Erhartova Cukrárna (Portal of Prague)

It’s hard to decide what to write about first: whether to describe the nicely reconstructed interior of the well known cukrárna in the Letná palace in Milady Horákové Street or its local delicacy, which the confectioners make with their skilful hands in the subterranean depths of the building.

The interior, renovated in original functionalist style and colour, will take you back to the time of the First Czechoslovakian Republic. The dominant green and ivory is complemented by reddish-brown. We then find a restored tube-shaped display case hiding bottles of wine and glass counters with tasty-looking desserts. You can easily lose yourself in day dreaming while sitting at the round tables and listening to period music (e.g. they play R.A. Dvorsky or Billy Holiday or other gems of that era).

In 1937 the original cukrárna, or rather the whole functionalist building, was opened and named after its owner, Mr. Erhart. The designer of the building and its cukrárna was Eugen Rosenberg, a student of Josef Gočár, who built several another houses in Prague, primarily in Holešovice or in Štěpánská and Ve Smečkách streets. The architects responsible for the present reconstruction are Tomáš Hořava and Enigma studio. Thanks are also due to the city council of Prague 7, whose financial support made the reconstruction possible.

The cukrárna itself is interesting not only for the fact that part of the original interior was preserved and could be renovated for further use, but also for other details –a kind of big “window”, through which customers can see the outer corridor of the rest of the building, a stylish phone-booth or the drawers used to display the desserts in the shop window. The cukrárna at the front of the building is connected, via a corridor where toilets are located, with a coffee-bar, where the most pleasant place to sit is probably a semi-circular window with a view of the courtyard greenery.

Of course, the most important reason to enter this cukrárna is its delicacies. All desserts are handmade according to old recipes from Czech, German, French, Italian, and Austrian master-confectioners. It’s really difficult to know what to taste first. Whether to taste the chocolate chestnut with its delicious filling or let a piece of pear and cinnamon cake melt in your mouth, try a chocolate cupcake with strawberry cream mousse decorated with fresh strawberries or French profiteroles in both dark and white varieties. Sachertorte with a generous portion of whipped cream, tiramisu, ice cream, coffee and milk shakes are all on offer.

In other words: Anyone craving sweet indulgence in style should visit the cukrárna below Letná