You have to go here at least once, best with visiting friends. The beer is truly something to rave about, very enjoyable and different from the standard pilsner offered everywhere else. Try to resist the pushy waiters with their trays of schnapps and just enjoy the atmosphere, if only for one evening.

Indeed a great place for drinking one of the best beers worldwide in a traditional atmosphere. You can go almost every time and it is alway full but funny. A little bit like Munich Hofbräuhaus.

U Fleku is generally considered a must on tourist wanderings of Prague. Dating from 1499, this is a brewery and pub with an extensive range of food, which also does brewery tours, cabaret shows and has a small museum. Although less well known than the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, U Fleku is considered its historic equal by many beer fans.

Its justifiably famous beer is a distinctive dark brown ale which is actually quite light in character, with a sweet, roasted malty taste, supplemented by notes of chocolate, liquorice and coffee. This beer is unique to U Fleku, and worth the trip alone.

The extensive food menu is traditional Czech beer-drinking fare, (so expect heavy meat dishes and dumplings) with the addition of salads and lighter snacks, although on the pricier side of Prague bars.

The building itself is a warren of different traditional rooms and beer halls, with a central courtyard and of course the brewery itself (check for tour times - tours are 160CZK per person, with another 50 CZK for the adjacent museum). The evening Caberet (which we didn't see) starts at 20h - book in advance.

The downside to all this is that it has become something of a tourist trap. There is an oompah band playing continuously, which may or may not be to your taste. The beer is served in one size only, at 0.4l rather than the normal choice of 0.5l or 0.3l, and is more expensive than in other pubs.

The waiters circulate continuously with more beers, so if you don't want another, you need to make this clear. Even more irritatingly, they try and foist a glass of Schnapps on you - again at a price - and got rather irritated and pushy when we refused it (even though nothing could be worse for a beer palate!). Others have reported being asked for a 15CZK cover charge, although we weren't charged this.

That said, most of the people there took it for what it was and seemed to be enjoying themselves mightily. Just don't expect to meet any locals!