Europe's Second Most Famous Beer Hall
You undoubtedly know about Munich's Hofbräuhaus, but have you heard of U Fleku in Prague? Not only is it Europe's second most famous beer hall, but it's also the world's oldest continuously operating brewpub.
U Fleku celebrated its official 500th birthday last year, but there's evidence that beer had been brewed on the premises even earlier than that. A century ago, U Fleku epitomized what a Czech beer hall was all about; it was here that Prague's intellectuals met to discuss the world's problems.
With less than one-third the seating capacity, U Fleku is much more intimate than the Hofbräuhaus. It consists of eight rooms of varying sizes; they're Gothic in style but cozier and less brightly lit than what you'd find in a typical German beer hall. There's also a central courtyard that becomes a beer garden, complete with a brass oom-pah band, during the warmer months.
I visited U Fleku on a Sunday evening in early spring. A host led me to one of the smaller rooms, which had wooden paneling, high arched ceilings, wrought iron chandeliers, and long, shared tables. Most of the drinkers were German men in their twenties and thirties, who looked like they'd been there a while and planned to stay around. Prague has become a popular destination for Germans, who can drink beer for a fraction of what it costs back home.
No sooner had I sat down than a waiter dressed in a green smock plopped a glass of the black house beer in front of me. It was excellent...and unique. Rich, with a hint of caramel flavor, the beer is said to be brewed from a more than 150-year-old Bavarian recipe. (It resembles schwarzbier, the black beer of northern Bavaria). Since the beer is neither distributed to local bars nor bottled for sale in local stores, U Fleku is the only place you can get it. An 0.4-liter (13.5-ounce) glass cost about $1.35 U.S. While that's more than twice as much as a half a liter of beer costs elsewhere in town, it's still cheap by North American standards.
Make no mistake about it: U Fleku unabashedly caters to tourists, who sometimes come in by the busload. Moments after my beer arrived, an accordion player wandered through the room, playing such un-Czech tunes as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "It's a Long Way to Tipperary," followed by Teutonic drinking songs with heavy emphasis on mysterious hand gestures. He wasn't shy about accepting tips, either. Later, another employee dropped by to sell merrymakers souvenir photos of their visit to U Fleku. And need I mention that the gift shop was right outside the front entrance?
After a few beers at U Fleku, I was ready to move on to a quieter place that catered to locals. Prague has plenty of beer halls to choose from, and I'll tell you about them in a future Beer Traveller article.
By the way, U Fleku is not Czech for "Pat O'Brien's." It was named for a couple named Flekovské, who bought it during the 18th century (the name was later shortened). But just like the famous New Orleans watering hole, it's noisy, overrun with tourists, a bit tacky...and something you ought to experience at least once.
U Fleku is located in Prague's Nove Mesto (New Town) at Kremencova 11, a few blocks east of the Vltava River and not far from the Národni Trída and Karlovo Namesti subway stations. Look for the big clock above the entrance. If you can, visit during the daytime, before the tourists arrive in force.