name on one drink has to keep it right, and the long local trade suggests the line holds up.
Beyond the stout, the whiskey list is the depth. Fifty Irish expressions sit alongside Scotch and bourbon, enough to build a flight rather than a single dram, which sets it apart from a pub that pours Jameson and stops. The kitchen backs it with Irish staples, the stew and the full breakfast among them, so a long afternoon here does not run on beer alone.
The Old Town address cuts both ways. It sits a short walk from the river and the Convent of St Agnes, easy to reach, but it also draws the visitor crowd that fills the center, so weekends and big fixtures pack the small room. A weekday afternoon by the fire is the version that feels most like the Dublin back bar it models itself on.
Make it a fixture stop or a fireside afternoon. The James Joyce holds up as the Old Town Irish anchor. See where it sits in our guide to the best pubs in Prague, browse the full Prague bar guide, or set it against our global pubs roundup. For a Czech brewpub contrast, see U Fleku.
