SmetanaQ Café: Waffles in Prague
A filling breakfast with waffles near Charles Bridge (Karlův most)
Dobrý den! I’m CULT.
Today I’d like to tell you about a café I take friends to when they visit Prague from Korea.
My regular stops with friends are U Kroka, U Pinkasů and SmetanaQ. This café is easy to get to and has a lovely view, but above all, the breakfast is really good. It’s so popular that they serve it until 2 p.m… breakfast that runs into lunchtime.
There’s a range of options, from delicious sweet dishes to healthy meals. If you’re staying at an Airbnb that doesn’t serve breakfast, do give it a try.
SmetanaQ at a glance
I take friends here when they visit from Korea. Above all, the breakfast is delicious.
Details
The café is near Legion Bridge (most Legií), south of Charles Bridge (Karlův most). It’s easy to get to and fairly easy to find. If you want a good table for breakfast, it’s a good idea to book ahead 😀
The café & bistro hours listed on the official SmetanaQ website are Monday–Thursday 9 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday–Saturday 9 a.m.–10 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m.–8 p.m. I found no news of a closure (checked November 2, 2026). Breakfast is served Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–1 p.m. and Saturday–Sunday 9 a.m.–2 p.m., so the mention of ‘until 2 p.m.’ in the article applies only to weekends. Reservations are accepted only on weekdays, with none taken on weekends or public holidays. I could not confirm current prices; the amounts in the article are from my visit in August 2023.
It’s a popular place, which might explain the outdoor terrace too.. It’s usually closed in winter, so getting a table becomes harder as winter approaches.
For a quick introduction.. this café became very well known for its breakfast menu.
I used to go quite often.. but the photos here are from two separate visits. On this occasion, I happened to arrive at exactly 2 p.m., so I couldn’t order breakfast.
Seonjeong, a photographer who used to work at Sarangbi Snap, came to visit Prague, so we had a meal together at SmetanaQ.
These are the pancakes, and they turned out thicker than I expected. I quite enjoyed these too.
This is the café’s most popular dish: waffles topped with strawberries. Honestly, this is.. what I come here for.
They did taste better before the pandemic. I don’t know whether the chef changed or what, but the flavor has definitely changed a little. Still pretty good, though.
A few days later, I came back for breakfast.
I’d had an early morning photo shoot that finished nearby, and it was just after opening time, so I dropped in.
This time, we ordered the first option on the menu, the Smetana Q Breakfast, and the Farmer’s Breakfast.
Each set includes one drink, such as coffee or tea, and two courses. That’s why it’s a bit expensive.
I ordered a cappuccino without giving it much thought.
There are so many baristas in Korea.. and plenty of hobbyists who make incredible coffee.. so I can’t pretend to be a coffee expert. Tastes like coffee to me.
The desserts here are really good too, so I ordered one.
The cheesecake arrived very quickly.
As for the taste.. it’s definitely better than Starbucks’ New York cheesecake. If you’re traveling on a tighter budget, this with a coffee could be a good alternative to the breakfast set.
The Smetana Q Breakfast is at the bottom, and the Farmer’s Breakfast is at the top.
Out comes healthy avocado bread, alongside bread topped with bacon, a poached egg and hollandaise sauce.
I particularly like the bread with hollandaise sauce. Hmm.. how can I put it.. it doesn’t have much of that artificial seasoning taste, and it feels like I’m eating something quite fancy.
Cut into the poached egg in the middle.. there it goes!
I really love egg dishes, so I notice these things. That poached egg.. absolutely perfectly cooked.
The avocado bread.. hmm.. tastes healthy.
Now for the Farmer’s Breakfast.
It’s really.. packed with healthy ingredients, the sort of thing people who take good care of themselves would eat. Still, that doesn’t mean it tastes bad. If you watch your weight and exercise regularly, I know these things matter to you. I think you could eat this without worrying too much.
Once you finish the first course and wait a little, the second one arrives.
The Smetana Q Breakfast is at the bottom, and the Farmer’s Breakfast is at the top.
The second course of the Smetana Q Breakfast is waffles. As I mentioned near the start, these are what I come to this café for.
There were quite a few customers here.. eating just these. After all.. they’re what made this place so famous 😀
And this.. is the second course of the Farmer’s Breakfast. The strawberries had a light sprinkling of sugar, so keep that in mind if you’re watching your sugar intake.
With some fiber from the bok choy and other ingredients in the first course lining your stomach before the sweet stuff, maybe those strawberries won’t go straight to your waistline quite so much?
The bill came to 785 CZK. I paid by card and rounded it up to 800 CZK with the tip. A bit expensive.. but it was a filling breakfast.
If you’re visiting Prague, I recommend trying it at least once.
People sometimes ask how I know so much about places like this. I’ve been to almost every restaurant in the Prague 1 district.
- The address is Smetanovo nábřeží 334/4. It's near Legion Bridge (most Legií), south of Charles Bridge (Karlův most).
- When I visited, each set included one drink, such as coffee or tea, and two courses. After you finish the first course and wait a little, the second one arrives.
- When I visited, the first course included sausage and bok choy. The second was strawberries with a light sprinkling of sugar, so bear that in mind if you watch your sugar intake.
- If the breakfast set feels a bit expensive, coffee and cheesecake could be a good option. When I ordered it, the cheesecake arrived very quickly.
- I paid by card when I visited in August 2023. I added a tip to the bill.
- When I visited in 2023, I felt the flavor had changed a little since before the pandemic. I don't know whether the chef had changed, but they were still pretty good.
