Mūj Šalek Kávy

The famous
cookies.
Reproduced with
kind permission.

I feel I should start this blog with Mūj Šálek Kávy for a couple of reasons. One, it is the daddy of all hipster cafés. Any self-respecting, coffee drinking, Bohemian beatnik wants to be seen drinking Double Shot coffee in Karlin and apparently there are a lot of self-resecting, coffee drinking beatniks because getting a table in Šálek is like trying to get a new iPhone in Prague in the first week after release. 

Secondly, to quote my friend who first took me to the Karlin Mecca of coffee, I 'was a coffee virgin when I first went  to Šálek. And, like with any first time, I felt a bit awkward, a bit unsure. I lacked the moves, the style, the taste buds.' So Šálek can be compared to Gwen in Maggie’s Milkman, the horny housewife who showed Mal the tricks of the trade. Without Šálek there would be no blog. 

Bacon and Irish Whiskey
Cup Cake
Reproduced with kind permission.

So what makes Šálek special? Šálek is a jack-of-all-trades type café. Some of the others favour coffee over food, or cakes over coffee, but Šálek does the lot; coffee, tea, a full breakfast, and full lunch and dinner menus. Then there are the sweets, cakes, cup cakes, cookies and ice cream. I’ve documented elsewhere the effect the cookies can have on a man but the cup cakes are equally good. Rumour has it it's the mascarpone instead of butter that provides the lightness but whatever it is, they are a must have. The quirky array of cup cake flavours also keeps the Bohemian beatnik’s taste buds satisfied and the more conservative turning their noses up at the ideas, (see photo), mind you there are still no sign of the speciality pineapple cupcakes that have been promised.  
Meanwhile the staff are plentiful and friendly, from barefooted waitresses, through baristas with tattooed feet to flat-capped baristas, they run the gamut of all hipster styles and fashions. Do I like Šálek? Difficult to say, of course like any first time it will have a special place in my heart and the coffee and the food are good and the cakes are to die for. But it’s a little hard-core for a non-hipster like me. I would say if you are comfortable with your hipstuality, then you will love Mūj Šálek Kávy. But if you are still in the hipster closet, some of the other alternatives might be a gentler introduction to the lifestyle.

If you enjoyed this review, and you would like a story to go with your coffee, please check out my short story blog here and my story inspired by hipster coffee here.

For the website of the cafe visit here. If you visit this cafe on my recommendation, please tell them why you came and if you enjoyed this blog please share it with your friends. 

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