Did you just walk past this hidden gem in Prague?

Summary

This video highlights unique and luxurious dining and coffee spots in Prague, including 'The Graham,' a restaurant with a charming garden patio. It discusses other venues like Vitro Block and features a tour of a reconstructed café inside the main train station, where visitors can enjoy coffee in a stunning, historical space. The episode concludes with a visit to 'Automat Matushka,' a brewery with exceptional beer and food, emphasizing the difference between local hidden gems and tourist traps in Prague. The host also appreciates the convenience of contactless payments throughout the city.

Takeaways

• ☕ The Graham is a luxurious coffee place and restaurant in Prague, located inside a former office building's reception area.
• 🌿 The venue features a beautiful garden patio, known as the inner block, run by the same people who manage other unique spots in Prague.
• 🍽️ The Graham serves a variety of meals, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with an emphasis on the quality of every gram of coffee and food they prepare.
• 🎨 The restaurant showcases great artwork, which cannot be displayed on YouTube, making an in-person visit necessary to appreciate it.
• 🍞 The bakery at The Graham offers delicious treats to go, with a wide selection of high-quality pastries.
• 🚉 A fancy, recently reconstructed coffee shop is located at Prague's main train station, offering a more unique and affordable alternative to typical chain coffee spots.
• 🏰 The coffee shop is situated inside a historical city gate, providing a unique atmosphere for visitors near Prague Castle, away from the crowded tourist areas.
• 🍺 Automat Matushka is a trendy beer spot and restaurant, featuring brews from a local master brewer, offering a friendly, casual atmosphere with outdoor seating.
• 🍻 The venue offers a variety of Matushka beers, and visitors can even rent out a microbrewery space to create their own beer.
• 💳 The episode is sponsored by Visa, highlighting the ease of paying with card or mobile payment across Prague, whether for small transactions or larger meals.

Q & A

What is 'The Graham,' and what makes it unique?

'The Graham' is a restaurant and coffee place located in Prague, known for its unique space that was once a reception area in an office building. It offers breakfast, coffee, lunch, and dinner in a stylish and transformed environment, including a beautiful garden patio.

What is the significance of the name 'The Graham'?

The name 'The Graham' reflects the importance the owners place on every gram of coffee and food they prepare. The name emphasizes the attention to detail in the preparation of their dishes, which are made with high-quality ingredients.

What is the Vitro Block, and how is it connected to 'The Graham'?

The Vitro Block is an additional venue run by the same people behind 'The Graham' in Prague. It is known for its stylish design and is a popular spot among hipsters. Like 'The Graham,' it offers a unique and aesthetically appealing space.

What are some of the key features of the coffee shop at Prague's main train station?

The coffee shop at Prague's main train station is a reconstructed and elegant space where you can enjoy coffee served in Czech porcelain. Despite its luxurious feel, it is priced competitively with chain coffee shops, making it an affordable and unique option for travelers.

Why is the coffee shop at the train station a better option than chain coffee places?

Unlike chain coffee places, this coffee shop offers a more unique and local experience, including beautifully reconstructed interiors, porcelain cups, and a relaxed atmosphere, all for the same or lower price than typical fast-food coffee chains.

What historical significance does the gate near Prague Castle hold?

The gate near Prague Castle, which can now be visited and even used as a coffee spot, is one of the few remaining gates from the 18th century. It was historically an entry point to the city, and visitors can enjoy a unique coffee experience inside.

What is 'Automat Matushka,' and why is it featured in the guide?

'Automat Matushka' is a beer and food venue in Prague known for its variety of craft beers and delicious food. It is a modern take on traditional Czech fast-food eateries, providing both a relaxed atmosphere and high-quality beer brewed by the well-known brewmaster Adam Matushka.

What does the word 'Automat' in 'Automat Matushka' refer to?

The word 'Automat' refers to the Czech fast-food establishments from the socialist era, where people would grab a tray, select their food and drink, and eat at stand-up tables. The modern 'Automat Matushka' maintains some of this traditional style but offers a more sophisticated and updated experience.

What makes the venues in the part of Prague called 'David Set' different from the tourist-heavy city center?

The venues in David Set, where 'Automat Matushka' and other locations are situated, offer a more authentic and less touristy experience compared to the city center. Visitors are less likely to encounter tourist traps, and the overall atmosphere is more laid-back, with reliable quality in food and drink.

How does the host describe his payment experience using Visa in Prague?

The host praises Visa for being a safe and reliable payment method throughout Prague, whether it's for small purchases like tram tickets or more expensive dinners. Contactless payments are widely accepted, and the ease of using Visa makes it a convenient choice for locals and tourists alike.

Outlines

00:00

☕ Exploring a Unique Restaurant: The Graham

This paragraph introduces 'The Graham,' a unique restaurant and coffee place located at a former office reception. It offers breakfast, coffee, and dinner in a transformed space with a beautiful garden patio. The venue is run by the same people who operate other notable places, including a venue called Vitro Block, popular among hipsters. The paragraph highlights the attention to detail in food preparation, particularly the French toast, and mentions that the artwork displayed inside must be experienced in person.

05:03

🚂 Discovering a Hidden Coffee Gem in Prague's Train Station

This part focuses on a newly reconstructed coffee spot inside Prague's main train station. The narrator contrasts it with typical chain coffee shops, praising the unique Czech porcelain cups and the ambiance. The café is described as an affordable option for travelers, offering the same or lower prices than chain coffee places. There's also a recommendation for a guided tour of the renovated halls in the station, which feature stunning architecture, available on specific days.

🏰 Enjoying Coffee at an 18th-Century Gate Near Prague Castle

This section discusses a café located inside one of the few remaining city gates of Prague, near Prague Castle. The narrator shares personal anecdotes about passing the gate many times before finally stopping in. Despite the nearby tourist crowds, the café provides a peaceful, cool refuge with historical charm, such as wooden tiles designed for horse carriages. The location is described as a hidden gem, only a short walk from the busy castle area.

🍺 Automat Matushka: A Beer Lover's Paradise

The narrator introduces Automat Matushka, a beer place and restaurant, which blends traditional Czech fast food culture with modern craftsmanship. The venue offers a wide variety of beers brewed by Adam Matushka, a renowned brew master and friend of the narrator. The atmosphere is described as lively, with a variety of seating options both inside and outside. The narrator notes that the area is free from tourist traps, making it a reliable destination for good food and drink.

💳 Cashless Convenience in Prague: Paying with Visa Everywhere

In this final segment, the narrator reflects on how convenient it is to pay in Prague using Visa, highlighting the ease of making payments with a phone, watch, or card. The episode is sponsored by Visa, and the narrator emphasizes the normalcy of cashless payments in both small transactions, like tram tickets, and larger ones, like fancy dinners. A brief lesson on how to say 'I want to pay by card' in Czech concludes the episode.

Keywords

💡Graham

The 'Graham' is a restaurant featured in the video, which offers a range of meals including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is located in a repurposed office building reception area. The video highlights its unique ambiance and the fact that it has been creatively transformed into a vibrant dining space, emphasizing the theme of discovering hidden, unconventional venues in Prague.

💡Vitro block

Vitro block is described as a garden patio associated with the Graham restaurant. It is part of a broader set of spaces run by the same people, including other venues popular in Prague. This space is mentioned as a beautiful, hip location known to be a gathering spot for people who appreciate trendy, artistic environments. The video uses Vitro block to illustrate how Prague offers unique and artistic venues for locals and tourists.

💡French toast

French toast is one of the dishes featured at the Graham restaurant. It serves as an example of the high-quality food the venue offers, with the humorous suggestion that the place should be called 'kilogram' due to the delicious and satisfying portion sizes. The French toast symbolizes the focus on gourmet, artisanal food that elevates the experience of visiting unique dining spots in Prague.

💡Prague train station

The main train station in Prague is a significant setting in the video, where viewers are encouraged to explore more luxurious coffee options instead of typical chain outlets. The video contrasts chain coffee places with a newly reconstructed café inside the station, emphasizing how even ordinary places like a train station can offer elevated, unique experiences, reinforcing the theme of discovering hidden gems in Prague.

💡Cafe reconstruction

The reconstructed café inside Prague's main train station is highlighted as a unique, luxurious alternative to common fast food or chain coffee spots. The host accidentally discovers it and appreciates its distinctive atmosphere, suggesting that travelers can find great spaces even in the most unexpected places. This contributes to the video's theme of uncovering hidden or lesser-known locations in the city.

💡Porcelain cups

The mention of porcelain cups at the café in the Prague train station contrasts with the typical plastic mugs offered by chain coffee shops. Drinking from fine Czech porcelain is portrayed as part of the elevated experience available at this café, emphasizing the idea of upgrading everyday experiences with more thoughtful and aesthetically pleasing choices, aligning with the video's message of seeking out unique and luxurious options.

💡Prague Castle

Prague Castle is briefly mentioned in the video as a nearby tourist hotspot that is often crowded. The video contrasts this busy area with the quieter, more hidden venues like the café inside the old city gate, suggesting that visitors can find peaceful, less touristy spots just a short walk away. This reflects the video's overall theme of avoiding tourist traps and discovering more authentic, unique locations.

💡Old city gate

The old city gate in Prague, one of the few remaining gates from the 18th century, is another unique location featured in the video. The video highlights how the gate, once part of the city’s defense system, is now home to a quiet café. This represents the theme of finding historic, often overlooked spaces in Prague that have been transformed into unique, modern venues for visitors.

💡Automat Matushka

Automat Matushka is a beer place featured in the video, described as a modern take on the old socialist-era fast food 'automats.' The video highlights the high-quality beer and food available here, brewed by the acclaimed brewmaster Adam Matushka. This venue embodies the video's theme of combining the old with the new, offering traditional-style dining in a modern, trendy setting.

💡Visa payment

Visa payment is mentioned throughout the video as the host uses a Visa card to pay for goods and services at the various venues. This underscores the convenience and modernity of payment systems in Prague, where even small and unique establishments accept digital payment. The integration of Visa also serves as a subtle promotional element, but it aligns with the video’s focus on easy, accessible experiences for travelers.

Highlights

Fancy breakfast at 'The Graham,' a luxurious coffee place at Barck Gate, previously a reception turned into a restaurant.

'The Graham' offers a variety of meals from breakfast to dinner, including French toast so good it should be renamed to 'Kilogram.'

'Vitro Block' patio is an extension of The Graham, with a beautiful garden space in Prague, known for attracting hipsters from around the world.

The owners of The Graham also run another venue where Czech celebrity P. Hza had his wedding, highlighting their influence in Prague’s trendy spots.

The focus on quality at The Graham is summed up by their motto: 'Every gram of coffee matters,' reflecting their dedication to excellence in both coffee and food.

A visit to a hidden coffee place at Prague’s main train station offers a more luxurious and affordable alternative to chain coffee shops like Starbucks.

Cafe at the train station was recently reconstructed, offering coffee in Czech porcelain, making it a unique experience compared to typical fast-food coffee.

The guide recommends skipping chain restaurants in favor of unique venues like this one at the train station, where the coffee is cheaper or the same price.

Historical architecture at the station, with columns and halls, is accessible via a guided tour on select days, providing a blend of culture and coffee.

Prague's old city gate, where visitors can sit and enjoy coffee inside, is a hidden gem just minutes away from the crowded tourist hotspots.

'Automat Matushka' is featured as a top beer and food place, known for its fast service, variety of beers, and the historic socialist-era fast-food concept of 'alat.'

The beer selection at Automat Matushka is curated by master brewer Adam Matushka, showcasing innovative brewing techniques with a dedicated experimental space.

Automat Matushka is located in a vibrant square filled with great restaurants and shops, far from the typical tourist traps of downtown Prague.

The microbrewery at Automat Matushka offers not only high-quality beer but also the opportunity to rent out space to brew your own batch with friends.

Throughout the episode, the host emphasizes the benefits of using Visa for secure and seamless payments across all venues, including small purchases.

Transcripts

fancy breakfast the most luxurious

coffee place at a train station coffee

inside of barck gate this is like best

food

ever the places we will show you today

have something in common they're unique

spaces and they're new uh this one is

called the grham uh it is a restaurant

it is a place where you can get your

morning coffee you can get breakfast you

can get Tas you can get dinner and

believe it or not this used to be a

reception to an office building and then

somebody looked at it and said well one

big reception how about we turn it into

this and it's not only this space uh it

kind of spreads out to more places so

let's check it

out beautiful garden patio that we would

refer to as the inner block vitro block

uh which is also a name of another venue

that people who run the Graham run in

Prague vit is a beautiful space in

hollish show it's known by hipsters all

around the world and they also run other

venues for example uh place called P

where hza had his wedding all the places

mentioned have something in common

they're unique and they're

great there's also some great artwork to

be admired in this place unfortunately

cannot be shown on YouTube so we had to

blur it out you have to show up here to

look at it it's really

good

oh I was curious about the origins of

the name of this place gram and they

said well every gram of coffee is

important for us and not only every gram

of coffee but even of our food

everything that we prepare here in the

case of their French toast they should

rename the place to a

kilogram but uh I believe every gram of

it will be

[Music]

delicious well kids let's be honest I'm

no foodie blogger but I can tell this is

really good but many other foodie

bloggers have been to this place and

they said the same thing so I'm glad we

agree I mean just look at it what can be

wrong about it but I promise to come

back to try the full English breakfast

because that's what I usually aim for so

I'll try that as

well I'd say this is 10 out of 10 so

when you go by step in and also don't

forget to check out their little

Bakery a sample at the bakery was taken

we're taking it to go because there's

still lunch ahead of

us we should also point out where we are

we're in the part of prag that is called

vade it's a safe space any venue here

will be great for you to discover no

tourist traps here we also have our maps

on patreon if you want to support us

next stop in the city

center voila if you happen to arrive to

proc on a train at a train station you

may want to grab a coffee well there's a

lot of fast food type coffee places say

but don't you want an upgrade a unique

place like the coffee place behind me

cafe well hello and welcome don't you

love it when the order is already

waiting for you on one of the preview

episodes we were talking about mistakes

that tourists make and in case of the

main train station I can imagine hey

let's grab a coffee there's Starbucks or

whatever chain coffee place we're going

to sip it out of a plastic mug okay do

that or maybe get an upgrade uh the

coffee might be cheaper here you're

going to drink it out of a beautiful

Czech porcelain and you're in a space

like no other around the world the chain

restaurant is same everywhere uh this

Cafe was just recently reconstructed

this entire space you can actually even

get a a guided tour around this Wing uh

of the main train station but we

recommend grabbing a cross on of coffee

and just enjoying the space

because wow I honestly discovered it by

accident we were walking through the

quarter from the trains and I saw the

door I was like wait weren't they saying

something in the media that something

has been reconstructed here is it

finished I grabbed by the handle and

suddenly uh it opened so I walked uh up

the stairs uh and this really really

works for me I hope it will work for you

as

well and if you would think that this is

fancy therefore the prices will be high

actually no we just uh compared it to

one of the chain coffee places that's uh

in the hallway and it's either same or

cheaper here so don't worry especially

if you're a foreigner from the US or

Luxemburg it's going to be like free for

you

here the coffee place is not the only

reconstructed uh place on the train

station here you can also visit these

Halls they are stunning I've never been

here the columns are amazing but you

need to book a tour every Tuesday

Thursday and Saturday so far they're

free

I know I'm a

boomer we're in Prague but if you look

at an 18th century map I'm not even on

it I'm on the outskirts of the city

therefore there has to be a gate to

enter the town and it is right here one

of the few remaining Gates of the city

of pra and you can actually not only

walk through the gate but sit inside and

have a

coffee I was obviously joking that we're

on the outskirts of PR I mean in the

18th century may be but we're 300 M from

the pr castle for the Americans that's 2

and 1/2 minute walk uh I've passed this

gate so many times and I never actually

uh stepped inside until now so thank you

our viewers of the honest guide that

thanks to you I can discover uh places

like these beautiful wooden uh not

Stones uh but tiles because of the

horses that would go through uh the gate

in the summer is obviously opened uh

which uh lets the Cool Breeze go inside

uh and and I can guarantee to you that

right now at the castle it's going to be

a mess there's going to be millions of

tourists uh crowded and a 2-minute walk

from there you got this hidden

gym I hope you will visit but let's be

honest three coffees a day is my limit

let's go get a

beer now if there's a place I was really

looking forward to feature on our show

it's the one behind me automat matushka

in my eyes it's still new it's been

around for more than a year now but you

know I had to do some sampling before

featuring it on the honest guide It's a

beer Place uh it's also a fancy food

place but the word Alat comes from back

in socialist era where the check fast

food would be called aont you would take

a tray you would get some food you would

grab a beer you would stand at a standup

table and my dad said he remembers that

your beer would disappear if you would

just turn around for a second because

somebody would just snatch it uh that's

not going to happen here don't worry but

if it would yeah you can still go to the

bar and try a different beer uh because

there is a variety of this uh genius

brew master Adam uh who is the holder of

the name matushka that also happens to

be our friend in the summer you

obviously want to be outside and uh

don't worry even if the place is packed

uh it goes quite fast and if you don't

find a place to sit down you can kind of

mingle around anywhere on this Lev

lovely square there's also a pup right

across the street uh many different

stores and just looking down the street

here so many choices to eat and drink

besides the one we're showing you see

that's a big difference if I compare

this to the touristic part of prog I can

basically just tell you here oh any

place you go to here will be good or

great I can't tell you that in downtown

proc because there's so many different

tourist traps there are so many

different obstacles you can run into as

a tourist as a foreigner I simply can't

tell you just go anywhere you're going

to have a good time no that does not

apply to prag one or the city center but

here in the part where we are now which

is called David set you'll you should be

safe and you'll be more than safe right

here we have walked down into the

basement and here you can get your

answer to our question how big is a

micro Brewery well it's quite small but

don't worry this is not the only Brewery

matushka has uh but this is for I guess

experimental testing if they want a

batch that they want to sample or

actually you can rent it out with your

friends and make your own

beer not only fabulous superb beer but

apparently also uh some great food uh it

is delicious whenever I'm here there's

always someone I'm with who's like let's

get some food as well uh so we usually

do it and my memories of it are always

great let's refresh

them bro this is

serious hats off this is

delicious I really enjoyed filming

today's episode I hope you enjoyed

watching it and you wrote down the

places that we listed also we would like

to thank to our partner which is Visa

for this episode you probably noticed I

paid everywhere with my watch with my

phone or with my physical cart it is

safe reliable and finally normal around

Prague some places don't even ask you

like aom you just pay with your cart and

it doesn't matter if you're paying € for

the ticket on the tram or many more

Euros for a fancy dinner with your

friends so thank you Visa again I hope

to see you soon again and I hope to see

you uh on the next episode of The Honest

guide which will be here on our Channel

next week so please subscribe I'll see

you then the check word at the end is

brought to you by Visa how to say uh

that I want to pay my card in check you

want to

sayto by card please cim