One day Michael and I decided to walk up a street near our apartment called Manesova.  It is a tree-lined street with colourful Art Nouveau buildings, many of which have been restored.  (Manesova is named in tribute to Josef Manes, a 19th-century Czech painter of the images of the twelve months on the Prague Astronomical Clock.)

What a surprise to find a window front with signs written in Russian.  Peeking inside I saw what looked to be a small deli.  With delight and curiosity we decided to go in and see if we might find something fun to take home and eat later on. 

Well, it was more than just a small deli.  There was also a tiny coffee shop and in a back narrow room the walls were lined with book shelves, and racks of DVD’s.  It was a lending library. . .

Also in this hallway were stairs going down into the basement where some very delicious smells were wafting in the air!  Suddenly we felt hungry.  Following our noses, we discovered a small restaurant with about 6 tables.

The young waitress was very friendly and could speak some English.  She showed us the menu with items we recognized but many we had no clue about . . . so we inquired about them.  We decided to stay and asked what she would recommend for a light lunch.

I chose borscht soup and Michael had a meat pie.  Both were exceptionally delicious!!

Even though we were eating totally Russian, we still chose Pilsner Urquell, my all time favourite Czech beer!

After our meal we went into the deli section and looked at the large display of wines on offer.  There were bakery items, frozen food items and numerous other things of which we had NO clue what they were.  It was a busy deli so that must mean there is a Russian community nearby to support it.  We intended to come back for dinner or another lunch, but Prague is full of so many restaurants, we never did get back.  Its on the list for next time!

Later I researched about the Russian population in Prague.  In the June 2010 issue of the Prague Daily Monitor an article reported number of Russian-speaking inhabitants of Prague has multiplied in the past ten years, which is gradually changing the character of the Czech capital.  In 1997 there was merely one Russian shop in Prague, while at present there are dozens of  them as well as other Russian services, five branches of Russian and Ukrainian universities and at least six kindergartens.