How Prague’s Top Chefs Are Reviving Austro-Hungarian Cuisine With a Modern Twist

At Mincovna, a restaurant in Prague’s Staré Město (Old Town), which dates back to the 11th century, Czech food historian Martin Franc pointed at his plate and said something that might have gotten him run out of town a century ago. “We like to think that these knedlíky are uniquely Czech,” he said of the airy bread dumplings, a perpetual stalwart of the country’s cuisine. “But they probably originated elsewhere in the Austro-Hungarian empire.”

The menu looked innocuous enough to me: schnitzel, goulash, roasted pork tenderloin, and duck confit served with red cabbage and dumplings. Any traveler might assume this was typical Czech fare — and some of it is. But the team at Mincovna specifically cooks dishes from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Central European kingdom that, from 1867 until 1918, incorporated parts of today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, northern Italy, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia. 

“We’re starting to go back to our roots,” Jitka Sobotková, the gastronomy curator of the National Museum of Agriculture in Szreniawa, told me the next day. “The re-emergence of Austro-Hungarian cuisine in Prague is a sign that we Czechs are proudly accepting our own history.” They often feel conflicted about that acceptance, especially considering their ancestors had no voice during those times. 

Until the end of World War I, Prague and the region that surrounds it, Bohemia, had been under Austrian rule for centuries. Free of Austria, the Czechs and their Slovak neighbors formed Czechoslovakia. But independence was short-lived: just 20 years later the Nazis invaded, and when World War II ended, Czechoslovakia came under the control of the Soviet Union. For 41 years Czech citizens lived under totalitarian rule dictated from Moscow, and chefs were directed, by law, to follow Soviet standards. A state-issued cookbook, Recipes for Warm Meals, was one of the mandated guides. To make matters worse, postwar rationing and a dwindling supply of ingredients meant recipes shrank and were further simplified. “My grandfather used to call that the ‘devil’s cookbook,’ ” said Martin Bohaček, who was the chef at the tony Augustine Restaurant when I was in Prague.

By the time the country began to emerge from behind the Iron Curtain in 1989, Czech food had become stodgy and unimaginative. For two decades the dining scene in Prague consisted primarily of fancy, if mediocre, French, Italian, and Japanese restaurants, along with a few smoky Czech pubs. But in the past couple of years, chefs like Oldřich Sahajdák, at the Michelin-starred La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise, and Zdeněk Pohlreich, of the celebrated traditional-style Café Imperial and the modern bistro Next Door by Imperial, have begun unearthing late-19th-century cookbooks and putting a modern twist on traditional dishes. 

“I’m not sure we were ready thirty or forty years ago to accept our place in this part of European history,” Marek Hosnedl told me. At the time of our meeting, he was the chef at Masaryčka, a Bohemian restaurant that opened in 2021 inside the 1845 Masaryk train station, in the city center. “But we couldn’t have made this food back then anyway, because we didn’t have the ingredients to do it. Now we do.” With Hosnedl I feasted on pörkölt, a Hungarian stew, followed by risotto laced with Gorgonzola — two examples of dishes with ingredients that were still rare and expensive back when the country was adjusting to its new independence. 

The next morning, I went to Augustine Restaurant, located in the hotel of the same name in the Malá Strana district. At the time, Chef Bohaček had been putting on Austro-Hungarian–themed dinners every Thursday, from October to March. “It’s hearty food that’s perfect for winter,” he said. “But our real motivation was to show locals where our cuisine comes from.” Bohaček tapped his fingers on a burgundy hardcover volume on the table in front us — a cookbook his chef grandfather gave him. Published in 1914 and featuring Austro-Hungarian recipes, it was an inspiration for those weekly dinners, featuring dishes like wild-boar ribs and catfish paprikash. “Food historians are always trying to source Czech dishes, hoping to find they’re specifically Czech,” he said. “But more times than not, they’ve come from the former empire.” 

A couple of days later, during lunch at Next Door by Imperial — where I ordered a seasonal dish of dark-beer-braised veal cheeks with mashed potatoes — I asked Chef Pohlreich about this growing appreciation for Austro-Hungarian cuisine. Although Pohlreich and his peers started their culinary careers under the restrictive Communist mandates, he says the current wave of chefs did not have that experience. “The new generation has traveled and worked in kitchens around Europe and the world,” he said. “They don’t feel politically obligated to limit their focus to just Czech cuisine.” 

Since the country regained its autonomy, it has had several decades of solid economic and political stability. Today’s Czechs are able to have a stronger sense of their own national identity than previous generations. Everyday citizens are now comfortable wading out into the waters of the empire they were once a part of — and enjoying the edible fruits of its history.

“It’s true,” said Chef Sahajdák when I stopped by La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise, in the Old Town. “We were a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire much longer than we’ve been an independent nation.” He glanced at the menu, a physical representation of the past and the present. “We have a linked history to all the people of the former empire. We’re more connected to the rest of Europe than we were, say, thirty years ago.” 

It’s a hopeful sign as the city looks beyond national autonomy and embraces a rich, multicultural history — through an act as simple as ordering the veal schnitzel. 

Where to Stay

Andaz Prague

Centrally located near attractions such as the Mucha Museum, dedicated to the Art Nouveau illustrator, this comfortable hotel, part of the Hyatt portfolio, has 176 contemporary rooms.

Augustine, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Prague

This hotel is housed within the 13th-century St. Thomas Monastery (a small cohort of monks still lives next door). The public spaces and 101 rooms echo the building’s original clerical style, with vaulted ceilings and preserved frescoes now paired with modern art.

Where to Eat

Augustine Restaurant

At this Austro-Hungarian-influenced fine-dining favorite inside the Augustine Hotel, à la carte ordering is possible, but the best choice is to order one of the five tasting menus, which highlight ingredients like beets, morels, and meats and cheeses sourced from local farmers.

La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise

Traditional Czech cuisine frames the menu at this Michelin-starred restaurant, where chef Oldřich Sahajdák produces a small selection of starters — like kohlrabi with apple and chives or trout with dill and smoked pork fat — followed by a five-course set menu with an optional European wine pairing.

La Republica

La Republica is a casual restaurant in a historic building near Republic Square, with dishes that evoke the country’s culinary past. Meat is the order of the day, from grilled duck breast with cherry sauce to beef goulash and pork schnitzel.

Masaryčka

This upscale venue in the Masaryk railway station serves dishes like the “old Bohemian tasting board,” which includes pickled cheese, hot peppers, and vejmrda (horseradish and apple salad). There’s also a traditional bun pudding, a dessert of apples, macerated raisins, and caramel.

Mincovna

Once home to the Prague Mint, Mincovna, on Old Town Square, specializes in hearty, traditional Austro-Hungarian dishes such as romadur, a fried cheese with cranberry sauce and baby spinach, and beef goulash with potato dumplings.

Next Door by Imperial

At this sleek bistro — which is run by the people behind Café Imperial — one Czech must-try is the duck leg with caramelized white cabbage and potato gnocchi. Lighter options include the young pea salad with marinated Wagyu, bean pods, and yuzu vinaigrette.

A version of this story first appeared in the September 2024 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline “Back to the Future.”