Trattoria Cicala — Restaurant in Prague

Found this Italian restaurant on our way back from the National Museum considering it was located nearby. Our dining experience was far from pleasant. The service was okay, nothing special. The waitstaff spoke mainly Italian to us, being clearly aware that we weren’t Italians and didn’t understand the language. I expected a much better food quality from a restaurant with so many good reviews but the food turned out to be quite disappointing, which tasted not only bad but also resulted in food poisoning. During our ride back to the hotel afterward, I was overcome by a wave of nausea and eventually vomited up my lunch in the bathroom. It might have been because of the uncooked egg yolk that coated the Carbonara pasta —or perhaps the rotten cheese that was added into it. I might never find out, but I do know for a fact that I’m a Carbonara lover and have tried tons everywhere in my life. This has never been the case. My mom and my brother were luckier than me in some way, they suffered from light stomach cramps after eating at this place, but not as terrible as my experience. 4 stars for the nice and cozy interior though! I loved the vintage vibes and how so many antique furnitures were set up at each corner.

In all honesty, I do believe there are way better options to choose from if you love Italian food. I personally wouldn’t return to Trattoria Cicala and wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to future tourists...

Had a wonderful Italian dinner last night at a place recommended by an old friend who swears this was his go to restaurant in Prague, called Trattoria Cicala. The food and atmosphere was excellent. A real family run place, with the owners; husband greeting the customers and wife doing the accounting at the tables in the lobby / coffee shop upstairs. The first impression is descending down to the dining rooms in the basement past an open wall to the kitchen with all the delicious aromas and flavors of the cooking, so you really get focused on the food. The menu is relatively small, 5-6 choices in each category - starters, salads, meats, fish, pastas, a couple of soups. Deserts are a daily offering. And that’s just fine as everything is carefully prepared with the best homemade ingredients. You really can’t go wrong and “everything is good” really applies here. We had three salads, two pastas and a mixed fish plate. Pasta was homemade and perfect. Unfortunately we didn’t have room for desert this time, as they all looked amazing and were made in house as well. We had a 1/2 l of the house wine barrel wine was a great deal and really nice. The waiters were excellent and they have been there for decades, so they know their craft. Italiano expresso to cap the night on a very...

Español: El hambre vino pronto e insistí en emprender hacia la entraña de Praga en vez de avenirnos a las comodidades apócrifas del hotel. El resto de la campaña terminó por convenir y, a pesar de que hubimos rebasado las capacidades motoras de nuestro tren inferior escasas horas antes alrededor de la judería tras el puente de Carlos, pusimos rumbo hacia un italiano desconocido cerca del Museo Nacional, a unos 600 metros de nuestra fonda, y allí ocupamos mesa para 4 contertulios deseosos. No sólo hicimos migas con el matrimonio dueños del establecimiento, los cuales compartían esporádicos intercambios de discusión italiana de cuando en cuando, sino que abandonamos cabizbajos, con los humores vueltos por la costura, sabiendo perfectamente que jamás comeríamos mejores platos en nuestras vidas. Habíamos experimentado el efecto de un ambiente familiar; manducamos en una casa, no un restaurante, y procedimos con respeto y el privilegio de haber sido regalados esta intimidad. Volveremos, volveremos, y mientras tanto trataré de no olvidar el sabor de ese último prieto café italiano. Como dijo un día algún mariscal inglés de mayúscula importancia y honras: gran velada y excelentes vituallas.

Italiano: La fame è arrivata presto e ho insistito per dirigermi verso il cuore di Praga piuttosto che verso le comodità apocrife dell'hotel. Il resto della campagna fu infine concordato e, sebbene avessimo superato le capacità motorie del nostro treno inferiore qualche ora prima intorno al quartiere ebraico dietro il Ponte Carlo, ci dirigemmo verso un italiano sconosciuto vicino al Museo Nazionale, a circa 600 metri dalla nostra locanda, e lì occupammo un tavolo per quattro ospiti impazienti. Non solo abbiamo fatto amicizia con la coppia proprietaria del locale, che di tanto in tanto condivideva sporadici scambi di battute in italiano, ma ce ne siamo anche andati sconfortati, con l'umore a mille, ben sapendo che non avremmo mai mangiato cibo migliore in vita nostra. Avevamo sperimentato l'effetto di un'atmosfera familiare; avevamo mangiato in una casa, non in un ristorante, e procedevamo con rispetto e con il privilegio di essere stati dotati di questa intimità. Torneremo, torneremo, e nel frattempo cercherò di non dimenticare il sapore di quell'ultimo forte caffè italiano. Come disse una volta un maresciallo inglese di grande importanza e onorificenza: grande serata e ottimi pasti.

English: Hunger came early and I insisted on heading towards the heart of Prague instead of settling for the apocryphal comforts of the hotel. The rest of the campaign ended up by agreement and, although we had exceeded the motor capacities of our lower body a few hours before around the Jewish quarter behind the Charles Bridge, we headed for an unknown Italian near the National Museum, about 600 meters from our inn, and there we occupied a table for 4 eager guests. We not only made friends with the couple who owned the establishment, who shared sporadic exchanges of Italian discussion from time to time, but we left crestfallen, with our moods turned on edge, knowing full well that we would never eat better food in our lives. We had experienced the effect of a family atmosphere; we ate in a house, not a restaurant, and proceeded with respect and the privilege of having been given this intimacy. We will come back, we will come back, and in the meantime I will try not to forget the taste of that last strong Italian coffee. As some English marshal of capital importance and honors once said: great evening and...