Kava Kava Kava

 

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.

Comments

[Mark Fraser]

From what I remember that's a pretty fair assessment. Looking forward to more reviews of the same perceptive and entertaining standard.

[Adam Daniel Mezei]

Shock!

Can you believe when I started way back in this town many moons ago I was slated to become the manager of this branch of "Kava, Kava, Kava" (not the Narodni 37 branch). All this to say that owner (and fellow Canadian from Calgary!) Michael Kierans is one of the best expat bosses in the Golden City (well, not really an expat anymore, especially since he's wed to a Czech, but monikers die hard).

In any event, despite the quality of the 3K's coffee, which I'm not really keen on myself--to be frank--I'll generally stick to the easy espressos with a bottle of Mattoni (sparkling H2O, for those non-Praguers out there), or a hot chocolate, which isn't bad. Make sure to tell the ladies behind the counter to heat it up piping hot now, y'heard, otherwise it tastes poor and you'll gulp it in one go...hardly an outing in town, especially given the warmer climes now tickling Prague. (Conspiracy theory alert: could this be more of that "get you in and out, work on, mush, mush, activity? Ohhhhhmmmmm?)

I go into these places with low expectations, in the event that potential disappointment arises...as Phoenix well notes in his summary. I mean, it's not like walking into a high street Pret-A-Manger in London-Town and getting a cardboard-esque quality controlled tunafish sandwich or sweet treat, which I suppose is a good and bad thing at the same time (good in that I don't like digestible carbon cardboard sandwiches, bad because at least I know what to expet and can prepare myself according for Pret-A-Manger foodstuffs). What I'd actually prefer is a SOHO-type of joint, with stellar Western-style service, but that's just my personal preference. And c'mon Czech Republic, you're in the EU now (the navy), so buck up and start playing the part, jaggers!

Never been out to the Andel location.

Brave of you to try the Medovnik (honeycake), Phoenix. In some of the places out here where they sell that franchise product (almost as Czech as knedlo, vepro, zelo), you're liable to "rise from the ashes" after a sampling of that chin music, hehe.

Nice review, though. Five stars.

Zagat!

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