We went to the Czech Pub for dinner last night and it was one of the best dining experiences I have had in Beijing. Not only do they have a good selection of Czech beers on tap, which were all reasonably priced, the food was delicious and the menu included a great selection of hearty Eastern European cuisine. The staff at the Czech Pub were also terrific, both were very friendly and really made the evening an event.

Perfect thing for a cold winter night in Beijing!

Czech Pub is a solid recreation of a typical Czech Hospoda. It's basically the Czech equivalent to your basic Pub in the UK or Ireland. From what I ate and drank it doesn't drop the ball. First of all you have real imported Czech lager on draft (Staropramen). At 25 kuai (as of Nov 2011) it's one of the best deals on a real imported draft in the city. They even pour it into a real Czech glass. As any good Czech hospoda they have both the dark and the light and will gladly pour you a řezané pivo (half and half) which for me already gains this place huge points. They even serve the red Staropramen that is even quite rare to find at most places in Prague.

Beyond the beer (which everyone knows is a utmost importance in a Czech pub) the food is a pretty good representation of Czech cuisine. During my visit I tried the goulash as well as the fried cheese (smazeny syr) which for China is as close to authentic as I think you can get. During my visit the fries with it were a little too salty but beyond that it was right on taste-wise. The tartar sauce on the side just added to the legitimacy. The goulash was also pretty good and served with a hearty serving of bread dumplings. The added onions were cooked perfectly, not too raw, but not too cooked to lose all their flavor.

Look, Czech cuisine isn't going to win any awards from food snobs but it's great comfort food and even better as the weather turns colder. The night I went it was quiet in the restaurant but service was prompt and pretty present. I hope this one sticks as it's a great addition to the Beijing food scene and the owners and chef know what they are doing. It's worth a trip down to the Ritan Park area.