When the Vinárna U Maltézských rytíru ("Wine Tavern of the Knights of Malta") opened three years ago, it was widely acclaimed as one of the best restaurants in Prague.
Consistently good food, moderate prices, and a perfect location a stone's throw from Our Lady Under the Chain, the oldest church in Malá Strana give this eatery all the hallmarks of permanency. A lot has changed in the last few years, but the Knights of Malta isn't one of them. And although prices have risen slightly, Knights of Malta still remains one of the city's best buys.
Named for a quasi-religious medieval society, The Knights of Malta occupies the ground floor and cellar of a charming house that once functioned as a Knights-operated hospice. Upon entering the small vaulted dining room, one still has the sense of being cared for.
Nadia Černíková, the restaurant's eternally cheerful co-owner and hostess, keeps a watchful eye on the front of the house, personally greeting and seating the majority of the restaurant's patrons. Many are loyal regulars. Prague Post editor-in-chief Alan Levy can often be spotted here, and expat businesswoman Whitney Brown and friends are once again holding their annual Halloween party on these premises this month.
Knights of Malta is not fancy, but it feels quite refined and intensely intimate. There are just four cloth-covered tables in the cozy whitewashed ground-floor dining room and another ten or so in the cavernous candle-lit cellar below.
A short menu usually indicates intelligent preparations and fresh food, and the somewhat meager list here is no exception. Asparagus-filled turkey breast, salmon steak with herb butter, lamb cutlet with spinach, Chateaubriand, and steak with caper sauce and almonds are five of the six main courses.
The sixth is vegetable au gratin, Prague's all-purpose vegetarian dish. With remarkable consistency, meats arrive perfectly grilled-seared on the outside and pink within; a great accompaniment to excellent potato croquettes that should not be missed. Of the two hot appetizers, only the venison ragout au gratin hits its intended mark. Made particularly robust with a thick stock reduction, this delicious appetizer is a full-bodied introduction to a substantial meal that starts dense and remains robust all the way to dessert.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the fried cod filet, a breaded fish cake that too closely approximates a market-variety fish stick. Although the restaurant's menu remains essentially the same as it was on opening day, head chef Karel Widtmann has not rested on his laurels.
Slight variations have expunged some pricey foods, like Malossol caviar, and added less-expensive meats, like turkey, in order to keep prices reasonable. Steak is the main draw here and remains the restaurant's bestseller. The average cost of an entree is a modest 210 Kč, and Moravian Vavrinecke is remarkably unmarked-up at 98 Kč per bottle. Nadia's homemade apple strudel - a not-too-sweet, nutty, fruit-packed pie - is a special dessert that's worth sticking around for.
- Vinárna U Maltézských rytíru: Prokopská 10 110 00 Prague Czech Republic, Metro: Malostranská +420 257530075, AE, MC, Daily 11 m-11 PM. Reservations recommended.
From the Archives of Velvet Magazine.
