Depo – Hearty Czech Fare in the Heart of Krumlov

A stroll through Český Krumlov, with its endless cafés and restaurants, can lead you to many doors — but ours ended at Depo. The space is open, airy, and spotless, and one look at the menu will make your heart (and your gallbladder) race. This is not light dining; this is unapologetically hearty Czech cuisine at its finest.

Here are my personal favorites — and their calorie punch:

Dish Calories (kcal) Notes 🥇 Roast Pork Knuckle (Schweinshaxe) ~1,710 Fatty skin, huge portion, pure indulgence. 🥈 Roast Goose Leg with Dumplings & Red Cabbage ~1,156 Goose skin + dumplings = rich and filling. 🥉 Svíčková na smetaně ~835 Cream sauce and dumplings for a comfort-food classic. 🥉 Roast Meat with Dumplings (Czech-style) ~825 Slightly leaner, still satisfying.

The portions are generous, the flavors bold, and the presentation rustic but appealing. Service is efficient and no-nonsense, fitting the robust, beer-hall-like atmosphere. It’s the kind of place where you forget about calorie counts… until someone points them out.

If you’re ready to eat like a local and walk it off along the Vltava, Depo is a must-visit.

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Depo – Back Again, Like in a Classic Czech Film

As in the old Czech film Dobří holubi se vracejí (“Good Pigeons Return”), we found ourselves circling back to Depo once more. Despite a Saturday traffic jam and a sudden downpour that slowed the service, the food was again fantastic — hearty, unapologetic, and worth the wait.

Here’s today’s “hit parade” of six dishes, with a breakdown not just by taste but by nutrition:

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Duck Breast (200 g with skin, roasted, no sides) • Calories: ~440 kcal • Protein: 44 g • Fat: 30 g • Carbs: 0 g ➡️ High-protein, high-fat. Healthier than duck leg if you trim the skin.

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Beef Brisket (pastrami-style, on bread) • Calories: ~615 kcal • Protein: 38 g • Fat: 31 g • Carbs: 43 g ➡️ Balanced — protein, moderate fat, carbs. More “modern streetfood” than heavy Czech classic.

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Fried Cheese with Fries & Tartar Sauce • Calories: ~1,650 kcal • Protein: 49 g • Fat: 100 g • Carbs: 120 g ➡️ A calorie bomb ⚡. Rich in protein but drowned in fat and starch.

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Beef Goulash with Bread or Dumplings • Calories: ~750 kcal • Protein: 38 g • Fat: 35 g • Carbs: 60 g ➡️ Comfort food. Balanced, filling, but not extreme.

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Beef Tartare (130 g meat + egg, toast) • Calories: ~500 kcal • Protein: 30 g • Fat: 25 g • Carbs: 25 g ➡️ Surprisingly fitness-friendly — rich in protein, moderate in fat.

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Dill Sauce with Potatoes & Egg (Koprovka) • Calories: ~560 kcal • Protein: 14 g • Fat: 37 g • Carbs: 47 g ➡️ Lighter in calories but weak on protein. More carbs and fat than substance.

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Summary & Ranking (Calories, Highest to Lowest) 🥇 Fried Cheese – 1,650 kcal 🚨 🥈 Goulash – 750 kcal 🥉 Beef Brisket – 615 kcal 🥉 Dill Sauce – 560 kcal 🥉 Beef Tartare – 500 kcal 🥉 Duck Breast – 440 kcal

(Note: brisket and duck portions calculated without full Czech dumpling sides — with extras, they would rise.)

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Protein Champions • Duck Breast (~44 g protein) • Fried Cheese (~49 g but heavy in fat) • Beef Brisket / Goulash (~38 g each) • Beef Tartare (~30 g) • Dill...

The new LOW of my Czech life 🤗 and I’ve lived here few years, this is a huge compliment.

(Just to be fair, I’m leaving what I do think is good about this place at the final part. But first I explain the reasoning behind the one star.)

Trailer: the server threw coins on our table :)

One particular male server was downright rude to us, if not racist as we are Asians, but I don’t want to assume so.

Everything started when we asked him for a list of our orders when we’re about to pay. We have previously ordered a cappuccino, but it never came to the table, and we wanted to check if it’s included in the bill. He told us that we need to first pay, then the list will be printed. So we paid without the tip, in order to check if we’re being charged the right amount. And then we can sort out the tip later.

However, he just printed the bill and list of orders and said: no tips included! And made a sound of I dunno, disdain? and then he just left. (I guess he thought that we suspect he overcharged us with tip, thus the comment. And is obviously not the case, we wanted to tip!)

When we confronted the fact that they overcharged us a cappuccino, he was so professional to took out some coins (consisted of 2, 10, 20 crowns, basically, TIPS HE’S RECEIVED FROM OTHER CUSTOMERS) and threw them on our table. 🤗

I do want to clarify that the food was okayish, the environment is great, and the rest of the team are fine and sometimes friendly. It’s the disrespectful behavior of this one server that completely outraged us. And the fact that the management allows this kind of person to work in hospitality in a UNESCO town - one star (or less if I can) would...

Be careful while ordering, or you will end up paying double price! We had lunch here once during a weekend trip. The food was average, but the reason for the two stars was a bad experience with the staff. We ordered 2 beef goulash, which apparently is listed as a starter AND a main course. Of course we weren't aware of that, and the waitress didn't ask which one we wanted and assumed we wanted the main course, even though we actually wanted the starter. We ate our food and when we received the bill we were charged for 2 main courses (but how could we have known that we had ordered the big portion if they are called the same and no one asked?) We think it's unfair to pay double for a misunderstanding. We explained this to the waitress, and after insisting a few times, she gave us back 100 Crowns = 4 Euro (??) even though both plates had costed us 440 Crowns and the starters should have only costed us 240 Crowns. Better go somewhere else where they treat their...