After we have discovered Olomouc together, it’s time to find out more about the city’s best restaurants and cafes. This is a guide on where to eat in Olomouc, based on my own experience.
As a passionate foodie I am thrilled to share with you my favourite restaurants in Olomouc. From traditional Czech cuisine to fusion flavours, Olomouc offers a diverse and upscale dining experience, at an affordable price.
In this article, I will take you on a culinary journey through the heart of Olomouc, introducing you to the mouthwatering dishes and the charming restaurants I had the pleasure of dining at during my trip here, back in April. Whether you’re seeking a cosy cafe for breakfast, a hidden gem serving up authentic Czech delicacies for lunch, or a unique dining experience for dinner, I’ve got you covered.
Typical Dishes From the Olomouc Region:
Olomoucké Tvarůžky
You can’t visit Olomouc without trying the famous Olomoucké tvarůžky cheese, which is famous all over the country. Produced in the nearby town of Loštice, Olomoucké tvarůžky is so loved by the local community that it has a festival dedicated to it. I missed it by only two weeks.
Olomoucké tvarůžky is a hard cheese with quite a strong, salty taste. It is a smelly cheese as well, but nothing like a French cheese. There are different ways to try this cheese, and I would recommend starting with it as it is, to discover its pure taste. The Olomoucké tvarůžky is sprinkled with paprika and caraway seeds and served alongside rustic bread, soft butter, and raw onions. To eat it, you firstly spread the butter on the bread, add the cheese, and then top with the fresh onions. It is a great accompaniment to beer, and it’s delicious!
Other ways of enjoying the Olomoucké tvarůžky are fried or inside a local garlic soup.
Garlic Soup
Whilst garlic soup is a popular traditional Czech soup, in Olomouc it is made a little bit different. This is why it is not called just a garlic soup, but a Hanácká česnečka – garlic soup from the Haná region. This is a strong garlicky soup which has an extra ingredient that makes it even more flavoursome: the Olomoucké tvarůžky cheese. The soup also has ham, onions, and eggs, which makes it hearty, especially during the cold winter months.
Hanácký Koláč
Another traditional Czech dessert that has a regional variation in Olomouc is the koláč – a sweet, fruity pastry. In Olomouc, this pastry has a double filling: jam and cottage cheese. The jam usually used for this recipe is plum, and sometimes a little bit of rum is added as well. The cottage cheese is enhanced with sugar and vanilla, and a little bit of lemon zest, before being wrapped inside the dough. In the last few minutes of baking, the koláč are sprinkled with a crumble on top, which gives a beautiful texture to this dessert. Traditionally, the koláč has a round shape.
Where to Eat in Olomouc – My Favourite Restaurants and Cafes:
Entrée
Entrée should easily have at least one Michelin star, for the quality of the food and the dining experience it provides. It is without a doubt the best restaurant in Olomouc, and, I would dare to say the entire Czechia, from my personal foodie journey around the country.
I highly recommend ordering the tasting menu, which comes with a Czech wine pairing. Currently there are three different tasting menus, each named by the number of courses it contains: bloom, flower, and bouquet. The menu changes frequently, based on the seasonality of the ingredients.
I visited Entrée during spring, and enjoyed a menu focused on the awakening of nature, after a harsh winter. The first course was the amuse bouche, to tease the taste buds for what was about to follow. It consisted of a butter emulsion served with toasted bread served in a bowl, over a nest of hay. It was followed by a delicate beef consommé infused with lovage and spiced with horseradish. It was served in a tea cup with a golden spoon, and had the prettiest fresh green colour.
The next course was the first bold dish of the menu, a take on the Jerusalem artichoke, cooked in different ways: creamed, crispy, and pickled. The dish was completed with a chicken heart and an earthy liquorice jus. It was followed by one of the most surprising courses of the menu for me: the bean soup. I don’t like beans, so I was a bit weary about this dish. Until I tasted it that is. The humble bean was cooked alongside sausage, miso, and marjoram, which elevated the flavour so much that made me like it. A lot!
The next course was a palette cleanser, before the main courses. It consisted of a piece of Mangalitsa pork chop served with kimchi and coriander mayo. It was a proper punch of flavour in a small bite.
The first main course focused on fish: sea bass and smoked eel, served with brassica and lemon. It was a fresh dish, with a slight sweetness to it. The texture of the dish was given by the almond shavings on top. I loved the green sauce on the plate, which brought all the ingredients together, but I couldn’t guess what it was made from.
The next palette cleanser came in a cute, tiny flower pot. It was a goat cheese mousse with a blackberry gel and fresh mango slices, served with buckwheat crackers.
The start of the show was the duck course. The meat was cooked in two different ways: seared breast and slow cooked leg. It was served in a creative way, on a bed of puree and decorated with slices of beetroot. On the plate there was also black pudding, chokeberries gel, and the most flavoursome, duck jus. The dish was brought together by the herby oil, which brought freshness to the overall sweetness of the duck.
The dessert was light and fresh, ending the dinner on a high. It was a lime tart surrounded by a meringue flower, with a quenelle of basil and kaffir lime sorbet on top.
Eatery & Bakery
The Eatery & Bakery was the first restaurant I dined at on my trip to Olomouc. I was very hungry, after a long day of travelling which started very early. By 7 in the evening I was more than ready to go for dinner and have my first taste of the local cuisine in Olomouc.
Eatery & Bakery is part of the Long Shorty Short Hostel, where I stayed in the city. Firstly, the location of the restaurant is pretty epic, in the Baroque Locatelli bastion which was used as the Military bakery – where the name of the restaurant comes from as well. The place is airy and modern, with a relaxed atmosphere.
I liked that the menu was quite small, but with some fantastic sounding dishes on it. I chose the soup of the day, which was cauliflower, then the deer backstrap and after a little bit of convincing from the friendly waitress. For dessert I chose the Paris-Brest.
The cauliflower soup was like no other I have tasted before. It was smooth and creamy, like a volute, with a light texture given by the shitake mushrooms at the bottom of the plate. It had a smoky taste, with a slight sweetness cut through by the punch and crunch of the spring onions.
The deer backstrap was served with gnocchi, parsley root, rosehip sauce and spruce. It was one of those dishes that left a strong impression on me, to the point that I still remember that incredible flavour profile. The deer was cooked rare, perfectly tender that it melted in my mouth. There was no need to cut it with a knife. The sauce had a deep, earthy flavour, cut through delicately by the freshness of the spruce emulsion. It was such a perfect combination.
The Paris-Brest was one of the lightest desserts I have ever tasted. The choux pastry was crispy, whilst the hazelnut filling was extremely airy, with a very delicate aroma. When it first arrived I thought it was going to be very sweet but that was not the case. The cream was actually rather fresh instead of sweet. It was an excellent choice to end dinner with.
Morgan’s Restaurant
Morgan’s is a restaurant located in an 18th century historical bastion, with a friendly and vibrant atmosphere. They serve a selection of traditional Czech dishes, as well as burgers and steaks. The interior of the restaurant highlights the original exposed brick walls of the bastion. There are several spaces underneath the arches of the bastion. To me, it looked like a great beer hall, where friends can gather for a good evening out.
I chose a traditional Czech dish from the menu, the fried cheese. I have tried it before and I know how delicious and indulgent it is. I accompanied it with a glass of Birell pomelo and grapefruit beer on draft, which was highly recommended by the waitress.
The fried cheese was delicious, just as I remembered it. The cheese was oozing out of the perfectly crisp breadcrumbs coating. It was served with a homemade tartar sauce, and golden fries.
Svatováclavský Minipivovar
Directions | Menu (in Czech, you need Google translate to read it)
St Wenceslas restaurant is home to a microbrewery but also a beer spa, where you can enjoy a relaxing session after lunch. Which is exactly what I did. I started my foodie/relaxing experience with lunch and one of the beers brewed here. I chose the lunch menu, which comes with a soup and a main course, and I also ordered the famous Olomoucké tvarůžky to taste. It was my first full day in Olomouc and I just had to know what the fuss about this cheese was all about.
The soup of the day was beef consommé with noodles and sauteed vegetables, which was very tasty. Then, the cheese arrived, beautifully arranged on the plate, served with soft butter, rustic bread, raw onions, and salad. The cheese was sprinkled with paprika and caraway seeds. Firstly, I buttered the bread, then took one of the cheeselets and laid it over the bread, then I topped with onions and took a bite. I loved the flavour combination, the sweetness of the butter, salty taste of the cheese, and the punchy raw onion.
The main course was a pork cutlet served with a mushroom sauce and roast potatoes. As I’ve spent the morning walking around town in sub zero temperatures and snow, this was the perfect comfort food to warm me up. The beer I chose to accompany the lunch was the special Řezané Pivo, which consists of lager and black beer layered carefully, to create a perfectly delimited two colours in the glass.
After lunch, I spent the next couple of hours in the underground spa, relaxing in a wooden tub filled with 32 litres of beer, which made my skin as soft as a baby’s skin.
Vinný šenk U Zlatého beránka
Vinný šenk U Zlatého beránka is a very special wine bar in the University quarters of Olomouc. I was warmly welcomed by Jana, the owner, for a wine and chocolate pairing. Whilst she prepared the table, I went on a wander around the cellar, which larger parties can book for a wine tasting. The cellar is very rustic, with exposed bricks, wooden furniture, and wine bottles displayed on the walls.
I was looking forward to this chocolate and wine pairing ever since I found out that such a foodie experience exists in Olomouc. Jana explained how wine and chocolate complement each other in such a unique way, enhancing each other’s flavour. The wine can tame the bitter taste of chocolate, whilst the chocolate can balance the acidity of the wine. It all depends on the quality of chocolate, as well as the flavour profile of the wine.
I really enjoyed that this experience was insightful as well as culinary, which enhanced the experience for me. Even though she didn’t speak much English, Jana was the perfect entertainer for the evening. Her knowledge of wine is fascinating, and so were her stories from the village she lives in.
Coffee Library
Directions | Menu (in Czech)
Coffee Library is a lovely student coffee shop located on the grounds of Palacký University. It has a great selection of coffees and teas, and even a greater selection of cakes. The café also serves sandwiches and wraps, for a quick lunch on the go. The prices are very affordable, due to the student demographic.
When it comes to the cakes they serve, there is a large selection of both modern and traditional Czech recipes. One of the cakes I was recommended to try was the Pařížské rohlíčky or Paris Rolls in English. These are traditional Czech Christmas cookies with a biscuit base, a light chocolate cream filling, and a tempered chocolate crust. They are delicious!
Kafec at Villa Primavesi
Villa Primavesi has an upscale café that has its own roastery and serves high quality beans from all over the world. They also serve delicious cakes, brunch dishes such as Eggs Florentine or loaded waffles, as well as gourmet hot dogs after 1 pm.
As it was quite late when I visited the café, I opted for a hot pear cider with cinnamon drink. It was the perfect warm up for the cold weather. Alongside it, I also went for a lemon cheesecake slice which was so light and fluffy.
Conclusion:
I hope that my guide on where to eat in Olomouc has given you plenty of suggestions of restaurants and cafes that are worth a visit. There are so many amazing restaurants in Olomouc, with chefs cooking incredible dishes with locally sourced ingredients.
Fore more articles about South Moravia, check out my recommendations below:
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I explored Olomouc during a press trip organised by the Czech Tourism Board. This is a post created for the #Czech30 campaign, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Czechia.
everything looks sumptuous! I bet you had a brilliant time discovering all these unique Czech eats on your trip!
Wow! Just reading this was making me hungry. We visited Prague earlier this year but now wish I had also made it to Olomouc! Thanks for sharing such delicious meal options.
The places you get to dine at look phenomenal and worthy of a Michelin star rating, indeed!
Oh my gosh that food looks really delicious and the photos are great too. Thank you for the excellent list of restaurants.
Holy cow, you had me at cheese and garlic soup! Olomouc sounds like a foodie’s dream city 😍