Brno is the Czech Republic's second city, and its food scene has none of the tourist performance of Prague. Where Prague has polished itself for international visitors, Brno remains stubbornly, delightfully itself — a university town of 380,000 people with a thriving pub culture, a serious wine tradition from the surrounding South Moravian vineyards, and a cuisine that is distinctly Moravian rather than Bohemian, with warmer, more paprika-forward flavors inherited from centuries of proximity to Hungary and Austria.
Moravia produces nearly all of the Czech Republic's wine, and wine culture in Brno is palpable. The city sits at the northern edge of the wine country that stretches south toward the Austrian and Slovak borders through the Pálava hills, the Slovácko region, and the Mikulov appellation. On warm evenings, half the population of Brno seems to be sitting at outdoor wine bars (viniarna or sklep) drinking young, often orange-tinged white wine and eating plates of pickled cheese and smoked meats. This is Southern Moravia at its most pleasant.
Brno also has an exceptional brewery culture that is less famous than Prague's but arguably more interesting — a scene of independent craft breweries producing styles that range from traditional Czech lager to ambitious ales, while the historic Starobrno brewery maintains its century-old amber lager as the city's most beloved house beer. Come hungry, come thirsty, and come without preconceptions about what Czech food means.
10 Must-Try Dishes in Brno
1. Svíčková na Smetaně
No dish defines Central European roast meat culture more completely than svíčková, and Brno's version — with slight Moravian inflections — is among the finest in the country. Beef sirloin is marinated for 24–48 hours in a mixture of red wine vinegar, root vegetables, bay leaf, allspice, and black pepper, then slow-braised until it reaches near-perfect tenderness. The braising liquid is strained and enriched with heavy cream into a velvety, golden-amber sauce that is simultaneously sweet (from carrots and parsnip), sour (from the vinegar marinade), and deeply savory from the meat. Served with bread dumplings (houskový knedlík), a spoonful of whipped cream, a slice of lemon, and a side of lingonberry jam (brusinky).
The Moravian version of svíčková often uses more paprika in the vegetable base and a touch of local white wine (rather than strictly vinegar) in the marinade — giving it a slightly warmer, more complex flavor than the Bohemian version. The bread dumplings are the essential vehicle: steamed cylinders of leavened bread dough, sliced into rounds that absorb the sauce with beautiful efficiency. The contrast of jam, cream, and savory sauce is one of Czech and Moravian cuisine's finest achievements.
The best svíčková in Brno is widely agreed to be at Restaurace Mamre in Vídeňská 26 — a respected traditional restaurant south of the center that makes everything from scratch and uses local Moravian beef. In the city center, U Karla in Dvořákova is reliable and significantly less expensive than Prague equivalents.
Expect to pay €10–16. Pair with Moravian Chardonnay or Welschriesling (Ryzlink vlašský) from the Mikulov region — a full-bodied local white with enough acidity to cut the cream sauce. Alternatively, Starobrno Tmavý (dark lager) from the local brewery works beautifully with the braised beef.
2. Pečená Kachna s Lokšemi
Roast duck with lokše (thin potato pancakes) is the quintessential Moravian autumn and winter feast — a half or whole duck slow-roasted for several hours until the skin renders to translucent crackling, the meat becomes falling-dark-tender, served alongside locally made potato lokše and either red cabbage braised with apple and caraway or pickled white cabbage. The duck is typically seasoned with caraway, garlic, and marjoram — Moravia's holy trinity of meat seasonings — and the pan drippings are deglazed and served as a simple jus.
What makes Moravian roast duck distinct is the use of lokše as the starch rather than bread dumplings — a slight difference that changes the entire eating experience. Lokše are thinner and more texturally interesting than dumplings, and they crisp slightly around the edges when they come in contact with the hot duck fat on the plate. The combination of crispy skin, rich dark meat, tangy cabbage, and the slightly chewy lokše is immensely satisfying.
Seek it out at Pivnice u Čenků in Štefánikova 21, a traditional Brno pivnice (pub) that serves excellent roast duck on weekends. Also available at Restaurace Na Křenkách in the Žabovřesky district — a neighborhood restaurant beloved by locals for its traditional Moravian specials.
A half duck with accompaniments costs €14–20. Pair with Frankovka (Blaufränkisch) from the Slovácko wine region — medium-bodied, cherry-spiced, with the structure to handle rich duck meat. The tannic grip of a good Frankovka is the perfect counterpoint to the duck fat richness.
3. Lokše s Kachní Játrovou Paštikou (Duck Liver Pâté Lokše)
In Brno and across South Moravia, lokše take on a more refined role than in Slovakia — served as an appetizer or a light supper course, filled or topped with duck liver pâté, soft cheese, or smoked meat. The lokše themselves are made from cooked, riced potato, flour, and a little fat — thin, slightly spotty from the griddle, tender and comforting. Duck liver pâté in Moravia is typically rougher and more rustic than French pâté de foie, seasoned with thyme, black pepper, and a splash of local Slivovitz (plum brandy) that gives it an unexpected depth.
This combination is a classic starter at wine bars and vinné sklepy (wine cellars) across the region, where it accompanies a glass of young wine from the current or previous year's harvest. The contrast of the warm, starchy lokša and the cold, intensely flavored pâté is simple but remarkably good, particularly when the pâté is made in-house.
Find this at Vinárna Výčep (Dominikánské náměstí) in the city center — a wine bar with an excellent selection of Moravian wines and a menu of traditional wine bar food including lokše preparations. Also available at most vinné sklepy in the Pálava hills (30 minutes from Brno) during harvest season.
A plate of two lokše with pâté costs €6–9. Pair with Pálava (a local white wine variety from Mikulov) — intensely aromatic, with notes of rose, white peach, and honey that contrast beautifully with the savory pâté.
4. Moravský Vrabec
Moravský vrabec — "Moravian sparrow" — is a misleading name for a dish involving no bird whatsoever. It is a preparation of pork: typically neck or belly cut into large cubes, roasted in the oven with onions, caraway seeds, and a touch of lard until the exterior is deeply caramelized and the interior rich and yielding. It is served with sauerkraut and either dumplings or roast potatoes. The name's origin is disputed but the dish itself is entirely serious — one of the most elemental and satisfying pork preparations in Moravian cuisine.
The caraway seed is crucial here: it perfumes the pork throughout the long roasting, giving the crust a faintly anise-like note that cuts through the richness of the pork fat. The sauerkraut must be tangy and firm — not the sweet, pasteurized variety but properly fermented, with a sharp, almost acidic bite that counterbalances the unctuous pork. This is hearty, robust winter food, and it is exactly what the climate of Brno requires for half the year.
Find it at Restaurace Stopkova Plzeňská Pivnice on Česká — Brno's most famous traditional pub and restaurant, serving excellent traditional Moravian and Bohemian food alongside Pilsner Urquell on draft since 1906. The moravský vrabec here is a benchmark version.
A portion costs €9–14. Pair with Starobrno Ležák (the local amber lager) or a glass of Moravský Merlot if you prefer wine — the warmth of a full-bodied red suits the slow-roasted pork beautifully. Order extra sauerkraut; the kitchen never gives you quite enough.
5. Rajská Omáčka (Tomato Sauce with Beef)
Rajská — "paradise sauce" — is one of Czech and Moravian cuisine's most beloved and most misunderstood dishes. Far from the thin tomato sauces of Italian tradition, rajská is a thick, sweet-savory sauce made from onions, tomato purée, sugar, and vinegar, thickened with a roux, and served over boiled or braised beef with bread dumplings. The flavor is simultaneously sweet and acidic, deeply savory from the beef stock, and strangely addictive. Every Moravian mother has her own version; every son or daughter believes their mother's is definitive.
The genius of the dish is the balance of sweet and sour in the sauce — a flavor profile that recurs throughout Central European cuisine (see also svíčková, pork with plum sauce, red cabbage with apples) and reflects centuries of cooking without access to abundant fresh vegetables. The tomato element was a later addition; older versions used dried plums or vinegar-soaked breadcrumbs as the acidifying agent. Today it is inseparable from Czech and Moravian home cooking.
Order it at Restaurace U Karla (Dvořákova 2) or at any traditional Brno lunch restaurant offering the denní menu — rajská appears on rotation throughout the week and is always freshly made. It is the definitive Czech comfort dish and one of the best values on any menu where it appears.
As part of a denní menu, €7–10 including soup and a drink. Pair with Müller-Thurgau from the Velké Pavlovice wine appellation — a simple, slightly aromatic white that doesn't compete with the sauce. Or simply with a 0.5L Starobrno on draft.
6. Tvarůžkový Smažený Sýr
Smažený sýr — deep-fried cheese — is one of the Czech Republic's most beloved and most underappreciated dishes. A thick slice of semi-soft cheese is coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried until golden and molten, served with tartar sauce and (in Brno) frequently made from tvarůžky — the famously pungent Olomouc curd cheese from the town of Olomouc, 80km northeast. Tvarůžky is one of the most assertive cheeses in Central European cuisine: extremely low in fat, extremely high in flavor, with an ammonia-forward aroma that announces itself from considerable distance and a taste that is deeply savory, almost meaty.
The paradox of frying tvarůžky is that the heat both tames and concentrates its flavor — the ammonia note softens, the savory depth intensifies, and the exterior breading provides a necessary neutral counterpoint. The result is extraordinary, particularly when the tartar sauce is made properly with capers, cornichons, and fresh herbs rather than the commercial version. In Brno, tvarůžkový smažák is eaten as a bar snack, a lunch main, or an impromptu late-night meal with mustard and dark bread.
Order it at Pivnice Pegas in Jakubská 4 — Brno's most famous craft brewpub, brewing its own lager and wheat beer since 1988 and serving outstanding traditional Moravian pub food. The smažák here uses local tvarůžky and is fried to order.
Costs €7–10. Pair exclusively with Pegas Světlé (their house-brewed pale lager) — the crisp, yeasty, freshly brewed beer and the funky fried cheese are one of Brno's great flavor pairings. No other drink does justice to tvarůžky.
7. Guláš s Knedlíkem
Goulash in Moravia has clear Hungarian parentage but has evolved into its own thing: beef, pork, or mixed, slow-cooked with an enormous quantity of onions, beef paprika (both sweet and hot), caraway, garlic, and sometimes a splash of red wine until it becomes a thick, dark, intensely paprika-flavored stew. The Moravian version tends to be more generously spiced than the Czech and slightly more fluid — somewhere between a goulash proper and a paprikash — and is always served with knedlík (bread dumplings) rather than noodles or potatoes.
The quality of a guláš is determined almost entirely by the quality of the paprika and the patience of the cook. Mass-catered guláš is thin, floury, and disappointingly mild. A properly made version — simmered for three or four hours until the beef collapses and the onions dissolve into the sauce — is complex, warm, slightly smoky, and deeply satisfying in a way that no quick-cook imitation can achieve.
Seek it out at Restaurace Stopkova Plzeňská Pivnice (Česká) or at Pivnice u Čenků — both make guláš to traditional Moravian recipes with proper sourced beef and Hungarian-quality paprika. Avoid anywhere that uses "instant guláš powder."
A portion costs €8–13. Pair with Starobrno Tmavý (dark lager) or a glass of Neronet — a distinctly Moravian red wine variety with deep color, high tannin, and spicy black fruit notes that amplify the paprika in the goulash beautifully.
8. Moravský Koláč
The Moravian koláč is a round, enriched-dough pastry with a heritage stretching back centuries in Central European baking tradition. Unlike the simple, single-filling kolache of Central Texas (brought by Moravian immigrants in the 19th century), the traditional Moravian koláč is a flat, yeast-leavened disc with a thick, sweet dough base and multiple filling zones — typically tvaroh (fresh curd cheese), povidla (plum jam), and mák (poppy seed paste) arranged in sections or concentric circles, with a lattice of dough and a dusting of crumble topping (drobenkový streusel).
The complexity of a good koláč is remarkable: the buttery, slightly sweet yeast dough provides a neutral canvas for three distinct fillings that each express themselves differently — the tvaroh is mild and creamy, the povidla deeply intense and slightly bitter from the slow-cooked plums, the mák sweetly earthy. The best Moravian koláče are baked by older women in village bakeries on Saturday mornings and sold from wooden tables at local markets.
In Brno, buy koláče at Pekárna Forman (Dominikánské náměstí area) — one of the city's oldest traditional bakeries — or at the Zelný Trh (Cabbage Market) on Saturday mornings when producers from surrounding villages bring them directly.
A single koláč costs €1.50–3. Pair with Bzenecká Lipka — a local white wine made from Riesling-descended varieties from the Bzenec area, slightly aromatic and sweet-edged, which amplifies the honey-and-plum qualities of the koláč. Or simply with a black coffee.
9. Zabíjačkové Hody (Pig Slaughter Feast)
Zabíjačka — the traditional Moravian pig slaughter — is one of the most distinctive and increasingly rare food experiences in the Czech Republic. Held in November and December when the weather turns cold, it is an all-day community event during which a pig is slaughtered, butchered, and processed into an enormous array of fresh products: jitrnice (liver sausages), jelita (blood sausages), tlačenka (head cheese), prdelačka (a thick, spiced blood soup), roast pork ribs, and rendered lard (sádlo). Everything is consumed the same day.
Several Brno restaurants and rural pubs in the surrounding countryside hold public zabíjačka events during the season, where guests can participate in (or observe) the butchery and then feast on the fresh products throughout the day. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is an extraordinary window into Moravian food culture. The prdelačka soup — made from pig offal, blood, barley, and spices — is the most challenging element; the roast fresh pork ribs with mustard are the most accessible.
Check the seasonal calendar at Pivnice u Čenků (Štefánikova) and at various rural pubs in the Pálava and Znojmo wine regions south of Brno. Events typically run from early morning to late afternoon and require advance booking.
A zabíjačka feast costs €20–30 all-inclusive including slivovitz. Pair throughout the day with Moravian Slivovitz (plum brandy) — the traditional zabíjačka spirit, warming and aromatic — and finish with whatever red wine the host pours from the cellar. This is Moravia's most honest culinary experience.
10. Palačinky s Tvarohem a Švestkami
Palačinky — Czech and Moravian crêpes — are beloved across the country but Moravia's version, filled with tvaroh (fresh curd cheese) and švestky (Moravian plums or plum jam), represents the tradition at its most elemental and most delicious. The crêpes are thin, buttery, and just barely sweet; the tvaroh filling is mixed with vanilla sugar, egg yolk, and lemon zest until light and creamy; the plums or povidla add a deep, concentrated, slightly tart fruitiness. The whole thing is dusted with icing sugar and sometimes drizzled with smetana (sour cream).
Moravian plums (švestky) are a regional specialty — darker, drier, and more intensely flavored than other European varieties, traditionally used to make Slivovitz and to dry into intensely sweet-tart prunes. When cooked slowly into povidla jam, they become almost meaty in their intensity. Against the mild tvaroh and the neutral crêpe dough, the povidla creates a dessert of quietly extraordinary depth.
Find palačinky at virtually every traditional restaurant and café in Brno. The best version is at Café Podnebí in Údolní — a charming cafe near the university that makes crêpes to order with excellent local tvaroh and properly made povidla.
A plate of two palačinky costs €5–8. Pair with Moravian Tramín Červený (Gewurztraminer) from the Mikulov region — rose-petal aromatic, lychee-sweet, with enough body to complement rather than overwhelm the delicate dessert. Or simply a cappuccino from one of Brno's excellent cafés.
Brno's Essential Food Neighborhoods
Staré Brno, the historic center around náměstí Svobody and the surrounding streets, concentrates the city's restaurant scene — from traditional Moravian pivnice to modern wine bars. Jakubská street hosts Pivnice Pegas (No. 4), Brno's benchmark brewpub. The covered Tesco passage on náměstí Svobody conceals several fast-casual Moravian lunch counters worth investigating. The Zelný Trh market square is just south of the main square and should be the first stop on any morning in Brno.
Žabovřesky, the leafy residential district west of the center, is where older Brno families eat. Several excellent traditional restaurants and wine bars operate here, including Na Křenkách — a neighborhood institution serving properly sourced Moravian food at prices that assume the customer is a local. Take tram 1 from the center and explore on foot.
Bystrc and the Brno Reservoir area, northwest of the center, comes alive in summer — the Přehrada is a massive water reservoir where Brno's population swims, sails, and eats outdoors. Several terrace restaurants and beer gardens line the shore serving grilled fish (kapor, pstruh), cold beer, and light snacks. The atmosphere is uniquely Brno in summer.
Vinohrady district and the surrounding southward-facing slopes are where Brno meets its wine country. Small vinné sklepy (wine cellars) operate in converted historic cellars in villages immediately south of the city — Kobylí, Bořetice, Valtice, Lednice — offering local wine, bread, and charcuterie in ancient stone rooms. Day trips from Brno to these villages are the finest food experience the region offers.
Practical Tips for Eating in Brno
Brno is substantially cheaper than Prague for food and drink. A denní menu lunch (soup + main + sometimes a drink) costs €7–12. A full dinner at a good traditional restaurant costs €20–35 per person with wine. A 0.5L Starobrno on draft costs €1.80–2.50 in a pub; more in tourist-adjacent places. Wine by the glass at a wine bar runs €3–7 for local Moravian varieties — exceptional value for wines that genuinely compete with Austrian and Alsatian equivalents.
The dining schedule in Brno is roughly: lunch 11:30am–2pm (when the denní menu is served), dinner 6–10pm, with many kitchens closing by 9:30pm on weeknights. Unlike Prague, Brno does not have extensive late-night eating options outside the student district near Masarykova University. The Saturday morning market at Zelný Trh is the best food experience in the city and worth rearranging your schedule to attend. Always carry cash — many traditional pubs and market stalls are cash-only, and card acceptance in Brno is less universal than in Prague.
