SLOW Café

The SLOW Cafe logo hanging outside the coffee shop in Prague.SLOW Café was my first chance discovery in Prague. Although on my (very long) list of potential spots, I was on my way elsewhere for brunch when I wandered past, catching sight of the weekly brunch menu in the window. Consisting of just five items, each was intriguing, so since I was already hungry, in I went. Like Monday’s Coffee Spot, Pražírna Kavárna, SLOW Café has multiple rooms, although in this case, they’re on the ground floor, not in a basement. There’s also a wonderfully secluded courtyard at the back, albeit much smaller than the one at Pražírna Kavárna.

SLOW Café only works with roasters that the owners know personally, starting with Coffee Source, a local roaster with a coffee shop just down the street. Coffee Source provides the espresso (a natural Ethiopian during my visit), with SLOW Café offering an extremely concise menu of just espresso, flat white and cappuccino. This is joined by various filter options, the roasters drawn from around Europe. This includes Kaffa Roastery from Helsinki and, during my visit, Berlin’s Bonanza, plus SlowMov and Nomad (the owners had just been to Barcelona) on Aeropress and V60, while Helsingborg’s Koppi was on batch brew, although the options change regularly.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

  • On the busy Francouzská, at the corner with Slovenská (to the right)...
  • ... stands a very tall row of old apartment buildings, housing, on the ground floor...
  • ...the very lovely Slow Café (& Bar).
  • I like the sign on the corner, by the way.
  • There are windows to the left...
  • ... and windows to the right (complete with inset door). Let's go in.
  • The door, helpfully, has the opening times.
  • The door opens to the right, behind which is a hidden a two-person window-bar.
  • A wider view of the door on the right.
  • Meanwhile, to the left, a pair of tables sits in the other window.
  • The front of SLOW Cafe...
  • ... and the view looking the other way, with the counter at the back.
  • The seating between the counter and the window...
  • ... with three more tables alongside the left-hand wall.
  • An alternative view from the far corner...
  • ... and looking across to the stairs against the right-hand wall.
  • The final bit of seating is over here, with a bench running along the length of the stairs.
  • However, there's more! An open doorway in the back wall to the right of the counter...
  • ... leads through to a back room with a row of three tables along the right-hand wall...
  • The first two are two-person tables, while the one at the back is a four-person one.
  • The view from the back of the back room.
  • The pair of two-person tables against the right-hand walll...
  • ... and, opposite them, an L-shaped bench.
  • Finally, an open door in the back wall leads down a short corridor...
  • ... to this small, cosy courtyard, with just enough space for two tables and a bench.
  • The view to the left.
  • There's a nice touch of greenery out here...
  • ... including these two window boxes on the wall.
  • There are more window boxes on top of the wall, plus a large tree towers overhead.
  • Nice reuse of an old coffee sack for decoration.
  • Time to go back inside.
  • This neat bookshelf set-up frames a door in the back room...
  • ... while this picture hangs on the opposite wall.
  • The picture, seen straight on.
  • There are more pictures on the left-hand wall in the main room...
  • ... and this one above the stairs on the right-hand wall.
  • Obligatory light-fitting shot.
  • There's a set of retail shelves immediately to the left of the door...
  • There are plenty of bags of coffee from the roasters on offer over on the counter.
  • Talking of which, the counter is at the back of the main room. You order here...
  • ... where you'll find plenty of cakes to tempt you...
  • ... including this one.
  • However, what drew me in was the weekly brunch menu, seen here in the window.
  • The drinks menu, meanwhile, hangs on the wall behind the counter.
  • The bulk of the coffee operation is off to the left-hand side...
  • ... with the La Marzocco Linea espresso machine in the back corner.
  • There's a Moccamaster for batch-brew to its left...
  • ... and on the back wall, the grinder and a kettle, plus that day's batch brew beans.
  • Pour-over, meanwhile, along with the brewed coffee, is right at the front.
  • This Kenyan from Slowmov in Barcelona had just finished...
  • ... so instead I was drawn to this honey processed Rwandan from Bonanza.
  • I was there for lunch, so had the brunch plate...
  • ... an eclectic mix of ingrediants which is an instant Best Breakfast Award contender!
  • The thing that looks like a gravy jug at the back is, in fact, my coffee...
  • ... which is where I'll leave you.
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Slow Café, which opened March 1st 2018, is on the southern edge of Vinohrady on the busy Francouzská, at the junction with Slovenská. Located on the ground floor of a row of grand old apartment buildings which tower above it, the south-facing façade catches the sun. There’s a pair of large windows to the left and right, with the right-hand one having the door inset on the left.

This takes you into a simple space, the bulk of which is to your left. Meanwhile, to the right, is a two-person window-bar (which is behind the open door), with a flight of stairs occupying the rest of the right-hand side. Starting at the back, these lead down to a basement kitchen. A long bench, with two built-in tables, runs alongside the stairs, doubling as a bannister.

There’s a set of shelves to the left of the door, followed by two small, two-person tables in the window. The remaining seating is in the form of five tables, three small, two-person ones and two four-person ones. These occupy the space between the window at the front and the counter, which occupies most of the back wall, Meanwhile the two-person tables run along the left-hand wall.

However, that’s just the start of it. Through an opening in the back wall to the right of the counter you’ll find a long, thin back room with more seating, starting with three two-person tables against the right-hand wall. Meanwhile, on the left is an L-shaped bench with a single table. Finally, at the back, a doorway in the back wall leads to a lovely, compact, sheltered courtyard with high walls and space for two small two-person tables.

Having been drawn in by the promise of food, I had the brunch plate, which was excellent, although I think I would have been happy with any of the choices. This, however, was a real mix of flavours and textures, starting with a perfectly fried egg, accompanied by a couple of slices of bread (to be dipped in the yolk, naturally). There were also three walnut fritters, the consistency of small pancakes, an aubergine puree and a green salad, all on a yoghurt base. It was delicious and is an instant contender for this year’s Best Breakfast Award!

SLOW Café has a small selection of soft drinks and wine. However, I decided to stick with coffee, choosing to have a pour-over. I was offered a pair of Rwandan single-origins for the V60, a washed coffee from Nomad and a honey processed one from Bonanza. That said, we weren’t sure if the Nomad was washed (neither I nor the barista being able to read Spanish) so she opened the packet, looked at the beans and declared it was a washed coffee. If I needed any more indication I was in the right place, that was it. She also offered to open a new packet from one of the options on the retail shelves if I wanted, but I decided to stay with the Bonanza.

My coffee served in a lovely china jug with a small cup on the side, all presented on a silver tray. A really well-balanced brew, it evolved as it cooled, with more delicate, floral notes coming through, the perfect accompaniment to my brunch.


June 2019: It’s rare that I get to revisit places I’ve written about, but I had an unexpected spare afternoon, and since SLOW Café changes the brunch menu every week, I popped back the day after I published my piece to try the poached eggs and some of the new delivery of coffee from Kaffa Roastery. The eggs were excellent, another interesting mix of flavours and textures, while the coffee was lovely, a subtle, fruity brew.

December 2019: SLOW Café has won the 2019 Best Breakfast Award.

FRANCOUZSKÁ 966/33 • 120 00 VINOHRADY • PRAGUE • CZECHIA
http://slowfactory.cz +420 222 951 929
Monday 07:30 – 18:00 Roaster Kaffa Roastery (espresso) + Guests (filter)
Tuesday 07:30 – 18:00 Seating Tables, Window Bars; Tables (Outside)
Wednesday 07:30 – 18:00 Food Brunch, Cake
Thursday 07:30 – 18:00 Service Order at Counter
Friday 07:30 – 18:00 Cards Yes
Saturday 09:00 – 16:00 Wifi Free (with code)
Sunday 09:00 – 16:00 Power Limited
Chain No Visits 16th, 21st June 2019

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4 thoughts on “SLOW Café

  1. Pingback: Coffee Source | Brian's Coffee Spot

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  3. Pingback: 2020 Awards – Best Breakfast | Brian's Coffee Spot

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