Staying and Dining in Bratislava

Bratislava is not a large city but I consider that there is only one place worth staying in and that is the Old Town. There are excellent restaurants, bars and shopping in this area along every scenic pedestrians-only street. Bratislava’s four-star hotels in this area (both of the large international type and the boutiques) provide service at a very high level. Rooms are on a par with those of comparable hotels throughout Europe. Breakfast, almost always included in the price, tends to be an extensive buffet. There are a few two and three-star hotels in the Old Town as well, but most are elsewhere.

For those on a budget, hostels provide basic housing. Rooms are very simple, with bathrooms usually shared. Telephones and other extras are not in the rooms, although they are available in the building. The location of most hostels is further away from the city center. Apartments are now available as an attractive alternative for those who enjoy roomy accommodations at bargain prices – and a chance to sample how the locals live. With restaurants and supermarkets available throughout Bratislava’s Old Town (where these apartments tend to be located), staying in these apartments offers space and versatility.

In eating out, as in other experiences, one of the key pleasures in Bratislava’s Old Town is strolling around and discovering surprises. The finest restaurants almost invariably post their menu by their front door, to help you choose – but staff in all restaurants will probably be quite willing to show you the menu before you sit down if you ask.

Foreign languages are not typically spoken by most restaurant staff outside of the largest hotels, so if you wish to converse with the waiter in detail then stick to these places. However, most restaurants provide menus in English, and possibly German, and you can point to your selection.

Almost any restaurant you choose, especially in Old Town, will probably provide a decent meal at an attractive price. Atmosphere and decoration tends to be pleasant, but it is wise to check out such things as loud music and the level of cigarette smoke before you are seated. The biggest disappointments tend to come in the area of service, which is occasionally slower or less attentive than in most western European countries.

Quick Tips:

It is best to point to each menu choice even if the waiter seems to understand, to avoid misunderstandings later.
When paying, it is customary to round up the bill to the nearest hundred or fifty, to a total of five to ten percent. Cash tips will be appreciated, even if you are paying for the meal by credit card.

Almost all restaurants serve “à la carte”, and side dishes (including rice and potatoes, or fresh salad) must be requested separately. You should be sure to ask separately even for ketchup, salad dressing and bread, and expect to pay a few crowns for each of them. Note that fish prices are often given by weight, not by serving, and so will often cost more in the end than the “example” price given in the menu.

You will find restaurants claiming to have traditional ‘Slovak’ dishes all over Bratislava. It is not an officially certified name – there is no quality control about which restaurants are really “Slovak”, so of course the quality and price may vary. But in general any restaurant that displays the Slovak-language “Slovenska restauracia” will offer you a real chance to taste authentic Slovak cooking. Menus tend to range from basic grilled meat to traditional peasant meals based around cabbage or “bryndza” soft sheep cheese.

There are some eight McDonald's, one Pizza Hut and one Little Caesars (both on the edge of Old Town). The IKEA store includes a restaurant with the standard menu used in all its stores worldwide.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you stay in the Old Town, you will find that most things you want to see are within walking distance. Walking around the streets of this area is a delight. There are a couple of out-of-town places where you can take a tour.

Nestled in the heart of Bratislava, the Radisson SAS Carlton Hotel has excellent neighbours, including the National Opera and Philharmony. Originally constructed in 1837, this hotel used to be the Inn at The Three Green Trees and has been one of the most prestigious buildings in the Slovak capital.

In keeping with its location, each floor is dedicated to a famous composer and all 168 rooms are decorated in either contemporary or classic styles. Free broadband, including wireless, Internet access is available throughout the hotel, which means you can log on to the Internet from anywhere in the hotel. Non smoking rooms and rooms for disabled guests are available upon request.

The hotel also offers 24-hour room service, 3-hour express laundry, limousine service, car rental through AVIS, a shopping arcade with a jeweler, a hair salon and several other shopping outlets.

There are standard rooms, deluxe rooms, and suites but most will be happy with a standard room. These rooms either overlook the charming and quaint Hviezdoslav Square or the beautiful hotel garden. Each has coffee and tea making facilities, electronic safe, free broadband, hairdryer, individual adjustable air-conditioning, mini bar, satellite and pay television, three telephones with voice mail, and a trouser press.

The hotel has a famous restaurant called the Opera Brasserie where Swiss Executive Chef, Marcus Niederhauser prepares fabulous international delicacies with a French twist. The restaurant has a lovely outdoor terrace for use in the summer where guests can enjoy a meal overlooking the National Opera and Hviezdoslav Square. It opens from 6:30am to 10:30pm (Mon-Fri) and 7am to 10:30pm (Sat-Sun).

The historic Mirror Bar accentuates the prestige of the hotel and is a popular rendezvous spot where cocktails and delicious snacks are served with live piano music. The bar’s red interior features a fake library to imitate the former Mirror Hall. It opens from 2pm to 1am.

The fully-equipped Fitness Dome is open to all in-house guests at no charge and offers a variety of services including cardio-techno gym equipment, body building equipment, sauna, steam bath, relaxation area with chaise lounge and daily newspapers, a fitness instructor at your disposal, and towels and mineral water.

A first-class hotel, the Hotel Danube managed by the French company Meydan Hotels offers a charming, friendly and pleasant atmosphere for business and leisure travellers. The Hotel Danube is situated in the historic heart of Bratislava and offers a beautiful view over the Danube River and Bratislava Castle.

There are 276 guest rooms located on four floors, of which 70 are executive rooms, 12 suites, and 4 apartments. All rooms are equipped with central air-conditioning, satellite and movie TV, telephone, high-speed Internet access, and minibar. Non-smoking rooms and rooms for disabled people are available as well.

Executive rooms, located on the third floor, are designed for those who expect more than the standard quality. In the Meydan Lounge, located on the same floor, you can get a complimentary continental breakfast, an evening aperitif, as well as coffee, tea, and other soft drinks during the day. Selected daily newspapers and magazines are available for those staying on the executive floor. Executive rooms are provided with some complimentary services such as visits to the sauna and swimming pool, use of the Computer Room on the third floor (PC with color printer, high-speed Internet access, local phone calls, and fax), pressing service on the day of arrival and later check-out on the day of departure (till 2pm).

The eating and drinking options are good. Café Viennois on the ground floor has a daily buffet breakfast then “à la carte” lunch and dinner with a wide selection of traditional and international cuisine. During summer grill specialties are available on the open-air terrace. A brunch is offered on Sundays. The restaurant opens daily from 6am to 10.30pm.

Restaurant Romeo e Giulietta offers traditional Italian cuisine with excellent services. If you decide to try specialties prepared in front of you, you will certainly find a piece of Italy in the heart of Bratislava. Open Monday to Saturday from 11.30am to 3pm and from 6pm to 10.30pm.

Le Square Bar & Lounge (located on the ground floor) is open daily between 10.30am and 1am. The newly fashionable French styled furniture helps provide a unique atmosphere. Le Square offers a large choice of drinks, cocktails, and light meals.

Prasna Basta has developed a strong reputation and is now featured in several tourist guides. What is interesting is that it remains very popular with an intellectual and artsy crowd of locals. The service is unobtrusively friendly. The locals tell me that the food is usually of high quality, although there are occasional inconsistencies. In the summer, the restaurant offers very pleasant seating in its quiet backyard.

Popular starters include the Armenian salad - grated carrots with an extremely garlicky mayonnaise sauce. From soups, try the onion soup (Cibulacka) or garlic soup (Cesnacka). Main dishes include Racisdorfska pochutka - a pork and beef delicacy in potato pancake and Sote Jose - chicken strips in creamy white wine sauce with hot peppers.

Our party tried several different main dishes and all were enjoyable. In my mind it is hard to go past the Plate "Prašna Bašta" (for 2 persons) a combination of beef and chicken breast, ham, mushrooms and green peas (SKK 465) or theTidbit "Ratschisdorf" a combination of beef, chicken, wine, ham, mushrooms and vegetables (SKK 285). A friend really enjoyed his Pork a la "Dijon" with white wine, cream, and french mustard. (SKK 155).

I had a bean salad with yogurt (SKK 50) which was most unusual but delicious. Vegetarians are catered for with a fusilli with pesto genovese, dried tomatoes, and olives (SKK 145).

I am a sucker for great desserts and I must say that the pancake with nut filling, chocolate and cream (SKK 55) was excellent. We thought this was excellent value for money given the location and quality of food. A full dinner for two including wine is from about SKK 800 ($25).

There is quite an extensive wine list but I was not familiar with many of the offerings. The restaurant operates daily from 11am to 11pm.

The Restaurant Woch, which is named after a 13th century knight, the oldest known citizen and gourmet of Bratislava, is situated in the historical old city on the square Fratiškánske námestie 7. This is a luxurious restaurant known for its high standard of service, attractive ambience, and excellent dishes of Slovak and international cuisine.

The building that houses Woch has a 13th century medieval basement and upper floors from the baroque era. Its interior, which has an arched ceiling, keeps up the historic spirit of the place, and the chef has made it his task to revive traditional Bratislava cuisine.

The local fare is influenced by many countries of the former Austro-Hungarian empire, a characteristic example being schnitzel, which in Woch is made out of chicken. Dishes like the thick meat soup with vegetables called čorba show that food can travel from as far away as Bulgaria or Yugoslavia. The wine list is equally appealing, featuring well-known wine producers and small vineyards. There is an English menu and reservations are suggested on weekends.

I had a tasty dinner of mushroom soup (around 100SKK), and perfectly grilled fish (around 400SKK). For dessert I recommend apple strudel (85SKK) or the apple and vanilla pudding (135SKK). For two, with wine, the tab was $23.
The restaurant has live music in the basement. When we were there this was available three nights a week but in the peak season the music lounge operates almost every night. Thursday is jazz night, Friday features country, and Saturday is sixties - eighties classics. Punk and pop are also played on occasions.

The restaurant opens daily from 11am to 10pm. The music lounge was operating from Thursday to Saturday from 9pm until 3am.

Because my time in Bratislava was too short to try many restaurants, I asked some locals to give me some recommendations. Here is what they came up with. It was almost unanimous that if you would like to sample the traditional Slovak fare, try the Slovak Restaurant (Tel: 54434883) on Hviezdoslavovo namestie (opposite the Carlton Hotel). It is quite expensive but the food (particularly Mother’s specialties) is recommended.

Another highly recommended restaurant with traditional Old Bratislava fare is Modra Hviezda (Tel: 54432747) located in Beblaveho Street, a narrow street on the way to the castle. This place serves meals in the Slovak, Austrian, and Hungarian traditions and local Slovak wines. It has a little bit of history written onto the menu.

I was keen to discover some good value eating places and the locals came up with several choices. Staroslovenska krcma (the Old Slovak Pub) (Tel: 54433747) in the pedestrian zone on Michalska (near the Mochalsha Tower) is a place recommended by a couple of people. In the winter you eat in a tastefully decorated cellar and in the summer at one of the two outdoor seating areas (there is often music).

For cheap vegetarian food, you will find the Vegetarianska Jedalen on Laurinska offering a choice of about 10 meals at around SKK 60 (about US$3). It is a little out of town but it is said to be worth the walk. In the same price category, visit Lahodky u Sherlocka on the corner of Mileticova and Prievozska (Tel: 53412053) or one of the slightly more upmarket (but still very reasonably priced) restaurants on Mileticova such as Leguan (Tel: 53991641).

For those into ethnic food, a couple of places were recommended. For Chinese, try the Bamboo Garden on Frantiskanske Square. Another popular Chinese restaurant is Jasmin on Zidovska near the Clock Museum on the Castle side of the bridge.

Excellent Japanese sushi, is served at the Sushi Bar Tokyo (Tel: 54434982) in the city centre on Panska Street. The restaurant also serves seaweed scrolls, vegetarian dishes, and other Japanese dishes. Sushi Bar Kikaku (Tel: 54434783) is located on Gorkeho, behind the Slovak National Theatre. There are fresh-made delicacies, specialties, and desserts, accompanied by a regular daily menu of the traditional Japanese cuisine.

The most authentic Middle Eastern cuisine can be found at the Samir Lebannon restaurant (Tel: 54641204) on Zamocke schody 2, on the way to the Castle. Chez David (Tel: 54413824), a pension and restaurant on Zamocka, has been recommended for delicious kosher-style Jewish cuisine.