Month: February 2016 (Page 2 of 2)

This basque restaurant was recommended to us by a local guide who showed us the city. The guide himself being Canadian, we were a little bit sceptic, but Don Pintxos didn’t disappoint. They really have a lovely selection of excellent wines and the friendly staff clearly knows their wines very well. Based on your personal wine taste, they will recommend you a wine.

True to basque tradition, a fine selection of pintxos are presented on the counter top. Just point to the ones you like and staff will serve them to you. Depending on your appetite you can eat as much as you like. Do try the gambas a la plancha, they were really excellent.

A nice find in Brno nearby the new town hall.

Don Pintxos, Dominikanska 351/3, Brno 602 00, Czech Republic
http://www.donpintxos.cz/
+420 774 770 254

Visited February 2016. You can find my review about Don Pintxos also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 4/5, service 5/5, food 4/5.

This place truly is amazing. Unbelievable that this underground ossuary only got rediscovered in 2001. I loved the fact that there is modern art displayed in the ossuary. The music especially composed for this place makes for an unforgettable experience.

Ossuary underneath the Church of St. James, Jakubske namesti 101/2, Brno 602 00, Czech Republic
http://ticbrno.cz/en/podzemi/kostnice-u-sv-jakuba
+420 515 919 793

Visited February 2016. You can find my review about Ossuary underneath the Church of St. James also on TripAdvisor.

This place is on the outskirts of Brno, so you need to take a bus or a cab to go here. The location in itself isn’t really inviting, but the food makes up for that. Thuan Lien serves authentic Vietnamese food without frills and what is more: it is very cheap. I had the Bún tôm noodle soup. Really very tasty and all that for only 100 czk.

Be warned: during lunch hour this place can get very busy, but since service if quick and efficient, you’ll never have to wait long for a table.

Thuan Lien, Olomoucka 83/61a Vietnamska Trznice, Cernovice, Czech Republic

Visited February 2016. You can find my review about Thuan Lien also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 3/5, food 5/5.

Looking through the window at all those gorgeous cakes, I just had to go in for a piece of cake and a hot chocolate. This café has a really nice atmosphere and a classic feel to it.

Ordering was somewhat of a challenge though. I was seated on the first floor and tried to explain in English which cake I wanted, since those weren’t on the menu. I was pointing in the mirror at the cakes below me, but the waitress didn’t understand which cake I meant, so she brought me the wrong one.

Not that big of a deal, because the chocolate cheesecake I got was absolutely fantastic. Perfect and moist. Lovely! The hot chocolate was also very delicious. Both were quite heavy, so it felt a little bit like a chocolate overdose.

Service could be better though, I had to wait quite some time before ordering and it took an equally long time to bring me the bill.

Cosmopolis Cafe, Zelny trh 314/2, Brno 602 00, Czech Republic
+420 542 106 080

Visited February 2016. You can find my review about Cosmopolis Cafe also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 4/5, service 3/5, food 4/5.

This cathedral is well worth a visit. The building in itself is beautiful and gives you an insight in the history of Brno. Do yourself a favour and buy a ticket to climb up the stairs of the tower. There is a small museum with some beautiful liturgical objects, but it is the view that takes away the top price. Spectacular. Mind you, there isn’t much space on both viewing platforms, but it certainly wasn’t busy when we visited.

Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, Petrov 268/9, Brno 602 00, Czech Republic
http://www.katedrala-petrov.cz/index.php/cz/
+420 543 235 031

Visited February 2016. You can find my review about Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul also on TripAdvisor.

The building in which this restaurant is located is a reconstruction of a functionalist building that was demolished in 1964. The building reopened in the nineties on a slightly different location. The interior is gorgeous in its simplicity, with a high ceiling which gives you a spacious feeling.

The Pavillon is an exceptional location for fine dining. Staff is very friendly, well trained and speaks English almost fluently. Of course we ordered the seven course tasting menu with wine pairing (for a total of 1665 per person). How could we resist?

Food was really excellent. Every course was prepared with a lot of care and looked beautiful. My favorite dish was without a doubt the deertopus, a lovely combination of grilled saddle of deer and asian style octopus. Please do try this dish, you will be amazed.

From our waiter we learned that the chef of The Pavillon in the past had worked with Gordon Ramsey. A great reference indeed!

To finish of the meal in style my boyfriend asked the waiter for a locally made digestif. It’s always nice to learn more about the local food and drinks. My boyfriend got served a glas of Becherovka.

My only (very minor) complaint is that the chairs, although comfortable, make a lot of nice when moved.

Restaurant Pavillon, Jezuitska 6, Brno 602 00, Czech Republic
http://www.restaurant-pavillon.cz/
+420 541 213 497

Visited February 2016. You can find my review about Restaurant Pavillon also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 5/5, food 5/5.

We had read so many great things about this restaurant in Brno that we couldn’t wait to try it out for ourselves. We made a reservation through the website, but since we didn’t receive any confirmation (the website indicated that we wouldn’t get a confirmation, but it seems to me this isn’t a good system: if anything goes wrong, your customer doesn’t know if the reservation went through or not). Since we traveled all the way from Belgium,we asked them kindly to confirm our reservation by e-mail, which they did.

From the very moment we entered the restaurant we felt super welcome. We even got assigned a waiter who could speak Dutch (we are Dutch speaking). A big and unexpected surprise when you go for dinner in Brno. We did highly appreciate the effort our waiter put in explaining everything in Dutch.

Borgo Agnese is a truly beautiful restaurant, located at the site where the early history of Brno began. In the restaurant you can even have a look at part of the Gothic chancel of the All Saints Church, which was destroyed during the Swedish siege of Brno in 1645. Great food and history combined!

It was our first evening in Brno, we were exited to be in this new city, so we decided to go for the full option: the degustation menu SLOW FOOD. Ten courses, accompanied by wines. Total price: 2048 czk. Expensive, but well worth the money. Each course was prepared with great care, presented like a little piece of art and pared with superb wines. I do have to say that 10 courses turned out to be a bit much. Personally I found the two courses after the sorbet, although very delicious, a bit too big. But really, that’s nit picking.

We had a really unforgettable evening here!

Borgo Agnese, Kopechna 980/43 Brno-Stred, Brno 602 00, Czech Republic
http://www.borgoagnese.cz/
+420 515 537 500

Visited February 2016. You can find my review about Borgo Agnese also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 5/5, food 5/5.