Prague

Svíčková

The Czech national dish: braised beef sirloin in a creamy root-vegetable sauce, served with bread dumplings, a dollop of whipped cream and tart cranberry sauce. It is the dish locals point to first when asked what to order, sweet, tangy and rich all at once.

Czech Goulash (Guláš)

A thick, paprika-spiced beef stew in a dark onion gravy, closer to a hearty stew than the soupier Hungarian version, served with bread dumplings for mopping up the sauce. It is classic pub food, the kind of dish that pairs naturally with a glass of Czech lager.

Trdelník

A hollow spiral pastry wrapped around a spit, roasted over open flame until golden, then rolled in cinnamon sugar and sometimes filled with ice cream or Nutella. It is not actually a traditional Czech recipe, but it has become one of Prague's most photographed street snacks, sold from carts all over the Old Town.

◆Prices and quality vary a lot between stalls; the ones with a visible open-flame roasting spit tend to be freshest.

Becherovka

A bittersweet herbal liqueur made in Karlovy Vary since 1807 from a closely guarded recipe of over twenty herbs and spices, served ice-cold as a shot or mixed with tonic. Its sharp, medicinal-herbal flavour is unlike any spirit most foreign visitors have tried, and locals treat it as a digestif rather than a party shot.