Ventura pub - Evropák — Restaurant in okres Karlovy Vary

So we rolled into this place without much expectitions, and we got a masterclass in how to charge Prague-Michelin prices for standard food. I had the spare ribs (319 Kč). Technically edible, but drier than my grandma’s humour. Honestly, felt like they dug them out of a convexomat and hoped nobody would notice. For that price, I expected at least a hint of juice, maybe even a smile from the chef. My love had the turkey steak with beet salad (254 Kč). It was okay, standard. Now, the beer. Prazdroj for 74 Kč the pint. I’ll give them this: the beer was actually good, not great, but good. And probably the best I’ve had in Karlovy Vary during the weekend. But 74 Kč for a Pilsner? For that money, they could’ve thrown in a foot massage. She went with the “homemade” lemonade (84 Kč). A teaspoon of syrup, some sad floating fruit slices, half a litre of tap water, and boom, 20x markup. Bravo, guys, truly a next-level business model. In short, nothing was disgusting, nothing was amazing, just standard, but the prices were straight-up comedy. How this town manages to be one of the poorest regions in Czechia and still charges more than Prague is beyond me. Feels more like being part of an ongoing social experiment (in whole Czechia by the way): “How much can we overcharge people...

My husband and I had lunch here. He had the burger off the lunch menu (to an American it is a pulled pork sandwich sans BBQ sauce) and I had the goulash soup.

Items on the daily menu were 159 CZK and if everything is portioned like the pork sandwich, it’s a good size meal.

The pulled pork was served with bacon and a sunny side up fried egg on it, which my husband can’t stand so I ate the egg. It’s also served with a side of “nachos” but there was barely a drizzle of cheese and only a few slivers of pepper on them. However. Those were the best tasting corn chips I’ve had in Europe. Points for those and if they’ll sell them by the bag, I’ll be buying.

My soup was soup. It’s made with ground beef and some small pieces of potato. It was ok and came with a basket of rye. It’s not a hearty goulash, but I don’t have a large appetite so it was enough. And neither of us had room for dessert.

Our server was super and spoke English well. He was also friendly and good humored. Our food came out quickly and we were checked on at appropriate intervals. We had a very nice experience here and will return to try other things.

*If you have kids with you, there was a salami pizza on the lunch menu and the regular menu included a large...

The best place to eat in the whole Karlovy Vary city, will hour a doubt! We’ve been in the city for five days and lost hope for a good food after the 4 day of looking around. Finally we’ve asked the locals where do they eat with friends and here it was, the Ventura Pub suggestion. Food is great, it is cheaper than in the city centre and actually feel hosted by great waiters, who know they work. Traditional Czech cuisine but also continental dishes. Honest, friendly and very good environment. Five stars is to little to show how good they are. All the best...