Best Cheap Bars in Prague

Named for the writer and decorated accordingly — dark walls, crowded shelves, and a clientele that arrived with a book and stayed for several rounds of Kozel at 45 CZK a glass. Bukowski's is a proper Žižkov pub with no concessions to the tourist market whatsoever. The bartenders are attentive, the music is kept at a level that allows conversation, and the kitchen closes at midnight but the bar does not. One of the best cheap bars in Prague for a full evening.

Order: Kozel dark on draught — rich, malty, and cheaper than a coffee on Old Town Square

The name translates loosely as "The Shot-Out Eye" — a reference to the Jan Žižka statue visible from its terrace — and the bar itself matches the name in character. This is a no-frills Žižkov pub with a large outdoor area, beer at 45–50 CZK a half litre, and a crowd that ranges from students to pensioners who've been coming for thirty years. The building has been a pub for over a century and it feels like it. Summer evenings on the terrace are particularly fine.

Order: Pilsner Urquell on draught — always fresh, always properly cold

The Fat Mouse is a wine bar in the best Czech tradition — meaning wine is served in generous pours at honest prices alongside small plates of cheese and cured meats. The list focuses on Moravian wines, which most visitors to Prague have never tried and most Czech sommeliers will defend with considerable passion. Expect to pay 60–80 CZK for a glass of something worth drinking. The room is low-lit, the tables are close together, and the conversations spill between them naturally.

Order: A glass of Moravian Welschriesling — dry, mineral, and the most honest wine value in the city

A small wine bar on Mánesova that the neighbourhood has adopted as its own. The list is short and changes weekly — mostly Czech and Slovak, with a few Austrian bottles for comparison — and the prices are genuinely fair at 70–90 CZK per glass. The owner selects everything personally and is usually behind the bar and willing to talk through the options. This is the kind of place you return to every time you're in Prague because it has never once disappointed. Reservations recommended on weekends.

Order: Whatever Moravian red they currently have open by the glass — ask what they recommend

Set in a converted former factory space in Holešovice, Fraktal is one of the better craft beer bars in Prague and one of the few that manages to keep its prices reasonable. A half litre of well-made Czech craft runs 70–90 CZK, the selection rotates regularly, and the kitchen serves solid food until late. The space is large enough that it rarely feels crowded, the sound level is correct for conversation, and there is an outdoor courtyard that operates year-round with heaters in winter. One of the editors' most visited bars in the city.

Order: Whatever seasonal Czech pale ale they have on — usually something local and interesting

One of the most serious cocktail bars in Prague that still manages to charge prices you can justify on a normal evening out. The drinks are 180–220 CZK — roughly €7–9 by any European standard, which for a bar of this calibre represents genuine value. The bartenders write their own menus and the technique is evident without being performative. The room is narrow, dark, and good-looking, with no more than 25 seats. Arrive early on weekends or you will not get in.

Order: Ask for their current recommendation — the seasonal menu is where the best work is

Technically in the Old Town, but far enough below street level — and sufficiently unmarked from above — that it escapes the tourist circuit entirely. Black Angel's Bar is a genuine art deco cocktail room in the basement of the Hotel U Prince, with ceiling murals, curved banquettes, and a cocktail list that runs to 150 entries and charges 220–280 CZK per drink. By the standards of a comparable bar in London or Paris, it is extremely affordable. Our pick for when you want proper cocktails in Prague without the premium that name recognition usually demands.

Order: A classic Negroni — they make it correctly, with good vermouth, and at the right temperature

The best Pilsner Urquell in Prague — poured from tanks rather than kegs, at the correct temperature, through a system the staff take very seriously. Lokál Dlouhááá is a long room on Dlouhá street with communal tables, a Czech menu of svíčková and smažený sýr, and draught beer at 55 CZK for a half litre. The venue is technically in the tourist quarter but the locals outnumber visitors on weeknights and the atmosphere is entirely genuine. The food is mandatory. Do not leave without trying the svíčková.

Order: Tank Pilsner Urquell, poured slowly in the Czech two-pour method — ask for mlíko on the second pour

A basement bar accessible through a courtyard off Národní třída that occupies multiple rooms of a former commercial building. The various chambers are decorated with decades of accumulated objects — antique furniture, taxidermy, communist-era signage — and beer runs 50 CZK a glass. Vzorkovna attracts a young, creative crowd and plays music at a volume that permits conversation in at least three of its rooms. Very late nights here are a Prague rite of passage. Get there before midnight on weekends to guarantee a seat.

Order: Gambrinus on draught or a cheap local spirit with a mixer — this is not a cocktail bar and it knows it

Hemingway Bar is the one exception on this list to the cheap drinks rule — drinks here run 350–500 CZK — but in the context of a world-class cocktail bar in any other European capital, those prices represent extraordinary value. The bar has been producing technically flawless classic cocktails since 2009, the room is quietly exceptional, and a Daiquiri here is better than almost anything you will find in London at twice the price. Our editors include it as the "treat yourself" option in Prague: still affordable by comparative standards, and entirely worth it.

Order: A Daiquiri — the house version uses freshly squeezed lime and well-sourced rum, and it is one of the best in Europe