Best 7 Breakfast & Brunch Spots in Prague

Seven places in Prague worth getting out of bed for, from grand old cafés that open at breakfast time to an Italian café, a cubist landmark and a Malá Strana pastry shop.

Breakfast in Prague can be oddly hard to find. Plenty of cafés do not open until mid-morning, and hotel buffets tend to look the same everywhere. The answer is the city’s big traditional cafés, which have been feeding early risers for generations, plus a handful of newer places that take the first meal of the day seriously. This list suits anyone who wants a proper sit-down start before sightseeing, or a slow weekend breakfast that drifts into lunch.

Every café here is one we have written about in detail on Prague Hints, and each section links to our full guide. We chose them to cover different neighbourhoods (Nové Město, the Old Town and Malá Strana) and different moods, from gilded dining rooms with uniformed waiters to a small confectionery where the pastry chef sets the tone.

At a glance

Best for an early start	Café Imperial — opens at 7:00, famous for eggs Benedict
Best for café history	Café Louvre — opening early for guests since 1902
Best for a grand weekend breakfast	Café Savoy — big, busy café with its own bakery
Best Italian start	Pastacaffé — good coffee and freshly squeezed juices
Best for a lighter breakfast	Cacao Prague — fruit bowls, quiche and fresh juice
Best for art lovers	Černá Madona — breakfast in a cubist landmark
Best for something sweet	Cukrkávalimónáda — pastry chef’s café in Malá Strana

1. Café Imperial

Na Poříčí 15 · Nové Město

Café Imperial is owned by Zdeněk Pohlreich, the television chef often described as Prague’s answer to Gordon Ramsay, and it shows in the cooking. The room is the other reason to come: a gilded Art Deco interior with waiters in smart uniforms, which turns a plate of eggs into an occasion.

Order the eggs Benedict, the breakfast dish the café is best known for. It opens at 7:00 every day, the earliest on this list, which makes it the obvious choice if you have an early train or a long day ahead. Lunch and dinner switch to modern Czech cooking in the same old-café setting, so it is worth a second visit.

Read our full guide to Café Imperial →

2. Café Louvre

Národní 22 · Nové Město

Café Louvre opened in 1902 and remains one of Prague’s most respected cafés. Just as it did a century ago, it opens early, which is rarer among Prague cafés than you might expect. The crowd is a mix of locals and visitors, from early risers after a hearty breakfast to people settling in with a coffee for the morning.

Doors open at 8:00 on weekdays and 9:00 at weekends. Come for breakfast, and if the morning slips away, stay on: the café publishes a daily lunch menu, so it covers both meals without moving tables. It is on Národní, an easy walk from the river and the Old Town.

Read our full guide to Café Louvre →

3. Café Savoy

Vítězná 5 · Malá Strana (Praha 5)

Café Savoy is one of the largest and busiest café-restaurants in Prague, run by the Ambiente group. It is always full of life, with staff constantly on the move, and it is the place we would pick for a grand breakfast in a handsome room rather than a quick coffee.

The coffee selection is excellent, and the kitchen runs seasonal and permanent menus with Czech specialities. Leave room for something from the café’s own bakery, which turns out classic Czech desserts to go with your coffee. It opens at 8:00 on weekdays and 9:00 at weekends; at weekends, book or arrive soon after opening, because it fills up.

Read our full guide to Café Savoy →

4. Pastacaffé

Vězeňská 1 · Staré Město

Pastacaffé is a modern Italian café, also from the Ambiente stable, that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The space is cosy but stylish, with a modern design that suits the Italian menu.

Every morning there is a full breakfast menu, with good coffee and freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices made by the bar staff. Later in the day the focus moves to homemade pasta, classic Italian starters and homemade cakes and desserts. It opens at 8:00 on weekdays and 9:00 at weekends; if you like it, come back for the pasta.

Read our full guide to Pastacaffé →

5. Cacao Prague

V Celnici 4 · Nové Město

Cacao Prague is the Prague branch of Slovenia’s Cacao chain, which is known for a modern take on healthy, high-quality food. It is a café, patisserie, restaurant and lounge in one, and its breakfast leans lighter and healthier than the others here.

Expect a fresh fruit bowl, a filling sandwich or a savoury quiche, with freshly pressed juices alongside; the menu is designed for a range of dietary preferences. There are also homemade ice cream, cakes and raw desserts if breakfast turns sweet. In summer there is terrace seating outside. It opens at 8:30 on weekdays and 9:30 at weekends.

Read our full guide to Cacao Prague →

6. Černá Madona

Celetná 34 · Staré Město

Černá Madona is the café and restaurant on the ground floor of the House of the Black Madonna, with an exhibition of Czech cubism on the floor above. The authentic cubist décor makes it one of the most distinctive rooms in the Old Town to eat breakfast in.

There is a choice of breakfasts in the morning, with coffee and other drinks, and later the menu moves on to salads, homemade burgers, vegetarian dishes, a daily menu and desserts. It opens at 8:00 every day. With the cubism exhibition upstairs, breakfast here easily turns into a morning out.

Read our full guide to Černá Madona →

7. Cukrkávalimónáda

Lázeňská 7 · Malá Strana

Cukrkávalimónáda, whose name strings together the Czech words for sugar, coffee and lemonade, is a confectionery and café in Malá Strana. An experienced pastry chef runs the show, turning out a daily mix of classic and more unusual desserts, and the presentation is part of the pleasure.

Breakfast starts at 9:00, and lunch follows from midday. On the savoury side there are pancakes, fresh pasta and salads, and the menu changes with the seasons. It closes in the early evening, so treat it as a morning or afternoon stop, handy before or after a walk up to the castle.

Read our full guide to Cukrkávalimónáda →

Practical tips

Know the opening times. Café Imperial opens at 7:00 every day. Most of the others open between 8:00 and 9:00 on weekdays, and several start an hour or so later at weekends.
Book at weekends. The big historic cafés fill up on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Reserve, or arrive within half an hour of opening.
Turn breakfast into lunch. Café Louvre and Černá Madona both run daily menus, so a late breakfast can roll straight into an early lunch without changing tables.
Combine it with sightseeing. Černá Madona is on Celetná on the way to Old Town Square, and Cukrkávalimónáda is in Malá Strana. Plan breakfast where your day starts.
Tipping. Rounding up or adding around 10% for good table service is normal in Prague. Tell the server the total you want to pay when you hand over your card.

Häufig gestellte Fragen

Where can I get an early breakfast in Prague?

Café Imperial opens at 7:00 every day. On weekdays, Café Louvre, Café Savoy, Pastacaffé and Černá Madona all open at 8:00, with later starts at the weekend for most of them.

Do I need to book breakfast in Prague?

On weekdays you can usually walk in. At weekends, the big cafés such as Café Savoy and Café Louvre get busy, so it is worth reserving or arriving early.

Where can I have a traditional Prague café breakfast?

Café Louvre has been opening early since 1902, Café Savoy is one of the city’s largest café-restaurants, and Café Imperial pairs a gilded Art Deco room with its well-known eggs Benedict. All three give you the old-café experience.

Is there a healthy or vegetarian breakfast option?

Cacao Prague is the best bet, with fruit bowls, quiche and fresh juices on a menu built around healthy food and different dietary needs. Černá Madona also has vegetarian dishes on its menu.

Which is best for something sweet in the morning?

Cukrkávalimónáda, where a pastry chef makes desserts every day and the savoury menu includes pancakes. Café Savoy’s own bakery is the other strong choice for classic Czech desserts with coffee.