There’s no shortage of ramen in Prague, but the city’s hottest new bowl, Isai Ramen Bistro, popped up in July in the Petřiny district. The chef, who goes by Mr. Yoshi, trained at famous Japanese chain Ippudo, where tonkotsu (pork) broth is a specialty. And here in Prague, Mr. Yoshi is also offering tonkotsu, with thin or thick noodles, in addition to more modern ramens, like one flavored with curry and a rotating, limited-edition special like spicy barley miso (ramen starts at 265 Czech korunas, or $11.50). The menu also includes Japanese starters like gyoza and fried chicken karaage, plus Pilsner Urquell on tap, a number of Czech wines, and sake. The simply adorned cafe offers seating for 42.

Former Cafe de Paris executive chef Ondrej Kyncl is behind Bockem, a quiet respite mere steps away from Prague’s buzzy city center. Set in an early 20th-century building and designed with unfinished walls and raw materials like wood, rock, and iron, the young dining room (with seating for 26) already feels perfectly patinated. Bockem kicked into gear this past summer plating a three-course breakfast tasting menu (320 korunas or $12), with European dishes like croque monsieur and a cheffy take on a classic Czech breakfast, krupicová kaše (semolina porridge topped with cinnamon sugar and ghee). Kyncl’s seven-course dinner menu (1,200 korunas or $51), which debuted in October, embraces a similar mix of European and Bohemian. Expect a modern take on Czech fine dining, with simply plated dishes built on local and seasonal produce, like beets with blueberries and blackberries capped with vanilla-vinegar meringue shards or roasted duck with wild mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, and sour apple.

Prague’s first outdoor food hall, Manifesto Florenc — 27 movable shipping containers occupied by a mix of first-time restaurateurs and industry vets — launched during the summer of 2018 in Prague’s Florenc neighborhood. Designed by American landscape architect and entrepreneur Martin Barry, the food hall transformed a derelict corner of the city into a hip dining hub. The concept proved so successful that Barry introduced little sister Manifesto Smíchov one year later in Prague’s gentrifying Smíchov district. The micro market consists of six restaurants and two bars, but the entire operation embraces the Czech Republic’s beer culture. A central bar dispenses the country’s most famous brew, Pilsner Urquell, alongside local microbrews like Vinohradský Pivovar’s Vinohradská 11 pilsner. The Manifesto team curated food vendors that serve international cuisines that pair with beer. Repeat sellers from Florenc, like Faency Fries, mix with new vendors, such as cheesesteak specialist the Craft.

In January 2019, a devastating fire erupted from the central hearth of Grils, Ambiente restaurant group’s 2-year-old rotisserie chicken bistro. After shuttering the restaurant for two months, the team reopened, switching gears to offer more of a quick-serve barbecue menu focused on chicken and pork. Simple dishes include options like pulled pork on house-made buns and a grilled chicken salad. Interior designer Tereza Froňková (also responsible for the modern look at Ambiente’s Eska) retooled the former 19th-century farmhouse with a cozy, rustic feel, adding blond wood chairs and stone floors. Meanwhile, Ambiente owner Tomáš Karpíšek decided to build a passageway from the restaurant to a nearby courtyard, from which guests can access the Dva Kohouti brewery (also owned by Ambiente and also on this list), enabling newfound collaboration between the venues. Grils provides food for Dva Kohouti guests to eat at the brewery, while the brewery delivers super fresh beer to the restaurant. The restaurant even uses a Dva Kohouti lager to make its sandwich rolls.

The all-star team behind this joint project explains this Karlin district microbrewery and beer hall’s instant success. It’s a collaboration between Ambiente restaurant group, head brewer Adam Matuška, of the famed Pivovar Matuška microbrewery, and tapster Lukas Svoboda, who won a major international bartender competition in 2010. The founders conceived of the concept in December 2018, intending to connect the art of brewing beer with the skill of pouring it (many in the Czech Republic recognize pouring beer as a craft). The result is Dva Kohouti, a spacious, modern, industrial drinking den with room for 80 guests indoors and another 120 on an adjacent outdoor patio. Chef Petr Benda of Lokál (a popular Czech pub under the Ambiente umbrella) oversees the concise snack menu of beer-friendly, pickled bites like sausage or carp, which pair well with Dva Kohouti’s collection of nine beers on tap (55 korunas, or $2 per glass). The options are entirely Czech, always including one house-brewed lager, alongside seasonal specials and selections from Pivovar Matuška. Following Czech beer dispensing tradition, patrons can order their brews in three styles: hladinka (a glass filled with three-quarters liquid and one quarter foam, the most common style), šnyt (a glass filled with roughly 40 percent beer and 60 percent foam), and mlíko (a glass almost entirely filled with foam). Dva Kohouti often hosts food trucks serving burgers or crepes, but the team also encourages customers to bring food over from nearby meat specialist Grils (also on this map).

One of Prague’s most promising additions, Výčep is a modern Czech pub from the Kolektiv restaurant group (also responsible for contemporary Czech concepts like Meat Beer and Nejen Bistro), plating an updated take on Wallachian (North Moravian) food. Chef Jirka Hrachový has helmed the 60-seat eatery since it debuted in Prague’s Vinohrady district in December 2018. The chef crafts thoughtful interpretations of traditional Czech cuisine, using great local and seasonal ingredients. As an amuse, Hrachový might serve an aged slice of Prague ham, and from there, guests can dive into hearty, beef-friendly plates of unctuous baked bone marrow decorated with wild garlic, chives, and preserved currants, or grilled pork tongue with dill and onion jam. A bright and welcoming contrast to many of the city’s dark pubs, Výčep embraces simplicity and minimalism via blond wood, painted brick, and pendant lighting.