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Despite its provocative name — from, as you’ll recall, one of history’s more notorious sex fiends — the Marquis de Sade, once the largest brothel in the Czech Republic’s capital, is a den of no more iniquity and kink than the average student hangout. Is the Marquis de Sade the best watering hole in town? Maybe not, but this Prague bar may well be the one where you feel most comfortable.
Rough, ready and relentlessly bohemian, the Marquis de Sade’s charms include high ceilings, capacious dimensions, and simple wooden tables, chairs, and old-fashioned wainscotting. On top of that, the iffy art canvases, low-level lighting, and velvet sofas produce a purposefully shambolic feel.
Equally offbeat is the stuffed monkey sometimes sighted toward the rear of the bar. That monkey, whose provenance is a mystery to us, has had a lot of owners, because the joint itself has changed hands multiple times in recent years. But the feel of the place hasn’t really changed a jot, no matter whose name is on the lease.
The range of cocktails does little to dispel the student image: cheap and poorly mixed. We’d recommend instead that Czech classic, pivo (beer) – a pint of locally-brewed Staropramen, perhaps. Or if you’re in a more adventurous mood, a shot or two of absinthe (although the 21st-century version cuts out the wormwood which gave all those Impressionists those brain-eating hallucinations back in the day, the stuff is still powerful — halfway to rocket fuel, even). A refreshingly casual alternative to Prague’s lately somewhat pretentious cocktail bar scene, the Marquis also offers regular live music, and its location on Templová 8 (a side street just a few steps from the atmospheric Old Town Square) puts it smack in the middle of a district that includes such hotspots as Chateau (aka Chapeau Rouge) Bar & Grill and Red Hot and Blues — not to mention a lively mix of expats and locals. So the next time you’re in Prague and looking for some lively yet laid-back nightlife, this kinder, gentler brand of sadism might be right up your alley.
Despite its provocative name — from, as you’ll recall, one of history’s more notorious sex fiends — the Marquis de Sade, once the largest brothel in the Czech Republic’s capital, is a den of no more iniquity and kink than the average student hangout. Is the Marquis de Sade the best watering hole in town? Maybe not, but this Prague bar may well be the one where you feel most comfortable.
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