A new Eska opened in Prague's Letná, offering takeaway pastries and produce for home
A bakery and kitchen full of life
The search for a suitable location took several years. Eska needed an oven and a chimney which requires a high ceiling. Finally, such a space was found on Letná.
"We searched intensively for five years, we almost found a spot several times, but in the end there was always a hitch. In most cases, it had to do with the chimney. Tomáš Karpíšek found the space in which we would eventually open Eska and it took two years to get it approved," says Jaroslav Kozdělka, Eska's head baker, who is responsible for the quality of bread in both branches.
Bread from the oven, sweet pastries, breakfast and small snacks
Eska is especially known for its crispy bread made from Czech bio-flour, baked in a wood-fired oven. The range of other bakery products at Letná largely coincides with those that guests are used to from Eska in Karlín.
"It's the intention that both locations offer the same products. So it will be bread 33 and on Friday, bread 66. We will also bake sweet pastries at Letná - loaves, cakes, buns and our classic 'kremrole' baked in the bread oven. Pastel de nata is very popular in Karlín, so we'll be baking it in the other branch too. However, we expect that over time we will add another special product that will win the hearts of guests," plans Jarda Kozdělka.
The new Eska is primarily bakery with a shop. The menu is short and seating is limited – guests will find several simple breakfasts and snacks, all based around bread from the oven, for example with butter, boiled eggs, ham or cheese. All products are also available in the shop, so you can get them to take home.
"And we will also have one product that you won't find in Karlín – ice cream in our curd bun flavour," reveals Katka Hollmannová, general manager of Eska Letná.
More space for retail
Eska Letná differs from Karlin in particular thanks to an extended retail offer. "We have focused on making sure that the customer can find everything in one place. This is how Eska at Letná came into being. A shop, and at the same time the largest Ambiente retail space," adds Ambiente's retail manager Petra Roulland, whose team was responsible for the expansion.
On the shelves, guests will find mainly Ambiente products, both directly from Eska (biscuits, granola or preserves), as well as hams and sausages from Naše maso, sauces and soups preserved in jars according to Ambiente recipes from Lokál and U Kalendů, ketchup, pickles, or sweets from the Myšák confectionery.
But there are also products from verified suppliers with whom we have been working for a long time, such as Farma Struhy, Farma Babina, Probio or Kubát's eggs.
The role of head baker at Eska Letná has been taken over by Artur Cibulka, a bread connoisseur and one of Ambiente's longest serving bakers. The team will be led by general manager, Kateřina Hollmannová, who for many years was one of the faces of Pastacaffé, the Italian concept on Prison Street.
