Last week Starbucks opened its first coffee shop in Czech Republic, in the centre of old Prague. I'm glad they did that because Starbucks has great coffee, although it's quite expensive. Few days after opening I stopped by to have a cup, but café was packed and there was a long queue from the entrance all the way to take-away counter - I didn't want to wait half an hour for a coffee, so I walked on.
It was packed for the whole first week because press wrote about the opening so crowds poured in because Starbucks is IN. Others complained about quality of their coffee (I guess that most of them have actually never been in Starbucks) in discussion forums all over the Czech internet, which is funny because the supreme "traditional" Czech coffee made in turkish style (put powdered roast coffee into cup, add boiling water) isn't something one should brag about :).
Anyway, I tried it again this week with my girlfriend and found out that crowds were gone. There was just the right amount of people to make the café feel cosy. We both ordered caramel frappuccino and shelled out 115 crowns for each (about 4,5 Euros or 6,5 dollars) - I've never paid so much for a coffee in Prague and I thought it simply can't be worth the price.
Surprisingly, it was worth it. It might be overpriced, but there just isn't coffee like that available anywhere else in Prague yet. Besides, the interior is very nice and staff is good-natured and pleasant - genuinely pleasant, as far as I can tell. Miles Davis playing quietly in the background was a nice touch, certainly much better than radio screaming hits from 80's - unfortunately quite common occurence in Prague cafés nowadays.
Overall, it was a very nice experience. I won't go there every week (the price is just too high, shop is kinda out of the way and I'm not much of a quality coffee addict), but I will definitely come back and enjoy the coffee and the atmosphere.
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