5 Craft Cocktail Bars You Can’t Miss in Prague

On a blustery Sunday evening in March, a throng of Prague cocktail devotees stood outside Alma, waiting for space to open in the jam-packed dining room. The restaurant, in the city’s New Town, always swells with curious patrons, and tonight, the prominent metal bar is graced with the presence of two industry bigwigs, and the energy is palpable from outside.

Alex Kratena, the proud Czech Republic native who co-founded Tayēr + Elementary in London, and Simone Caporale of Barcelona’s Sips are showcasing Muyu Liqueurs, the brand they dreamed up with fellow bartender Monica Berg, in enticing tipples tasting of jasmine, vetiver, and chinotto. Unlike so many of the cookie-cutter guest shifts currently proliferating the industry, this one was especially memorable, the mood at Alma downright electric. This same weekend, a short walk away from Alma, the W Prague throws its opening bash, and the hotel’s duo of swish, subterranean bars floods with imbibers, too.

Prague is undoubtedly a paradise for beer aficionados, with skillfully poured pints sipped at well-worn pubs as clamored-for as strolls over the Charles Bridge. But the city’s cocktail bars have found new momentum, introducing an alternative drinking culture to locals and visitors alike. Building upon the legacy of such classy pioneers as Bugsy’s Bar and Hemingway Bar, the drinks scene has catapulted into bolder, more intriguing territory. 

Alma, part of the KRO hospitality group, is an all-day affair that cements its connection to the neighborhood. In the morning, it’s the sunny café serving plump doughnuts that hums; by afternoon, the restaurant in back, flaunting a mix of lush and industrial touches, begins teeming with guests. Increasingly, into-the-night dishes like the beef tartare strewn with Gran Moravia cheese and pickled mushrooms are accompanied by complementary libations.

Pavel Sochor, who oversees the beverage program for Kro Group venues, worked in London and Edinburgh before returning to the Czech Republic. His exposure to the region’s avant-garde techniques has manifested in Alma’s on-site lab, where he and his team concoct sustainably minded drinks that explore unconventional ingredients. There’s an Air Mail riff embracing Jerusalem artichoke cream, for instance, and a frozen vodka Martini that incorporates black garlic and peppermint. Ghee makes its way into the No Espresso Martini.

Alma is devoid of formality, its intentionally edgy air an invitation to savor a cocktail at any time of day alongside food. It “doesn’t need to be something purple and drunk after Midnight,” says Sochor. 

Sochor’s imaginative drinks wonderland debuted in 2023, and already Alma’s impact has been game-changing for the Prague bar community, its attention organically shining a light on like-minded establishments keen to amplify quality and creativity.

Consider Back Doors in the residential Smichov neighborhood. In its latest incarnation since 2022, the spacious, underground spot stays true to its live-music roots with regular performances spanning bluegrass and Afro house. That relaxed ambiance is heightened by the drinks from co-owner Jakub Ondříšek, co-founder of the elegant cocktail boîte Parlour. Ondříšek has a particular passion for illuminating the relationship between scent and memory, and against a swath of brick he turns out aromatic creations like the Pineapple of My Eye, a woody variation on a rum Old Fashioned, and the Not a Big Dill, a fusion of aquavit, passion fruit, vanilla curd, and cream that encapsulates summer. “We use mists with well-known essential oils found in perfumes,” he explains. “I want people to recall our bar every time they come across this smell.”

The Monkey Bar, inside the Falkensteiner Hotel Prague, has also been attracting guests since 2022. In the blissful, leafy courtyard, relish the bourbon-macadamia sesame milk punch and the bright gin Geranium accented with wild strawberry and rose. “In Prague for many years there were just a few players on the cocktail scene, which changed recently,” says Monkey Bar’s director Benedikt Houda. “New concepts are opening, which create a healthy competition, therefore pushing us all to be better and better.”

Among those newcomers is W Prague’s Minus One, led by barman Jan Šebek. Designed by powerhouse firm AvroKO, it unites two distinct spaces. One, Occulto, pays homage to the building’s past as the Art Nouveau landmark Grand Hotel Europa. Here, paneling and stained-glass calls to mind artist Alphonse Mucha’s fantastical universe, a fitting backdrop for concoctions like the smoky mezcal and Scotch whisky-based Serpent King bolstered with pineapple, miso, and honey, presented alongside questions posted by the bartender. “When is the last time you took a risk?” is one contemplative example. A more upbeat atmosphere awaits in Poppy, with variations on classics, including a pecan-tinged Old Fashioned, enjoyed against a mélange of red, pink, blue, and gold.

Sibling to Café Slavia, a beloved 19th-century institution in the center of Prague, warmly lit Forbina arrived in 2024 bedecked in whimsical illustrations by Michal Bačák. Its prime location across from the National Theatre inspired its menu, each drink an ode to the motley events that unfold there. Forbina is, of course, ideal for pre- and post-show gatherings, but it’s also a place to indulge in whimsical nightcaps that celebrate the arts after, say, Café Slavia’s stellar version of svíčková, the traditional Czech meat and dumpling dish. The Rusalka, a nod to Antonín Dvořák’s opera, reimaigines the forest from stage to liquid in a gin sour that pairs the herbal Czech liqueur Becherovka with matcha, apple, and pine.

Sochor is reveling in these buzzy developments because it simply allows Prague denizens to encounter more good drinks in their everyday lives. “The city can become a cocktail destination,” he assures, “and in my eyes, we’re on the way there.”