What to eat in Pilsen
The beer is drunk where it was brewed, at the pub in the brewery yard, and Czech dishes are found at two restaurants in the town itself.
- Where for beer
- Na Spilce, the pub in the brewery yard
- Draught beer
- €2.80, a 0.48-litre glass
- Svíčková and guláš
- The Švejk restaurant, both €11
Beer doesn't need looking for far from the brewery: Na Spilce is the pub right in the Pilsner Urquell yard, pouring €2.80 for a 0.48-litre glass, alongside utopenec, a pickled sausage salad, €6.75. In town, the Švejk restaurant carries svíčková and guláš on its menu, both €11, and U Malické brány is where the fried cheese is, €10.20.
Beer where it was brewed
The pub stands right in the Pilsner Urquell brewery yard, so it's open to walk into with or without the tour, or straight after it. Draught beer runs €2.80 for a 0.48-litre glass. Alongside it comes utopenec, a pickled sausage salad, €6.75, a classic pub dish ordered with a glass, not instead of a meal.
Svíčková and guláš
In town, the restaurant named after Švejk keeps two classics of Czech cooking on its menu: svíčková na smetaně, beef in a creamy vegetable sauce, and beef guláš cooked in dark beer. Both run the same price, €11, served with a dumpling on the side.
Fried cheese
Smažený sýr, breaded and fried cheese with tartar sauce, is the dish for anyone after something lighter than a knuckle of pork or a goulash. Here it runs €10.20, with chips or potato salad on the side.
Outside these three addresses
A main course at any other place in town, no drink included, runs around €11, on a similar level to Švejk and U Malické brány — the only difference is the name of the dish on the menu.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Where do you drink beer straight from the brewery?
At Na Spilce, the pub in the Pilsner Urquell yard. A 0.48-litre glass runs €2.80.
What is utopenec?
A pickled sausage salad, a classic pub dish ordered alongside a glass, not as a full meal. At Na Spilce it runs €6.75.
Where do you eat svíčková?
At the Švejk restaurant, €11, the same as guláš on the same menu.
Ready for Pilsen?
Where to next
The best time to visit Pilsen
→Almost nothing in Plzeň has a season — the brewery, the underground and the tower all run year-round. The…
Karlovy Vary · 65 km
→This is a town you drink your way through, from a spouted cup, along colonnades over twelve mineral springs.
How well does Pilsen suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
Leave your email and we'll let you know when a new destination or story goes up.