James Dean Prague — Restaurant in Prague

At first glance, this bar stands out for its original, well-crafted decor that took me back to the 80s, so it's a shame that ripping off customers is the second thing that sets it apart. I'm not in the habit of leaving reviews, let alone negative ones, but I felt it essential, in view of the attitude of this establishment's reception staff, to warn tourists who might wish to dine, drink or dance there. In fact, I went there on the evening of Saturday December 7 with two friends to have a drink and enjoy the dance floor in the basement. The bouncer told us that to go down to the basement, we had to leave our jackets in the checkroom, which we did. The sign indicating the checkroom rates read 30 crowns, without any further details. We deduced that since there were three of us, we'd have to pay 90 crowns for the whole thing, but the man in charge of the checkroom asked us for 150, claiming that the rate applied per item of clothing and not per customer. We didn't take offence at the man's bad faith and presented two 100 bills and 50 kroner coins. However, when the man who had taken all our money began to say that one of the two 100 bills presented was already in his till, that it didn't originally belong to us and that he therefore had no change to give us, we began to find the atmosphere of the place rather heavy and unhealthy. Once we'd raised our voices, the man gave us our ticket back anyway.

We then went down to the basement to dance, where we were surprised to find a second checkroom and people, most of them wearing their jackets. We deduced from this that there was no apparent obligation to leave one's jacket in the checkroom in order to gain access to the basement, as the bouncer had explicitly made clear to us, except for people speaking another language and looking like tourists. When we realized the scam and the atmosphere in the basement (which, in my opinion, left a lot to be desired in terms of respect for female consent), we left, about 15 minutes after arriving. Upset and disappointed, I went to see the bouncer to give him a piece of my mind. He replied with a shrug and a petty smile, glancing at his colleague in the checkroom, proud of his scam, which he neither denied nor even tried to hide. In conclusion, I'd strongly advise against this bar, especially for tourists, as a place to start a night of dancing or having a drink. There are so many friendlier places with honest staff in Prague that deserve...

Great food, great ambience, great decor, incredibly rude staff. Considering this is an American themed restaurant influenced by American culture and named after an American actor, you would think they would have a little more acceptance of Americans. Nope. The wait staff just looked annoyed by our sheer presence.

What sealed its fate was when we simply questioned a difference in what we ordered versus what was on the menu and the waitress responded with “Well, you should have asked.” As the wait staff and expert of the menu and food served, I think instead of me asking, she should have asked if I preferred or knew that all juices and lemonades were served with sparkling water, not still water. Especially since that wasn’t specified anywhere on the menu nor included under the drink’s description or ingredients. Wasn’t aware I was supposed to know, or even ask, if my lemonade would include sparkling water. I travel all over the world and have even lived in several countries, and no other place that I’ve been to has ever used sparkling water for juice or lemonade. If this were some authentic Czech restaurant serving Czech cuisine, I would consider and accept the possibly of sparkling lemonade being the norm. But if you’re going to name your establishment “James Dean” and have menu items called “Texas Burger” and “Burrito” I don’t appreciate the attitude or lecture as if ALL lemonades are made with sparkly water and I’m the American idiot who should have specified that I wanted it otherwise…She offered to make me a new lemonade with regular water but made it clear that the untouched bubbly lemonade would still have to be paid for.

Too bad, and ironic, that it just took one waitress in an American themed restaurant who had very little tolerance with Americans or else I would have gladly given this...

Yesterday morning (Friday the third of March 2023) I was at the James Dean for a few hours of dancing before I had to go to work. It was all very nice, the ambience, the music and the atmosphere was just very pleasant.

But you can tell a good club by its bouncers. And that's a truth I've been following for years, and in this case, unfortunately, I have to give a damning verdict.

I was standing outside to smoke a cigarette when suddenly the entrance door was pushed open behind me and a young woman was kicked out. This is not to be understood in the proverbial sense. She was kicked in the back, right on the spine, down a few steps onto the pavement. She was alone at the time and could just as easily have collided with one of the other guests. She was, of course, crying and pretty much at the end of her tether.

I don't know what she did. I asked, but was refused. I mean, ok, if she had tried to poison the bartender or god knows what, then a more severe ejection would have been more understandable. But that... was just horrible and an insult to witness for anyone who saw it.

To see 5 men, muscle-bound, who are responsible for the safety of the guests, act like that is a mental indictment. They acted far from professionalism and were not in control of the situation in the sense that they did not know how to control themselves. In my eyes, this is an absolutely inappropriate readiness to use violence. It's nice that you use these cowards to ensure the safety of the guests, but after this evening I wonder who is protecting the guests from the bouncers.

But one star for the...