This article is 💩 mammoth dung
This means its value is not in informativeness, but in memory of how it was
There may be an update at the end of the article. Or there may not be.
We finally moved to Prague and got internet. Although the academic year has ended, there are still several unresolved topics. I've been planning this note especially for a long time - a note about lunches and cafes in Poděbrady.
Essentially, the food question arose from the very beginning of our stay on courses. Right away I wrote only a note about the canteen, so interested students could use such an opportunity. After a year of gathering information (by eating everything possible, of course 🙃), I'm ready to share conclusions that were made by us over the year.
1) Technical details (ordering, payment)
So, you entered a cafe, of which there are a huge number in Poděbrady. I'll say right away - most likely, you won't be disappointed in any of them.
If you came successfully - you sit at a table and wait for the waiter. In the evenings, on Fridays and Saturdays, there may be little space, so be prudent :)
The waiter brings the menu and, in most cases, immediately asks what you'll drink. If you haven't been to a restaurant or don't know about drinks, you can ask to wait or even ask the waiter about them. In most cases you'll take beer or something non-alcoholic.
Briefly about beer. I think an attentive reader already knows everything about this even before arriving in Czech Republic, so I'll be extremely brief - in Poděbrady you shouldn't take beer more expensive than 30 crowns for 0.5. You should drink exactly draft, not bottled. In most restaurants they'll offer you something standard, like "Pilsner Urquell" or "Budějovický Budvar" - this beer, overall, is neutral in taste, and, therefore, will most likely please everyone.
With non-alcoholic drinks it's harder - there's less choice, prices aren't always so low.
In most restaurants this choice awaits you:
On the left - Kofola, Czech analog of Coca-Cola. By taste - maybe something between cola and "Baikal". Overall, a tasty thing, but people are divided into two types - some really like it, and some don't at all.
On the right - lemonade. Personally I saw two types: the first (most common) - raspberry (in common parlance called simply "malinovka"), pleasant to taste, sweet. The second - orange, tastes like slightly diluted Fanta, but this is rather a rarity. Of course, both should be ordered only on draft - in bottles the taste isn't as interesting.
Sometimes from non-alcoholic there are only expensive (by local standards, of course) mineral water or tea, but I think you can always ask for plain tap water (Czech "voda z kohoutku").
Having ordered food, you wait, then eat. Here there's no special difference from us, strangely enough :)
I'll warn you right away - portions will 90% likely be unusually large, so I immediately advise girls and their moms to order 1 portion for two at first, to soberly assess your strength.
At the end, you'll need to catch the waiter and say that you want to pay. Right away it's desirable to note whether you'll pay for the whole table (Czech "dohromady") or each for yourself (Czech "zvlášť"). They say good tone is for companies to try to pay together, not separately, but this is unverified information.
In the end, you'll need to pay. Perhaps this fact will surprise someone from the very beginning, but almost every waiter has a wallet hanging on their belt, so you'll pay almost immediately. From my experience, in Russia everything happened like this - they brought us a bill, left, then we put money in the bill. Then they came to us with change, we left something as a tip and left.
In Czech Republic this process is done a bit differently. The waiter will say the required amount aloud, show the receipt. Suppose it came out to 190 crowns. You need to answer aloud how much you'll pay, including tip. If you give money silently, it means you're not leaving a tip. Accordingly, if you want to give 200 crowns - that's what you should say.
Whether to give tips or not - is a very imprecise science. Testimonies vary - some claim it needs to be done, some say it doesn't. Personally I developed such a scheme - at lunch time we don't leave tips, in the evening - only when everything really pleased.
By quantity - we round the sum up to a full ten (i.e. if we owe 95 crowns, we give 100), and also 10 more crowns for every 200 spent (i.e. if it came out to 281 - we give 300). In reality, I rarely saw anyone giving more than 30 crowns as a tip. In any case, you'll orient yourself on the spot in this.
That's all on the technical part, let's move on to describing the cafes themselves in Poděbrady.
2) Czech cuisine
2.1 Bílá růže - Pražská 16/4, Poděbrady V, 290 01 Poděbrady
This is, perhaps, the most typical Czech cafe among those represented in the city. Among pluses it's worth noting prices - you can eat here really very cheaply. Food is tasty. This is exactly where I'd advise newcomers to try the famous "knee" for the first time. Menu is very large, you can try almost everything without fear. Lunches are also very cheap and filling, on average, lunch will cost about 80 crowns. The biggest crowd of students goes for lunch exactly here - there are rarely places.
From minuses - there are rumors that waiters sometimes are rude, I personally heard a couple of stories about how students were treated impolitely. But this, most likely, is a matter of luck (or, more precisely, bad luck). I personally didn't encounter this, so I can't say anything for sure.
My advice - try all meat dishes and sit eating on the veranda - personally I never had problems there.
2.2 Jihočeská restaurace - Traditional Czech restaurant, popular among students.
2.3 Café restaurant Zámek - Located in the castle, professionally prepared food but slow service.
3) Italian cuisine
3.1 Pizzeria Trattoria - Best pizza place, excellent lasagna, delivery available.
3.2 Pizzeria Bello Mondo - More traditional recipes, hidden location, higher prices.
4) Eastern cuisine
4.1 Restaurace Hongkong - Mixed Asian cuisine, 10% student discount, good value.
4.2 Samer kebab - Shawarma place, open until 4 AM.
5) Mixed cuisine
5.1 Alegro - Good lunch menus around 100-110 crowns.
5.2 Basta Fidli - Best soups in Poděbrady.
5.3 Park café - Mid-range option, pleasant atmosphere.
6) Other
6.1 Jiřka - Health food store with cheap, homemade-style lunches for 70 crowns.
6.2 School canteen - Cheapest option, 59 crowns. See my detailed article.
6.3 Albert, cooking at home - Most economical option, saves thousands of crowns.
7) Beer
7.1 Pivoteka - Best place for quiet beer drinking, games. Beer from 23-30 crowns.
7.2 V pivovaře - Local Poděbrady beer, good burgers for 120 crowns.
8) Sweets
Best ice cream on main square, best pastries across the street - try hot chocolate and sausage in dough.
9) Restaurants outside town
9.1 Labská Marina - By the river, nice views.
9.2 Na Kempu - Further along river, biggest pizzas.
9.3 Lovas & Lovas - Best quality restaurant, prices 2x higher, perfect for when parents visit.