Essensia Restaurant at Mandarin Oriental – Prague, Czech Republic: Located on the ground level of Mandarin Hotel Prague, Essensia Restaurant is a unique place to dine, serving Asian and European cuisine in an almost medieval setting complete with vaulted ceilings and a dim ambiance. Eastern art pieces and crafts are carefully placed, giving an interesting, almost weird contrast.

Not to be mistaken for Eastern-Western fusion cuisine, Essensia serves dishes that are (supposedly) faithful to their region or country of origin. There are traditional dishes from various parts of the continent including Japanese (sushi and sashimi), India (curry), Thailand (coconut prawns), and Chinese (chorizo). European restaurant staples such as Foie Gras and Chilean Seabass are also served.

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For appetizers, we ordered sashimi, which was surprisingly fresh and delicious but was sliced paper thin and therefore not wholly satisfying. For our main course, we ordered Beef Masala with sweet potatoes—dry, burnt, tough and just horrible; we also ordered Chicken Tikka Masala wth Indian gravy, which was mediocre at best. The rice for both of our dishes was old tasting and simply unappetizing.

And it gets worse. Our desert, apple crumble, had a rock hard crust and no flavor, and the expensive red wine we ordered was poured into cheap white wine glasses.

The service was also distressing—they circle like seagulls waiting to attack. It was obvious they were in a hurry for us to go.

My experience at the Essensia Restaurant at the Mandarin Hotel in Prague is one that is best forgotten. Not Bombastic.


What I liked: the decor


What I didn’t like: the service, the food


Rating: Not Bombastic


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