HALF-BREWED!

La Degustation is currently one of the three one-star Michelin restaurants in Prague. It is located away from the crowd yet you can easily go by walking from the Old Town Square.

Executive Chef Oldřich Sahajdák is the co-owner of the restaurant since it was opened in 2006. He is known to be a great supporter and promoter of the Czech cuisine. 

You can find below my evaluation of his restaurant and the eight-course degustation menu.

Ambiance 

La Degustation has a stylish but cozy ambiance with its open kitchen. It was obvious that a considerable amount of attention was given to the small details such as the menu and the windows which had the same logo on them. You can feel the touch of a hand all over the restaurant. 

Crystal chandeliers were very wise to use since the Czech Republic is famous for its crystals. It reminded me once more that I was in Prague, in a local restaurant.

The mirrors that were cleverly used in the restaurant trick you as if the dining area is larger. As long as it matches your theme and you can keep them really clean, I love the mirror effect. Don’t underestimate how everybody likes to see and check themselves in the mirror, especially if you are on a date at a fine dining restaurant.

Taste

Plenty of appetizers were served such as the garlic chips, broccoli with mayonnaise and radish with melon. Among them, the best one was broccoli with mayonnaise. Although I am not a fan of broccoli, I loved its taste together with mayonnaise.

Following the appetizers, amuse bouche was served. Beef tartare with crisps was a fantastic choice and it was very well prepared and nicely presented. Afterward, potato pancakes were served. It was surprising because potato pancakes were served instead of a bread. I loved the pancakes but I don’t think that it was a substitute for the bread. I definitely enjoy tasting the butter and the bread at a fine dining restaurant. The lack of it gave me a bad impression since I felt like for some reason they wanted to skip this part. Even if they don’t want to serve bread and butter to every single table, they can have some bread for people who ask for it. 

The first main dish was pumpkin soup with cream and cracklings. I thought that pumpkin soup would have a sweet taste but it tasted both sweet and sour. When I asked where the sourness come from they informed me that there is vinegar in the soup. If you love the combination of the contradicting tastes like me, you will definitely love this soup.

Next main dish was trout with fermented vegetables, almonds and parsley. Being a huge disappointment for me, there was nothing special regarding the trout. I only enjoyed the almonds in the sauce. Following the trout was beetroot with goat kefir and mead. It was mediocre and had a rather sour taste. I didn’t understand why they preferred to serve the beetroot after the trout. The same thought applies to this next dish as well. Celery root was served with egg yolk and black truffle oil where truffle oil was used to kill the dominant taste of the celery root. I think it is better to have a progressive menu that is starting from vegetables and moving on to fish and meat. 

The signature dish of the chef was definitely pasta with mushrooms and thyme. Mushrooms had an incredible taste with their companion thyme. Al dente cooked pasta was very thin as if it melted in your mouth.

The following course was the first meat course; lamb served with cabbage, onion and caraway. The meat was very delicious, however, the side dishes could have been much better. The second meat course was pigeon heart, liver and stomach with plum and cranberries. It was also a mediocre dish that didn’t meet my expectations.

The pre-dessert was fried cheese with fruit sauce. I felt like I was eating mozzarella sticks at a fast food restaurant. It was a poor pre-dessert choice, not like a refreshment at all. Fortunately, the dessert was very successful yet more like a pre-dessert. Yoghurt with walnuts, strawberries and potatoes were served as the dessert. It was a good and light finish.

Petite-fours were nicely thought and presented. I especially enjoyed the cotton candy idea.

Creativity

In general, the presentation of the dishes was nice and neat. However, there was nothing special or mindblowing that I can mention.

I usually think about the restaurants that I have visited after a couple of months passed, and try to remember some of their signature dishes. If I don’t recall any of them in terms of taste or presentation, it means that the restaurant couldn’t make the expected impact. Especially if you are a Michelin star restaurant, you need to make that impact.

Service

I loved to see the good energy among the people working in the kitchen. They seem to be having fun and looking very happy. It looked like they were a really good team sharing the same goal.

You can also feel this energy within the staff. The highlight of this restaurant was definitely its service. The staff was very friendly and sincere. They were talking to us and making appropriate jokes. Making jokes to customers can be quiet risky sometimes. There are people with different characteristics so the staff needs to be very careful while making jokes. The ones at La Degustation definitely knew what they were doing.

The staff responsible for the service were wearing white gloves. I love to see them wearing gloves because it gives me a sense of hygiene. It is also nice to see that someone is actually caring for you and thinking about these details. You feel that you are valued.

You can easily find the menu on the website. It is also very easy to make a reservation using the website. 

Value

Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this restaurant in terms of value. It was pretty expensive yet the menu was not worth its price. I brought one my friends here to have a degustation experience for the first time in her life. It was, indeed, not a good choice.

The wine menu and the sommelier were satisfactory.