Café Louvre

If Kavarna Slavia is the most famous café in Prague, Café Louvre located just down the street has had the most famous patrons in Prague. Max Brod and Hugo Bermman, as well as Albert Einstein (yes, that Einstein) and Franz Kafka (yes, that Kafka) were regular patrons here. First opened in 1902, Café Louvre became a favourite German intellectual haunt, in contrast to Kavarna Slavia’s Czech customers. Kafka and Einstein, as German-speaking Jews, naturally frequented Café Louvre, where they often chatted over coffee along with others members of their circle of German intellectuals. Unfortunately, the glory days came to an abrupt halt with the end of World War II, the expulsion of all Germans from Czech, and the communist government takeover, who ordered that the “bourgeois” café’s fixtures be thrown out the windows onto the street below. Fortunately for tourists, Café Louvre was quickly reopened after the Velvet Revolution, and today one can once again enjoy the café’s lavish Art Nouveau turn-of-the-century styling. Café Louvre was a Parisian café, as its name suggests, and even today traces of its French influences can be seen in the uniforms of the waiters who serve you there. Café Louvre is particularly noteworthy for its cakes―if you can’t decide what to get, go for the luxurious three piece mini desserts platter―as well as its incredibly decadent “Hot Chocolate Louvre”, which has the consistency of thick syrup, the texture of rich ganache, and the aroma of freshly roasted cocoa beans.