Where better to start than where I started, just over a year ago? Kava Kava Kava. The name promises so much. Coffee in multiplicity. And that is actually one of its selling points; but more about that later. Details first. Kava is situated at Andel, on the yellow tube line, and a centre where many trams meet. It’s a thriving shopping area, with some big multinational names too, and more cinemas in one place than can easily be comprehended. As a result, it’s chock full of relatevely eager consumers, relatively wealthy expats and relatively well-behaved evening revellers. All things are relative at the end of the day. And Kava seems well set up to cater for this. So it’s a funny one for me, because it’s the best and worst of both worlds. It was the first café I discovered here, because: 1) it’s at the end of my street 2) the staff speak some English 3) they have internet access So if you’re a new expat, this place is a godsend.
It takes ages to get internet access set up at home here, and cafes like this can be your lifeline. And it looks familiar to eyes from further West. Which is as it should be, since the owner had a certain Starbucks firmly in mind when setting the cafés up (there’s two so far). So let’s cut to the chase. All things are personal; what do I like and what do I not? Well, if you’ve got a laptop with wifi and you’re eating or drinking here (even a long-drawn-out cup of coffee) they don’t charge for the internet access. Which is nice. The staff are friendly and most speak some English, but don’t expect bonhomie. For internet reasons alone I took coffee in here almost every day for three months and not once did anyone venture a “Hi! How are you?” in either language. That’s something that usually happens by my third visit to most cafes in London, that awfully unfriendly city. Which I thought was a shame, as one definitely sees familiar faces returning here often.
Yes, yes, but is the coffee “The Best in Prague”? Well, technically the sign that proudly proclaims this in English outside says they sell the best coffee. And that may be true. But they certainly don’t make it. Oh, I don’t know, maybe that’s me being harsh, with my English distaste for people declaring themselves to be the best at something that is to some great extent subjective. Look, it tastes like…. Starbucks. If you like Starbucks, you’ll love this. Same mugs, different logo. Coffees from around the world. Kinda should be good. Nice idea. But blow it all, I’m a caffeinophile and I’ve yet to tell which coffee they’re using. In my humble opinion it’s a selling point, not a tasting one. Why are there only a handful of places where it really works? Monmouth Coffee House in London springs to mind.
You’ll probably notice the quality of light in these pictures. Sorry about that. I’m not actually a bad photographer (honest!), but the lighting in Kava is subdued. That could make for a perfect hideaway, or a place to hatch caffeine-fuelled plans with fellow conspirators. But the furniture and layout seem to be at odds with that. The hard chairs seem designed to make you drink and go. Go on, get back to work. And it’s open plan; no wooden cloisters or hideyholes. I find it difficult to read or relax. And maybe that’s the plan. There’s certainly turnover. And so it’s not, in my book the ideal port de flaneur. It seems to say to expats “Come and hang out, man!” like the café in ‘Friends’. But then kind of encourages you to drink up and move on. No sofas here.
So why do I keep coming back? Well, apart from being my nearest café, it’s actually the food that draws me. The cakes are good, the Medovnik usually moist, and it’s one of the few places you can get a variety of breakfasts. The coffee is expensive by Prague standards, but the food is pretty reasonable. Good Czech fare, straightforward, no fuss, and a few American bits and pieces thrown in for good measure. Nachos with all the trimmings is my recommendation to you. Here’s a decent bowl of broccoli soup and garlic ciabatta for 50kc. For an extra 15kc they gave me the whole ciabatta. A pound fifty and lunch is sorted. And then on with the pressing business of the day, to …er….lounge around somewhere else.
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