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Kavárna Kaaba
Stylish Kaaba flaunts retro furniture and pastel-coloured décor that could have come straight from the award-winning Czech pavilion at the 1958 Brussels Expo. Gourmet imported coffee (including Jamaican Blue Mountain), snacks and an extensive list of Czech and imported wines are served, while the in-house trafik (news and tobacco counter) is neatly ordered to the nearest millimetre.
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Kavárna Lucerna
A pre-cinema crowd joins card players, chain-smokers and barflies in this wonderfully atmospheric café, which nestles in an Art Nouveau shopping arcade where light filtered through the yellow cupola and dirty-coloured fake marble create an aura of bittersweet nostalgia. Chocolate cake or mednovík (honey cake) are pretty well the only non-liquid choices as you peer through the arched windows at David Černý's fibreglass Horse .
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Klub Újezd
Klub Újezd is one of Prague's many 'alternative' bars, spread over three floors (DJs in the cellar, and a café upstairs) and filled with a fascinating collection of hand-made furniture and fittings, original art and weird wrought-iron sculptures. Clamber onto a two-tonne bar stool in the agreeably grungy street-level bar, and sip on a beer while you watch a thick rope of herbal-scented smoke uncoil across the ceiling beside the scaly, fire-breathing sea-monster that dangles over your head. Trippy.
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Konvikt Pub
If you're looking for a reasonably traditional, down-earth pub in Prague's historic centre, you could do a lot worse than the Konvikt. Set on a street filled with police offices, it serves good Pilsner Urquell and solid Bohemian fare.
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Kuŕe V Hodinkách
'The Chicken in the Watch' is relatively posh for Žižkov, attracting slightly better-heeled locals, particularly to its downstairs music bar. With a name harking back to a 1970s Czech album, it's kitted out with eye-catching rock paraphernalia. Yet its selection of beer brands (an unusual occurrence in Prague), malt whiskies (including some connoisseurs' favourites like Lagavulin) and unexpectedly tasty food are the real reasons for visiting.
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Le Clan
Not really happening until and often running to noon the next day, this is Prague's leading after-party venue. Buzz yourself in and take a seat in the sofa-bedecked basement or join the bods dancing. Want to see what the place runs on? Just pop into the toilets and check out the strategically mounted horizontal mirrors.
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Le Tram
There are several good neighbourhood bars on this side street, but Le Tram stands out. Looking like it's been furnished from a Prague public transport closing-down sale - it's filled with plastic seats, benches and other accoutrements salvaged from decommissioned trams, as well as other 1970s objets trouvés - this pleasantly scruffy French-owned bar pulls in a truly international crowd with cheap beer, lively converstation and cool tunes.
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Letná Beer Garden
Spread along a shaded but dusty escarpment at the eastern end of Letná Gardens, this slew of rickety benches enjoys one of the city's best views, looking across the river to the spires of Stare Město, and southwest to Malá Strana. You can rely on its being open June to September, but you'll often find it serving up Gambrinus on sunny winter days, too.
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Letná Gardens
A slew of rickety benches and tables spread along a dusty scarp beneath the trees at the eastern end of Letná Gardens enjoys one of the city's most stunning views, looking across the river to the spires of Staré Město, and southwest to Malá Strana. Gambrinus on tap.
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Letní bar
Basically a shack serving Budvar in plastic cups, this is the place to pick up a beer before hitting the little beach at the northern end of the island.
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M1 Lounge
A long, narrow tunnel of exposed concrete, where exposed air-con ducts and ultraviolet lighting meet candlelight and plush sofas, M1 attracts English-speaking expats and well-heeled locals (no stag parties). Its flagship evening is Wednesday's mix of indie rock, Britpop and electro, although it's moving into after-party territory with Saturday night's funky 'Liquid Time.' (Pity about the single ladies' toilet, though. Did we miss something?)
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Marquis de Sade
Housed in a former First Republic bordello, this red-lined dive bar has a deliciously low-life feel. The ceiling is patched with a sheet, the floor is creaky and from the 'comfort' of the threadbare sofas, the upper gallery looks precarious. But first-timers, regular expats and local barflies all mingle over a beer, wine, absinth, Becherovka or Fernet shot in this determinedly cocktail-free zone.
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Mecca
A slice of Ibiza in the Prague suburbs, Mecca is a premier name on the city's clubbing scene. Its black-walled interior is sultry and sexy, with the relatively small, DJ-dominated dance floor reached via a restaurant area popular with models, film stars and fashionistas; there's a chill-out lounge with curvy couches downstairs. On weekends some more pretentious punters fumble around in sunglasses. The midweek '80s/'90s night is more relaxed.
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Mill Kavarna
This artists' café-bar in Kampa Park has existed in various guises since the communist era, but you might still hear it called Tato Kejkej, its most recent previous incarnation. One or two tourists are starting to find their way over the wooden footbridge beside the wooden mill wheel, but mainly it's local alternative types who fill the smoky, dimly lit interior, arriving for coffee, beer and the occasional live gig.
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Novoměstský Pivovar
You realise this is going to be another over-touristed hospoda from the strains of oompah music the moment the door opens. Consequently, you'll be lucky to get a table without a booking. Why bother doing that? Well, the beer is slightly cheaper than in similar establishments and the food is not merely edible but actually rather decent.
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Park Café
Perched on top of precipitous Riegrovy Park, this bustling beer garden has awesome night-time views of the castle, a big screen showing sport and the opportunity to play table football and table hockey with half of Prague. Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus.
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Pivovar U Bulovky
This initially unassuming suburban pub and microbrewery soon reveals why it's such a city legend. It's not just the range of award-winning beers, although these include a delicious house ležak (lager) as well as ales, stouts, Düsseldorf-style Alts and Bavarian-like Weissbiers . Part of the pub's appeal is its welcoming hum and local atmosphere. Staff don't always speak English, but it's not hard to make yourself understood.
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Pivovarský dům
While the tourists flock to U Fleků (below), locals gather here to sample the classic Czech lager (in light, dark and mixed varieties) that is produced on the premises, as well as wheat beer and a range of flavoured beers (including coffee, banana and cherry). The pub itself is a pleasant place to linger, decked out with polished copper vats and brewing implements and smelling faintly of malt and hops.
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Popocafépetl
Before this is like a moody version of a teenage American milk-bar but thankfully pulls in a crowd of 20-somethings in the evenings. By the time you read this, the branch in Malá Strana might have become more popular - or closed; popular PopoCafé always seems to be moving.
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Radost Fx
Another Prague stalwart, Radost is a high-profile, fairly mainstream club that pulls in big-name DJs and shiny punters. There's a chilled-out, bohemian atmosphere, with Moroccan-boudoir-meets-Moulin-Rouge décor and the upstairs lounge serves food late. Thursday's hip-hop night, FXbounce (www.fxbounce.com), is a weekly highlight.
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Riegrovy Sady Park Café
On a balmy evening, you often hear this huge, German-style beer garden atop Riegrovy sady before you see it; a noise like waves breaking, interspersed with the heavy chink of sturdy glasses, rumbles out from under the trees. Inside, hundreds of Vinohrady and Žižkov denizens (and their dogs) are making merry with cheap Gambrinus, poured at a super-speedy rate to keep the perpetual queue moving.
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Sahara Café
This designer souk looks fantastic, with a merger of neutral stone, rattan chairs, teak mahogany tables, Moroccan pillows, embroidered drapes and palm fronds throughout its unfolding warren of rooms. (Don't forget to explore the downstairs garden in summer.) Sadly, the Mediterranean and North African food doesn't live up to the interiors, so stick to drinks.
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Saints
Sealing the deal on Prague's booming 'gay quarter' in Vinohrady, this British-run bar is laidback, friendly and serves decent drinks. With a multinational staff speaking many languages, for newcomers it's the perfect entrée to the local scene.
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Sedm Vlků
'Seven Wolves' is a cool, two-level, art-studenty café-bar and club - at street level there's candlelight, friendly staff, weird wrought-iron work and funky murals; down in the darkened cellar DJs pump out techno, breakbeat, drum'n'bass and ragga from on Friday and Saturday nights.
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St Nicholas Café
Descend from the bustle of Malá Strana into this dark and peaceful Gothic cellar, a favourite midday refuge in the heart of the tourist zone. Dimly lit alcoves, flickering candlelight and worn wooden tables make an appealing setting for a few quiet beers or a bottle of wine; later in the evening it gets busier and develops a cool, jazzy atmosphere.
