Organic and bio restaurants
Set out in search of the secrets of true gourmets and sample the food at Czech bio restaurants!
There are thousands of excellent restaurants in the Czech Republic. ‘Organic’ or ‘bio’ restaurants used only healthy, non-genetically modified ingredients that have been cultivated without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers, carefully prepared and do not contain additives. So where to go if you want to experience a true concert of bio-quality flavours?
Through the city streets and courtyards in search of quality
Dishes made from local organic produce, placing emphasis on individual flavours, can be sampled in Essensia Restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Prague. In Staré Město, take your pick from a rich selection of dishes, changed daily, in the Country Life vegetarian restaurant. La Veranda restaurant in Staré Město cooks using ingredients from small farms in Šumava, the Krkonoše Mountains and the Vysočina region.
A vegetarian restaurant that uses exclusively organic produce, but not eggs, in its cooking, can be found in the historic centre of Kroměříž, only metres away from the entrance to the chateau and Chateau Gardens. And if you’re going to Teplice for a stay at the spa, don’t miss Zahrada restaurant, which focuses on health food, high-quality ingredients and unconventional recipes, and where you can sample, for example, organic salads, fresh organic herbs and koláčes with organic strawberries.
Farms, farmers and the Czech countryside
If you want to taste delicious steaks from the ecological Aberdeen Angus farm, visit the Angus Steak House in Plzeň and Soběsuky. For specialities made from Galloway steak, visit the family-run organic farm and Pension Country Relax in Roupov, close to Švihov Castle. At Biofarma Vojetice in the U Štěpána pub in Šumava you’ll be served steaks from the farm’s own Charolais cattle. Delicacies made from organic dairy products are also available at the Ryžovna chalet in the Krušné Mountains, where you’ll find a restaurant, bed & breakfast and cheese factory.
The word for “organic” here is bio - but to be assured that a product actually contains all-organic ingredients, look for the official green Bio label on the packaging. Each EU country has its own labeling system, so the certifications on imported goods may be different from the one used here.
If you´re looking for organic meat products, large stores such as Delvita and Tesco carry organic beef (and occasionally organic pork and lamb). But organic chicken, because of its high production cost, isn´t farmed in the Czech Republic, and is therefore more difficult to find. Perhaps the only outlet is health-food store Albio, which carries organic chicken that has been imported. Otherwise, for free-range chicken, the brand Vodnany, available at many supermarkets, produces chicken labeled as “corn-fed” (kukuřičné, also referred to as farmářské or zlaté kuře). Eggs from free-range chickens are usually called vejce od slepic chovaných na podestýlce - eggs from hens raised “on hay” (as opposed to in cages).
And if you´re keen on feeding your littlest ones all-organically, try baby food brands Hipp and Sunval, available in both health-food stores and traditional supermarkets.
Finally, a tip for those who like to know as much as they can about their meat: biohovezi.cz has a function that allows you to determine exactly where your beef originated. Just type in your organic meat´s serial number (on the package) next to where it says “Identify your steak.” Dobrou chut´!
Albio
website
Truhlářská 18, Prague 1 - New Town
Tel: 222 325 414
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00 - 20:00, Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Dejvická 26, Prague 6 - Dejvice
Tel: 224 326 510
Mon-Fri 8:00 - 19:00, Sat 8:00 - 13:00
Nám. 14. října 17, Prague 5 - Smíchov
Tel: 255 799 711
Mon-Fri 8:00 - 20:00, Sat 9:00 - 17:00
One of the major health food chains in Prague, offering an assortment of organic goods, including produce, dairy products, breads and cosmetics, plus various organic meats. Albio stocks a variety of sandwiches and to go meals, as well as homemade sweets that replace refined sugar with healthier sweeteners such as fruit juices, maple syrup, and grain sweeteners. They´ll even make you a whole sugarfree cake if you order in advance.
Bio Market Vitek
www.biomarketvitek.cz
Vinohradská 53, Prague 2 - Vinohrady
Tel: 222 251 019
Hours: Mon-Fri 7:45 - 19:00, Sat 9:00 - 13:00
This friendly store in Vinohrady has a standard selection of health-store goods, plus organic wines, freshly ground spelt coffee, and various Japanese cooking ingredients. They also carry organic bath and body products - such as lavender shampoo and kids´ body lotion - from Danish company Urtekram.
Country Life
www.countrylife.cz
Melantrichova 15, Prague 1 - Old Town
Tel: 224 213 366
Hours: Mon-Thurs 8:30 - 19:00, Fri 8:00 - 15:00, Sun 11:00 - 18:00 (Closed Saturday)
Jungmannova 1, Prague 1 - New Town
Tel: 257 044 280
Hours: Mon-Thurs 8:30 - 18:30, Fri 8:30 - 15:00
Československé armády 30, Prague 6 - Dejvice
Tel: 233 931 020
Hours: Mon-Thurs 7:30 - 19:00, Fri 7:30 - 15:00
Bělohorská 80, Prague 6 - Břevnov
Tel: 233 311 722
Hours: Mon-Thurs 7:30 - 19:00, Fri 7:30 - 15:00
The first post-revolution health food wholesalers in the Czech Republic are still going strong. Country Life´s dry goods can be found in many supermarkets, as well as in their own health food shops, which also sell produce, groceries, cosmetics, and eco-friendly cleaning supplies. Be sure to check out their yummy home-made healthy cookies, made from different wheats such as whole-grain and spelt, and flavored with dates, figs, and nuts.
Rozmarýna
www.rozmaryna.cz
Nádražní 17, Prague 5 - Anděl (in the courtyard)
Tel: 774 518 217
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:00 - 19:00
This recent addition to Prague´s health food scene quickly became a favorite for its good selection of organic fruits and vegetables, cow and goat dairy products, and teas. They deliver purchases over 800 CZK for free, and have a fairly easy-to-navigate shopping website (in Czech).
Other Health Food Stores (by district)
Prague 1
Zdravé Žití U Tři Růží - Soukenická 21
Biotop - Školská 34, New Town
Prague 2
Zdravá Výživa - Na Slupi 9, website here
Prague 3
Alafia - Táboritská 15, Žižkov
www.alafia.cz
LS-Zetis (gluten-free products) - Husitská 35,
www.ls-zetis.cz
