Mlýnec is a highly touted Czech cuisine restaurant with a modern flair. Led by Executive Chef Marek Purkart, who is the only Czech chef with three Michelin Bibendum awards, it is easily one of the most sought after restaurants in "the city of a hundred spires" by tourists.
The dining room takes on a rather contemporary design with framed paintings and mirrors hanging everywhere on the wall. The soft lighting helps to create a fairly romantic atmosphere.
But we have done our homework and knew exactly where we wanted to be - out on the terrace where the Charles Bridge was just a stone throw away.
Unfortunately, the much anticipated view was not as good as advertised (the view from Kampa Park was so much better.). A dancing platform on the waters also helped to put a little bit more distance in between.
Just when we were trying to enjoy ourselves on the terrace, the weather condition suddenly turned from bad to worse with heavy rain pouring in left and right. Water started to drift onto the terrace with scared diners retreating back to the dining room. We were the only one who decided to stay put.
But the Show must go on right !? Dancers still going at it under the rain.....that's great professionalism !
With the heavy rain finally gone, our amuse bouche arrived just in the nick of time before we collapsed from hunger. It was a green pea mousse that we felt was underwhelming (2/10).
I had the traditional Czech potato soup with sour cream, mushrooms and bacon which was very average as well (4/10).
More adventrous was the next starter - celery cream soup with asparagus mousse and celery ice-cream. This was my first time having celery ice cream and I was quite amazed how well it worked with the warm and creamy celery soup (7/10).
Sticking with the Czech roots, once again I took on a traditional Czech dish - this time a traditional Czech crispy roasted duck with red cabbage braised in red wine and homemade dumplings. I thought the meat was a bit on the hard side (4/10).
Reading from an online restaurant guide, it stated that Mlýnec's veal fillet mignon rated top 10 in Prague. I found it amazing that someone was actually keeping track of ratings like this.
To be exact, it was a Veal Fillet Mignon a la Schnitzel, serving with veal jus, light potato salad and creamy horseradish. I am not sure about the top 10 rating but it was very good. In fact crispy on the outside and tender on the inside (8/10).
We had three fairly special meals in Prague. Kampa Park I thought was the best out of the three hands down. La Degustation probably has the best reputation due to its one star status but in terms of value for money, I would take Mlýnec any day.
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: €€€
Address: Novotného lávka 9, 110 00 Prague, CzechClosest Metro Station: Staroměstská
Tel: +420 277 000 777
Website: www.mlynec.cz
