It is our pleasure to announce that Orange Bar, that hidden gem behind Roxy, will now be open in the mornings to serve your brunch needs.

Orange Bar has been a bastion of the late-night hangout scene for time out of mind.  

But the wee hours are not the only time of day to play, dear ones! Morning's bright skies entice open eyes to wander and forage through clean-swept streets in search of coffee and juice on the loose.

Therefore Orange Bar opens its doors from 10am every day to serve you wifi and latte, brunch to munch, and delights to crunch.

Your esteemed dignitaries Steve and Damien breezed in for a tasting last Sunday, encountering the unexpected orgy of food lovingly prepared by culinary ninja Andrew Sweetwood.

Now, this is not the sort of review that is meant to take the place of eating there. You won't find lengthy descriptions of the dishes or pornographic close-ups of the garnishings.

Instead, we just interviewed the chef. With a guy like this running the kitchen you don't need any further recommendations, his style speaks for itself in a language your mouth will instantly understand.

Cheap, too! 99 CZK for most dishes.

Here's where we started:

Juice to bang you in the taste buds! Apple, orange, pineapple, kiwi, banana in the blender with ginger. These were made by Lea the bartender whose creations are beyond reproach. Here's a peek at the bar with Lea in action. Note cool style.

 By the way, Orange Bar is 100% dog-friendly; they even have a water dish by the front door. Here's our attentive dining companion hot to sniff out the crumbs.

Following the juice of earthly delights came some grilled toasts. These were melty, cheesy, flavorful with stuffed vegetables in there. Totally perfect -- go to this City Beat post for incredible stop-action video of these toasts disappearing right before your very eyes.

Hot on the heels of the toasts came plates of scrambled eggs and ham, with toast and a nice little batch of sliced tomato on the side.  Personally I could go for hot red peppers in the eggs but I recognize we are not living in Mexico here.

No, that was not all.  The barrage continued, we were hopelessly transfixed in our seats.  Our forks were slashing and shoveling to keep up, we were buried to the eyebrows in distinct flavors all harmoniously combining into a rainbow of myriad nutritive dreams come true and blah blah blah.

Next up arrived a beautiful bowl of muesli with yogurt and honey. 

Now, at this point we were two lattes down, swimming in fresh fruit and everything else you've seen so far. But was that all? Did they stop there? Did they even ask us if we could stand it any longer?

No, they did not. Instead, Andrew came out in person and bashed us over the heads with the following priceless and indescribable dish, which he then described in detail as we devoured it mercilessly in the manner of wild beasts in the woods.

Again, check this City Beat post, where we can embed videos to our heart's delight, for the unbelievable live stop-action wish-you-were-Jan-Švankmajer video footage, complete with amazing soundtrack.

Back to the palačinky. He presented us with the plate and our eyes popped out of our heads.  While we were scooping them back in with spoons, he told us what we were looking at -- Palačinky čokolada with strawberrries simmered in a port wine, crème anglais on the other side, topped with natural boiled chocolate (na vaření, I think he said).  Using the best Czech chocolate is important.  I was too delirious to catch the rest of what he said.

Thus began our interview with Andrew:

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A: apples salad creation.  (This is a total assassin move.  He makes something that you think is coleslaw, but it's not.  It's apples and celery root with vinegar, salt, pepper and nothing else...  but it tastes like there are carrots, mayonaise and lemon in there.  I can't explain how good it is.  He brought us some in little dishes and we were stumped as to its origin.)

What three things would you want to have with you if you were stuck on a desert island?

Guitar with strings that never need to be changed, laptop with satellite internet connection, and Natalie Portman.  Did I mention a boat? You can substitute that for Natalie Portman.

If you had to kill somebody with music, which song would it be?

William Hung, I Believe I Can Fly.

What song would kill you?

An acoustic guitar falling over. Either that or the sound of a knife being scraped with its blade across the cutting board [shudders].

Where you get your produce? It was so good!

Asian market at I.P. Pavlova.

Really? That sounds like a kind of normal place to get stuff...

All I use is fresh. It's not that the produce is so incredible, it's that no one else is using it! They use powders and other goop to make it taste like something and it ends up tasting like nothing. I just use real food and that's all we need.

What time do you take your dog out?

I don’t have a dog, I have a job.

What three things are essential in your kitchen?

A: Organized dishwash area, a trained staff that can keep it organized, and the Hatori Honza knife -- it's balanced. [He unwraps it from a pristine white towel and shows it to us.]
S: Knife, cutting board, food.
D: Fire, food, mouth.

What music were your parents listening to when they had sex and made you?

Their parents fighting!

Do you mind if we ask a few questions?

Hahahaha!

Do you have siblings?

Yes one that's older, and a secret one I keep in a box.

How did you end up in such a cool place?

I came to town four years ago for a summer, on my way to France, and stayed ever since

Who made the menu?

All menu items are lovingly stolen from my favorite restaurants I have worked at. I love design, things that guide you and take you through things.

---

His menu reflects that leadership. Finally, we drank some mint tea made with hot water and mint leaves (imagine that!) and left in a daze.

Orange Bar
Haštalská 15
Prague 1
Tel.: (+420) 731 203 620

Breakfast: 10am-12 noon daily
Lunch: 12 noon-3pm (150 CZK average: sandwiches and wraps, salads, etc.)
Bar until late

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