Transformation of the Smíchov railway station: Havel on the wall, beer for the folk song, cigar on the platform
First of all, it should be noted that this report is not intended for lovers of old pub times. Although the new operator announces that the spirit of the Prague underground is coming to life in the reconstructed space, explain it to the “vagos”, for whom the Smíchov railway station was above all everything. Second home. Or offices.
In addition to “Magor” Jirous, the poet Egon Bondy or Václav Havel, the later president, have visited here before. Passengers, managers met here. Old and young alike. Waitresses or waiters carrying green shots for guests had to make their way through the cigarette smoke that rose to the high ceilings from time to time. However, this is no longer the case.
Havel’s portrait hangs on the wall of one of the lounges. Miloslav “Mejla” Mrštík, whose company operates several other restaurants in Prague 5, tries to show that the railway station pub is still a concept, but that it does not necessarily have to be a “fuck” to have a specific charm. “Times like this have come,” I think.
He didn’t look at the covid
Mrštík, as a Smíchov patriot, therefore decided to use the offer of the Railway Administration, which announced a tender for the operation of the station restaurant instead of Oáza. “It is a legendary company, but in my opinion it has lost its charm in recent years,” he told the entrepreneur Pražský deník. “I didn’t look at the covid at all,” he added with a smile when asked about the risks of coronavirus.
The company acquired the Smíchov railway station in January this year, and from mid-May only at Nádražní Tankovna Smíchov tried to open it at least through a dispensing window, but it was only able to welcome guests in June due to government restrictions. “Honestly? I did not expect miracles, “Mrštík answers the question about the current interest of customers. But they say they can boast positive reactions to the interior and the quality of the menu, although people are just discovering a new pub.
“Even though the old Oasis also had its own, I like it here, we advise we come here for a shot after work,” confirm the words of the operational and regulars, which the Prague daily addressed during an editorial visit in one of the summer evenings. “There’s a nice and nice staff here,” another of them complimented, pulling a cigar as soon as the debate interrupted the howls of the arriving trains – they were only heard inside the restaurant. For the comfort of passengers, perhaps only the timetable on TV is missing…
“The quality of the cuisine is determined by the fried cheese,” he says from the next table. The chef here is Tomáš Záhorský, who cooked in a Czech restaurant at the Expo in Japan six years ago, for example. Viewers can remember him from performing in the gastronomic competition Yummy or Prima wooden spoon from the turn of the millennium. The tank farm in Smíchov thus offers mainly classic ready-made meals. Záhorský et al. they also make meat presses from farmers, bake their own bread and buns. Lunches here are comparable in price to businesses in the area.
The dispensing window on the platform is missing
“Worse than a woman,” the waitress shouts hesitantly at the menu. Then it was as if the “spirit of the underground” had appeared. The neglected-looking man who takes the tripe soup and the “Old Man” from the tank reads the daily press and is not at all interested in what is happening in the area. The tenth hour is approaching, the sun is setting over Smíchov, and the outdoor “cigarette break” is receiving a special poetics. “But there is no window where beer is served,” says perhaps the first concrete longing for the Oasis on the platform.
So far, the operator has left a lounge in a place where there could be another bar and a snack bar, which can serve as a training room with the possibility of a banquet. “But the window where you put a frying pan and a good beer in a cup on the way to the train is still bothering me,” smiles Mrštík.
What to add at the end? At least the old man will be satisfied that the headache is the same in the morning after a successful visit as in the past. Regardless of the modernization of the Smíchov railway station. Cheers!