EBG Rating: 8.6

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Normally an afterthought in such places, they offer between 2-4 taps, usually including the local Krumlov brand. The back bar is more perfunctory, but bases are covered.

Style/Décor:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
A shack laden with the events and ephemera of its history. Rickety, off-centre. As you enter there’s a fire by the bar to the left, and ad hoc seating arrangements on the right, with a performance area to the rear.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
A lost atmosphere from bars which were in the past more frequent, but now are hidden gems. This isn’t somewhere to take a date, or an instagram video of some template furniture. Instead, the atmosphere is clandestine, counter-cultural, a blend of unpretentious old geezers and youngsters, which peaks during musical performances. This is a slice of both folk and punk culture. Smoking (of various kinds) is permitted here.

Amenities/
Events:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Live music, events, snacks, fireplace, musical instruments, outdoor seating

Value For Money:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Entirely fair value for money.

Description:
The search for this pub was wing and a prayer, walking past then through an unlit lorry park and around the side of long closed roadside diner, the full length of the building and round the corner in the dark, until suddenly a glow and a twinkle of lights. Hurray – it does exist, and it’s exactly where Google says it is. It is no surprise then, that this is a cult venue for those in the know, rather than passing trade.

On entry though, the holy union of grizzled old geezers and youngsters didn’t seem at all fussed by our presence, making us feel almost welcome, but certainly tolerated (which in Czechia can qualify as a compliment) .

This is a shed, a bunker, drinking den of iniquity sheltered from the public glare. Wizened with character, the events and happenings plastered across its walls. Some easy to identify, others signifying, well..what exactly?

To the left of the entrance is the bar and a heater, which we’re pleased to say was blasting out on a very cold evening. To the right, tables and a TV, with a passage to a music/performance area.

Yes, music and general cultural revue is a critical part of this venue, giving it a sense of contribution to the city and legitimacy that accompanies that, all the while feeling very transgressive. Certainly the smoke fumes, some of which are let’s say greener than others, reinforces that, so be warned.

As bars are slowly reconfigured into a by-numbers exercise in blandness, venues like these show the virtues of doing it their own way. An unashamed love-or-hate place, but one that will be truly loved by its adherents, far beyond the love any Kozlovna or Lokál will ever manage.

On the subject of beer, normally an afterthought in such places, they offer between 2-4 taps, usually including the local Krumlov brand.

If you’re an adventurous sort, a punk, a youngster or just fancy a complete change to the usual, it’s well worth the short walk from the city centre.