Café Savoy: What you may not know about one of Prague's most famous cafes

Lovers of fruit dumplings and those who like to have caviar and champagne for breakfast will enjoy this place. The Savoy is located in the centre of Prague, so many people like to come here for business meetings and family lunches and has also become a favourite haunt of celebrities.

Est 1893 & 2004

The first Savoy stood at this address in 1893. (Vítězná Street, however, did not get its current name until after the republic was established in October 1918, as you'll learn when listening to this podcast). In 2004, Ambiente took over the site to restore the Savoy to its former glory, and to serve its first Czech cuisine. The inspiration came from the First Republic, with influences from Paris and Vienna.

Formerly a car workshop, now a place for 36 guests

The back of the Savoy, which is now dominated by a wine cellar and can seat up to 36 guests, was originally a car workshop. It was used to cut gaskets for cars and the atmosphere of the space was... a little different.

The general manager at the time, Olda Bureš, commissioned craftsmen to fix the room up. Under a layer of plaster and dust, they discovered a magnificent neo-Renaissance ceiling. Remnants of the original painting were also found on the walls, but there was so little of it that the restorer had nothing to hold on to.

In total, the Savoy can host 96 people at any one time, and up to 116 in the summer when the garden is open.

The original neo-Renaissance ceiling

Sourced from from the late 19th century, the ceiling has been adorned since last year with contrasting chandeliers by artist Veronika Richterova. She has been working in the field of PET-art for years and the chandeliers were assembled from hundreds of plastic bottles that she has collected from all over the world. Over the years, the space has undergone major and partial renovations. The first interior design was by Šimon Brnada.

PET-art by Veronika Richterová

Veronika Richterová finishing the last details before hanging the chandelier

The back room during the last of the renovations

The chefs of the kitchen

The kitchen was started in 2005 by Oldřich Sahajdák (now the head chef of La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise), and after a few months he was joined by Roman Frencl (now a chef and butcher at Amaso), who expanded the menu of renowned breakfasts to include Czech cuisine with a modern twist and was replaced 13 years later by Michal Mlejnek.

Initially, a French cook also worked at the Savoy – she prepared tripe, snails, and other specialties. Under Covid, the kitchen was directed by František Skopec (now the creative chef of Ambiente), an expert not only in pasta and flour. The gauntlet was then passed on to Martin Čáslavka – and he still heads the chefs in the 11m2 space today.

Current Savoy chef Martin Čáslavka

Roman Frencl, who ran the kitchen at Savoy for 13 years, is now a butcher and chef at Amaso

František Skopec, current creative chef at Ambiente

3 + 7 = 10

A smaller but no less important anniversary this year is also the anniversary of the general manager of the Savoy, Ozren Vlahov, aka Ogy, who joined the company 10 years ago. From 2014 to 2017, he ran as a waiter on set and was so skilled that he was offered the chance to become the new general manager.

Ozren Vlahov celebrates 10 years in Café Savoy this year

A group photo of the employees from the time when František Skopec was the chef, 5th from the right

Without a pastry chef, there's no cake.

What would a First Republic business be without a pastry chef? And so in 2005, they brought in talented Lukáš Pohl. Today he is the head of the pastry chef at Myšák, but he still has a big say in the Savoy pastry shop. After all, it is there that part of the production from Myšák has been moved (especially the baking of croissants), and that is why you will also find confectionery products from this company on the menu.

Sacher, but differently

Lukáš was then tasked with inventing something like the Viennese Sacher cake, but closer to the spirit of the Savoy. And so a chocolate cake with cream, cherries and marzipan was created, based on his grandmother's recipe. Today, the legendary Savoy cake is also prepared under this name in other famous Prague pastry shops.

It's time for wine

Soon they also added an experienced sommelier to the team. Ondra Pěnička has been working at Savoy since 2006 and gets credit for the expansion of the wine list from 30 bottles to 600 wines.

Back of the Savoy with wine display.

Savoy sommelier Ondřej Pěnička.

If he didn't work at Café Savoy, you would probably find him in Vienna at one of the traditional restaurants.

Display cabinet with glass.

Café Savoy's wine list includes around 600 wines from the Old World.

Snails, Wiener Schnitzel, fruit dumplings

Also oysters, caviar, Parisian tartare, truffle fries and classic Czech bread. Listing the iconic dishes with roots in Austria-Hungary and a touch of luxury would fill the bill of the table of a company of ten.

You will find a recipe for many of them here. Try for example:

• Walnut cake,
• Parisian tartare,
• Wiener Schnitzel,
• Fish soup,
• Fruit dumplings,
• Eggs Benedict,
• Croque monsieur.

Savoy's fruit dumplings are made with red wheat flour, giving them a marbled colour.

During the First Republic, snails were a Christmas speciality – at the Savoy, they are on the menu all year round.

Crunchy Wiener Schnitzel, a central part of Sunday lunch at the Savoy.

Oysters and champagne, the perfect aphrodisiac.

Hearty restaurant

Strange phrase, isn't it? At the Savoy, we call a soup a "restaurant". When it was taken off the menu, the diners were clamouring for its return. After three years, they succeeded, and they say they will not make any further attempts to get rid of the restaurant in the Savoy.

The tartare duo

The starter tartare almost met a similar fate. A Parisian tartare is popular as a main dish, while the Savoy beef tartare with toast is served as an appetiser. Do two tartare on the menu seem like a waste? Attempts by the Parisian tartare to displace the beef one were not met with understanding by regulars, so after a brief hiatus, the "competitor" had to return to the game.

The hatch

The idea of opening a takeaway window to separate the seating line and the takeaway queue had been in the Savoy team's head for a long time, and its was accelerated by covid. At the time, the window helped the business survive – regulars didn't let the restaurant down and kept coming back for their favourite dishes even when the restaurant was closed.

53 kilograms of truffles a year

At one point, when they were appearing in multiple dishes, the Savoy became Petranella Business's largest customer for truffles. In fact, the "black gold" motif was also considered as a form of badge for the restaurant. At the Savoy, truffles are used in pasta, in some mayonnaise, on chips and, if you like, on eggs.

Truffles, also known as black gold.

At the Savoy, they belong on french fries...

...gnocchi...

...and even breakfast croissants with egg.

When a man and his wife have breakfast

We don't know who he had breakfast with in 2018 when Orlando Bloom stopped by for coffee and pastries before filming Carnival Row, but what is certain is that Karel Gott drank a couple of espressos at the Savoy in 1992. Listen for yourself.

The Savoy celebrates its 20th birthday

So it's no surprise that the 20th anniversary celebrations will be big – and long! From 17th November until the end of February you will be able to enjoy a special menu – the chefs have prepared a birthday menu full of specialties that have been served at the Savoy for the past two decades.

And until February, you can taste three different versions of the menu. They'll be served on special birthday china – if you like the service, you can get a set for your own home.