A Restaurant Review: Molly Malone’s in Prague, Czech Republic

If you’re in Prague, and you’re looking for an Irish pub experience, Molly Malone’s may just be the pub for you. Located a short walk from Old Town Square, you’ll find Molly Malone’s to be a friendly pub, conveniently located in the Center of Prague, but one that is not over-run by tourists. (See below for specific directions.)

This is not necessarily a true Irish pub in the sense that its décor is much more eclectic than you’d expect to find in an Irish pub. That said, Molly Malone’s is able to create that cozy feeling that all good Irish pubs have. It contains lots of dark wood, lots of nooks and crannies, and even a fire place. And of course, there is a dart board and sports on the television.

There is a food menu, but unless you’re really in the mood for an Irish dish, Molly Malone’s is not a place for eating; it’s a place for drinking. Most of the menu is just sandwiches. The Irish sausages with fried egg is good stuff at 120,-kc. The Irish bacon and egg is also 120,-kc. Chips (or French fries) are extra and cost 30,-kc. Molly’s does have a Bangers and Mash dish, and it costs 190,-kc. Surprisingly, there is no Fish & Chips on their menu.

The bar at Molly Malone’s is one of the better stocked bars in Prague. The highlights are comprised of its collection of eleven different Irish Whiskeys, including two varieties of single malt. There are ten kinds of Scotch Whisky including five single malts. There are seven kinds of vodka, including the Russian brand, Stolichnaya, which is rare in Prague. Better still, the prices are quite reasonable. A Bushmill’s or Jameson is 90,-kc. The Bushmill’s 10 Year is 130,-kc. Johnnie Walker Black is 90,-kc while Glenfiddich 12 Year is 140,-kc. The vodkas are 95,-kc. If you want something American, the Jack Daniels is 95,-kc and the Jim Beam is 90,-kc. All of these prices are quite fair considering that they are all imports and the fact that Czechs don’t drink a lot of hard liquor.

Which brings us to the beer. The Czech beer Staropramen is the basic beer at Molly Malone’s. It is a lager that is one of the best selling beers in the Czech Republic. It has a more hearty flavor than the better known Czech export beer, Pilnser Urquell. The beer is served well here at Molly’s, but I do have a problem with it, and that is the price. At 45,-kc, it’s a bit of a rip-off. As any good Irish pub, Molly Malone’s serves up a good Guinness. Most of the bartenders are Irish nationals, and they’ve been trained to pour a pint of Guinness properly. The only problem here is that they don’t serve pints, or even half liters. At Molly’s, you get your Guinness served up in a 0.4 liter glass. And it costs 85,-kc. Which is at least better than the Stowford Cider that is served up in the same glass for 90,-kc. I guess it depends on how much you want your Guinness or cider.

More interesting are the Molly Shots. At 95,-kc a piece, they’re priced well. I prefer the Baby Guinness or the Baily’s Breeze, but the Paddy Headbanger sure sounds interesting.

The service at Molly Malone’s can be a bit spotty. They have a large crowd of regulars from the Prague expat community, and most of them know the staff by name, and as a result, they seem to get better service, often times at the expense of the traveler. Feel free to introduce yourself, chit chat with the staff.

Molly Malone’s located at U Obecniho dvora 4 in Prague. If you’re in Old Town Square and facing the Tyn Church (that’s the imposing church with the two large towers), there is a street that goes off to the left. It’s called Dlouha. Go two blocks and you’ll arrive at a little square. Dlouha continues to the right, but you want to go straight. The street will be called Kozi. Go one more block to yet another little square. Go straight through it, this time the name of the street will change to U Obecniho dvora. Molly Malone’s is on the right, just look for the Irish tri-color flag.