Editorial
Prague is still — despite every effort the tourism industry has made to close the gap — one of the most affordable cities in Europe for a night of drinking. The best cheap bars in Prague are not in the Old Town. They are in Žižkov, in Vinohrady, in Holešovice, in the residential streets where the locals actually live. Our editors have spent months identifying the bars where a round costs under €10, the beer is cold and well-poured, and the room is full of people who chose the place rather than ended up in it. This is that list.
Žižkov is the neighbourhood that Prague's bar culture deserves. It has the highest density of pubs per capita of any district in Europe — a statistic locals repeat with genuine pride — and most of those pubs charge prices that have not moved significantly in a decade. The tourist buses do not come here. The locals appreciate that enormously.
Vinohrady has gentrified but not yet surrendered. You can still find pubs charging 2015 prices on its residential streets if you know where to look. Holešovice has become one of the city's most interesting nightlife quarters without losing the industrial-space affordability that made it interesting in the first place.
Prague has a strong tradition of bars that exist below street level, behind unmarked doors, and in converted spaces that have no particular desire to be found by people who haven't been looking. These are the rooms the city keeps for itself.
Prague remains the best value city in Europe for a serious night of drinking — by a margin that has narrowed over the past decade but remains significant. The critical rule is geography: stay out of the Old Town for your regular rounds and enter it only for specific bars like Hemingway or Black Angel's that justify the location on their own terms.
For first-timers, our recommendation is simple: take the metro to Žižkov, start at U Vystřelenýho Oka with a half litre, walk towards Fraktal in Holešovice for a craft round, and end wherever the evening suggests. The Old Town will still be there in the morning, looking beautiful and charging €8 for a beer. Žižkov will be charging 45 CZK. The choice is straightforward.
Sofia writes about European bars with a focus on cities where drinking well and spending sensibly are not in conflict. She has visited Prague four times in two years and still has a list of places she hasn't been to.