These are reviews of Little Prague from 2008. For more current reviews, visit the entry.
2008-01-15 02:43:48 I've been here both when it's overflowing with drunk college kids and on a few quiet weekday evenings, and no matter when I go, the staff is extremely friendly. The food is good, although I've only eaten the bar food - the duck nuggets were yummy, and I also had a blue cheese soup that I liked. I generally shy away from the bar scene on the weekends, but nevertheless I've always had fun when someone drags me here. The bouncers are professional, efficient, and kind. The bartenders are attentive and often charming, even when swamped (both the men and women.) One complaint I have is that most every time I've seen him there, the owner is cold at best, often pretty jerky. Once, in the afternoon, I saw him chatting with a patron at the bar - he seemed to be nice. I don't know if he should just stay away when it's busy (because maybe that stresses him out) or if he gets grumpy late at night, but I've been on the verge of boycotting this bar more than once because he's been rude to me and my friends without (apparent) cause as closing time approaches. Alas, Davis offers few alternatives, so I haven't taken such drastic measures yet, and I hope not to. Like I said, I always have fun here. At least on Fridays, the DJ plays great tunes, and the crowd on the dance floor is diverse and happy. I've always been able to get water when I've asked for it, from any of the bartenders. Oh yeah, just in case anyone's listening:
Dear Little Prague, You need to have more than one toilet for all of the women at the bar. It's ridiculous. Maybe send us over to the restaurant? Isn't there another bathroom over there? Love, your friendly neighborhood drinker of diuretics
2008-01-19 11:10:09 My friends and I often frequent this bar for many reasons; I like the cosmopolitan, eclectic atmosphere there, and since I usually show up with a large group the nice bouncers cut us some slack on the cover. Last night I went there with a group of 15 people and we were trying to barter for a group bargain, by which we were brutally denied. Once we all decided to cough up the three dollars we walked up to pay, and the owner let two people walk up in front of us, took their money, and then proceeded to talk down to us. A girl in our party fired back at his rude comments after she paid and got stamped, then he approached her from behind, grabbed her arm and threw her out. While we understand that he had every right to legally act the way he did, he completely sabotaged his community relations with a large group, and grabbing a girl by her arm seems harshly inappropriate. I hate to say it, but I too am boycotting for this place. —UCDmegan
2008-01-19 17:46:37 Another thing to add, a guy in our group who paid the cover before my friends got thrown out, bought a beer, and then came outside to see what was going on (after the owner grabbed a female by her arm and threw her out for verbally responding to his rude, degrading comments), the bouncer asked my friend if he got his money back for the cover. My friend said no, and then asked if he could get a refund on his beer. Obviously the bouncer said no, and told him to pound it. My friend pounded the beer, and then said, "Okay, can I get my money back?" The bouncer said no, and then kicked him out as well. This situation was quite an interesting interpretation of customer service, especially when the owner finished it by sticking his nose in the air and "shooing" us away. —UCDmegan
2008-03-30 15:04:05 Wow, sounds like customer service isn't their best quality over at "Little Prague". Perhaps, the owner wants to give their American customers the same authentic dining experience of Europe? I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume, no.
I've heard lots of stories that are reminiscent of UCDmegan's experience. But I'm confused about the owner's right to "legally act the he did [sic]" in the alleged incident on 1/18/08. According to facts given by UCDmegan, the owner "approached her [UCDMegan's friend] from behind, grabbed her arm and threw her out." UCDMegan says that while he was harsh and inappropriate, she understands why the owner did what he did. I don't. How the hell is that legal?! Yes, the owner has a legal right to refuse service and can ASK a customer to leave the premises for whatever retarded reason he wants, but GRABBING A WOMAN'S ARM?! She wasn't even doing anything! I could understand if she were violent and he was protecting himself or others, but here? He's just being a colossal A-hole.
I would have called Davis PD right then and there and reported his crazy ass. And he did this AFTER taking her money and stamping her? Christ, what an awful place.
2008-07-11 16:20:25 I think the owner is a pretty cool guy. He's never treated me with any disrespect and, contrary to UncleBob's experience (7/5/2007), I have received free drinks here. I'll continue to drink and eat here. Just a warning, my friend purchased 2 beers here during Happy Hour on 7/8/2008 and paid $7.00. According to my math, that means that happy hour beers are now $3.50 instead of $3.00. —SlutMan
- That's odd. I was there a week or so ago during Happy Hour and paid $3.00 for my drink. Maybe it was because I schmoozed over the cute bartender (but probably not). —SunjeetBaadkar
2008-07-17 22:24:46 As you can probably tell, it's pretty on and off here. Some happy hour foods aren't bad. Drinks are okay. Good selection of beers for Davis. Although a funny story...the other day, I ordered a White Russian and after putting in all the alcohol, he realized he had no milk or anything. So he says, "I MAKE IT BETTAH" and sprays a gang of whipped cream onto my drink, pretty much amounting to a non-shot BJ. I just kind of looked at it for a moment and had to get a girl-friend to carry it to the table for me. —SeatonTsai
2008-08-12 21:24:00 been here quite a few nights in the past two weeks. It's been very, very slow and quiet so I got more of a chance to chat up the bartenders & observe the owner. The two bartenders I had, "Stormy" and the tall blonde chick who looks kind of polish/european were both cool. They had personality & semi-hooked me up with drinks.
The owner was just a dick to me the first night, the second time I saw him a bunch of his old foreign friends were there and he was in what passes for a good mood. He did basically peer pressure this girl into getting a better quality tequila, saying 'oh your BF's paying, isn't he?' which I think is kind of uncalled for (I made sure to obnoxiously laugh at him, and give him a dicky answer when he asked what I was laughing at - he seemed to respect that!). Still, LP and especially the owner are NOT for the weak. If you act like you have a pair and talk back to the owner, he will respect you. If you act like a mature alcoholic (and not a dumb college kid) the bartenders respect you. I highly recommend Wednesday night's Captains & Coke special (3.50). Happy hour beers are now 3.50 as well.
Funny story - I met this old guy who'd been going there for 10 years and he wouldn't shut up about what an asshole the owner was! Bartender claimed the owner's a dick so that the bartenders seem nicer and get better tips. Highlight of my week there was Stormy yelling "don't forget your 50cents in change!" at this group of dumb fools who ordered six drinks but didn't tip. I feel that people who don't tip bartenders (without a damn good reason) should be keelhauled, so I knew LP was the place for me. For everyone who raves about Sophia's — Sophia's is pretentious, overpriced, and much, much too crowded. Don't go to LP for the food, go for the drinks (specials are quite decent, and can be substituted as long as its the same liquor, eg instead of a 1940's cocktail, you can have gin and tonic, martini, etc). I highly reccomend Berechkova, tonic, and grapefruit for a hot night.
Certain female bartenders (especially new ones) will say/agree with anything for a larger tip. Take advantage by asking them if they're into girls, what they think of that other girl's rack, what their favorite sex act is, etc etc, and impress your friends! —davisGeek
2008-09-22 10:41:00 LOVE IT! —colleenj2005
2008-11-09 07:47:39 The restaurant part seems like a decent place, family-friendly, and the food is very good. I've never been to the bar part and don't know if the wild stories reported here are correct. —Xenophon
2008-11-22 01:48:50 bunch of real jerks who work at this place..... was there for a private party, was treated with a total lack of respect after the bouncers made a mistake. The manager was a complete bitch who refused to even talk to my group. I highly recommend not going there if you're looking for a good time, cheap drinks, or good service. I certainly won't be going back. Chances are this place wont be open for too much longer anyway..... —awesomeo
2008-12-04 23:47:13 The bar lost 10+ customers tonight for being unprofessional to the DJ's.. Their loss. —LinaPlanuty
2008-12-06 02:32:42 This place is disgusting, unsanitary, and the owner is a real dick. —JazzyJasmine
2008-12-10 17:52:55 The bar is apparently in it's own timezone. I paid full price for 2 beers around 7:50. I should of paid half price because of happy hour. So I went up with another member of my group and tried to get half my money back while he bought his beer. It was 7:57. Not only would the bartender not give me half my money back he wouldn't even let my friend get his beer half off. He pointed at the clock at the bar which was 10 minutes fast! There were 4 of us with watches/cellphones which all said 7:57. Somehow the bartender was convinced that all our clocks were wrong and his was right. We've been stopping by there pretty regularly for several months now. This will be our last visit. I wonder if the bartender was the owner as he was an older guy and everyone seems to think the owner's a prick. —TomK
2008-12-12 09:49:14 You know, I used to really like this place. Not too busy before 9 p.m. and easy to get seating. I went there last week and was COMPLETELY disappointed with their lack of professionalism. The DJ that was scheduled to play was fired when she got there. No advance notice or anything. The kicker was that there were at least 10 people who came to see the DJ and so we were all mad for having wasted a trip out in the freezing cold. They definitely did NOT get our business that night and I doubt any of us will ever go back. —Wldrangel
2008-12-12 13:38:42 I used to like this place but I hear so many bad things as of lately. I personally haven't been here in several months so I can't confirm it, but still...sad... —SunjeetBaadkar
2008-12-26 17:45:35 I have also ran into some "time-zone problems" with happy hour and drink specials. It is a weekly deal, its on the front advertising board, yet it doesn't seem to be necessarily adhered too. The bar-tender once though it was 2 hours later than it was until I pulled out my cell-phone to "prove" what time it was. They have the least impressive service of any bar in Davis.—CyraEmery
