Just steps from Mustek – a popular Prague metro stop located by Wenceslas square lies an extraordinarily unique Art Nouveau restaurant called Triton at the Adria Hotel.
While Adria Hotel is a quaint & charming hotel in the city center, its true gem is located underneath it all. If you ever find yourself in this area in Prague, do venture down its basement and you will find an amazing lit and beautifully decorated cavern. Beneath it all is a history-filled, deeply romantic cave restaurant called Triton.
One of the best parts of the setting was how the lovely dining area ceiling consisted of such beautiful natural stalactites. I’ve been to many restaurants around the world and this was a first for me to be inside an environment like this.
After being seated in the corner of the restaurant, the lovely Chef Tomáš Horák came to welcome us and talked about his concept. Chef Tomáš enjoys cooking up modern meals from primarily local sources, with a few ingredients he further sources out from France. He had quite a bit of inspiration from French cuisine during his time being an experienced chef there.
Chef Tomáš has been a Triton chef for about a year bringing with him his vision and purpose – which is to give people joy through his culinary art. His skills are two-dimensional given that while his culinary skills are exceptional, he is also quite an artist. Apparently, his art has even been featured in local museums.
He uses art through molecular gastronomy as elements in his dishes. According to the dinner menu, Triton features Czech dishes with a form of modern art, true to the DNA of Chef Tomáš. No doubt, his dishes are all creative and imaginative. Triton has a house sommelier and the restaurant features more than 100 wines in their cellar. We didn’t pair our meals this time but their collection looks quite impressive.
After a wonderful introduction conversation, the chef went back to the kitchen. A quick welcome dish arrived which was beet tartare and espuma in a form of molecular gastronomy with fresh herbs. Already starting off strong and unique with a wonderful combination of flavors. I’ve never had a beet tartare before but I certainly enjoyed it. The bread and butter came in with the beet tartare and we found the bread soft with a nice crispy crunch texture on its exterior. The butter was very creamy and featured a garnish of red beet chips.
The next course was a cucumber sorbet and cucumber variation. It was served with a Kumquat with bullets of cucumber sorbet. This was a refreshing dish showcasing a series of greens with a nice cold sorbet. The white chocolate nuggets around the plate also adds an additional texture as it pops in your mouth. What a fun dish. This is another inventive micro gastronomy dish. While it has some strong vinegar savors, the freshness of its ingredients were still prolific.
Next was the Gamba Caviar beet root mango black tempura and coconut foam. It displayed a series of sensory flavors beautifully highlighted on a rock-themed bowl. This is a delicious and fresh dish. The ingredients’ individual flavors are promoted in a balanced way. The gamba and black ink covered shrimp were fresh and clean tasting. Truly an outstanding dish.
For mains, we were served mushroom scones with veal tenderloin played up with sweet bread, asparagus, and mashed potato mousse. The steak was very soft and flavorful and absolutely cooked perfectly making me very happy. It was accentuated with gravy but this did not distract from the steak flavor. While eating the delicious meal, I experienced thrilling little bursts from the salt crystals. It was fun to eat. The mashed potato mouse is very good and compliments the steak perfectly.
For dessert, we enjoyed a grand Marnier with honeycomb, citron chips, yuzu from Japan, and an incredibly special white chocolate from France. Apparently these white chocolates are classified as white despite being officially 55% cacao. Interesting! There were also mandarin oranges and lemon which provided flashes of exciting consistency and a sense of tart in the dish. This is one of those desserts that you must absolutely try to take in as much variation of in order to enjoy the full combination. Every bite can easily be a different dessert experience.
We also enjoyed pistachio tartare, also served on a bed of more glorious honeycomb. It was a very pleasant dessert. The pistachio flavor was evident and the melted white chocolate was absolutely of high quality. This is certainly one of my most favorite pistachio desserts of all time.
Chef Tomáš came back out at the conclusion of our dining experience and he was quite happy to see how much his delicious cooking truly gave us pure joy. He emphasized that he loves to make a “feast in your eyes” – a reality whenever he cooks for his guests.
As you leave Triton and Adria Hotel, don’t forget to pass by their Franciscan garden. I must say that eating such delicious and artfully done cuisine under such enamoring, natural stalactites was an elegant and delightful experience I will never forget. I definitely recommend TRITON Restaurant in Prague!
Thanks to Triton Restaurant | Václavské nám. 26, 110 00 Nové Město, Czechia | +420 221 081 218 | All views, posts and opinions shared are my own.