Pivnice Hostina

No Longer In Business

Low-ceilinged brown bar interior. Czech and German taps. Small bottle list. Not really worth visiting unless you’re craving something from tap.

A nice enough place with nice and fairly knowledgeable staff though they’re no experts by any means. A middling selection, nothing special, but decent by Finnish standards. Small and crowded, but the way it’s designed, it’s not too loud or bohersome.

Only the Finnish do so many of these bizarre themed bars to such excess. Dark, dingy and brown, you could be in Prague. Unfortunately the beer isn’t quite up to that standard.

I must give this place a 5 for the ambiance, as I’ve had some of my most memorable & nicest evenings here. The place is small, and feels crowded even when empty. You will have people bump into you, for sure. I wouldn’t go here in the summer (feels dark and depressing), but I find it an excellent cozy, warming, place during winter. Especially when you’ve been shopping in the around-the-corner Kamppi. The selection is limited, taps mostly filled with common international brands. The food is pretty much limited to a tapas-selection, the same that can be found in a lot of Finnish premium pubs. The quality of the service can be random, but mostly friendly. I remember once asking the waiter whether a, to me unknown, wheat beer was a belgian-style wit or german weisse. The waiter seemed a bit distressed, but hid her ignorance in a very classy manner by pouring a glass in total silence and presenting it to me with a "well, what do you think?". I found that hilarious.

Quite limited selection. Very common Czech beers on taps. Layout isn’t the easiest one as Phil said. Not as interesting as Hádanka and Milenka.

Did a fwe quick in-an-outs here while looking for Czech ticks in the past, and this seemed to have the most limited selection of all the pivnices. However, more recently I hit there, and it had more ticks than I could drink in a whole evening, even with the assistance of a workmate, including some absolutely delicious ones. Weird layout made me feel I was always in someone’s way, but maybe I was unlucky. Visually it’s a pleasant dark wood interior, normally what I’d give a 4 for. Worth a stop if you’re in the centre, certainly.