Two Prague restaurants retain their Michelin stars, but Czech food critic says there are more deserving of the honour

Two Prague restaurants have reason to celebrate, having retained their Michelin one-star status in the 2018 Main Cities of Europe Michelin Guide. La Degustation Boheme Bourgeoise in Prague’s Old Town can boast holding its one-star-status for over a decade, while Field, one of the world’s least expensive Michelin-starred restaurants, has maintained it for three years in a row.

Photo: La Degustation Boheme Bourgeoise

However, in the long-term perspective, the number of Michelin recommended restaurants has dropped by two, and Prague has lost two of its Bib Gourmand restaurants which are defined as offering “exceptionally good food for moderate prices.” So is the Prague restaurant scene sliding?

Food critic Petra Pospěchová says the Michelin rating does not reflect the real state of affairs.

“There are definitely more restaurants deserving of a one Michelin star. If we look at those who have it - Le Degustation and Field - and apply the criteria used for example in France I am quite sure that La Degustation would deserve two stars and Field would probably stay with one. It is often noted that harder criteria are applied on the post- communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe…I don’t know, but I have the feeling that it is really much easier to get one Michelin star in France than for example in the Czech Republic or Poland.”

Which restaurants then would you say deserve a Michelin star, restaurants that you would recommend to visitors apart from these two in Prague?

“I would see at least two such restaurants outside Prague (which are not in our main city, of course). I think that Entre in Olomouc and Thir in Tabor would be clear candidates and in Prague there are quite a number of places that I would recommend, Alcron which had a Michelin star in the past, the CottoCrudo at Four Seasons or Zátišíi – who all have a high level of quality over a long period, they have class and there is no reason why these places should not have a Michelin star if they were judged on the same criteria as for example restaurants in France.”

Aside from the Michelin rating – how would you compare restaurants in Prague and other European capitals?

“I would say that our luxury restaurants are at a point of stagnation – at one moment there was a growing number of interesting places, but now there are few of them that are really nice and they have been around for some time and nothing new appears. But as for the bistro scene and places in the middle-price range, they are really going up and I am amazed how many new and really good places are appearing practically every month. That is very good news and I think it is moving Prague to the more interesting part of gastronomical Europe.”