Description from Luka Lu

Luka Lovely – By Laura Baranik I can hardly imagine a better restaurant to stumble into on a rainy night than Luka Lu, the recently-opened Croatian restaurant on Újezd in Malá Strana. Comfy chairs and dim lighting, along with the clever placement of a few everyday objects (most notably, a fully-laid-out sewing table bolted to the ceiling of the main dining room), have managed to turn a modestly-sized pair of rooms on a busy Prague street into one of the warmest, homiest restaurant around. Bosnian-born restaurateur Veso Djorem, who formerly owned Gitanes, has a knack for creating a dining experience that is both romantic and quirky. Luka Lu is the latest piece of evidence.

Although Louka Lu ´s charming interior is its most obviously appealing feature, this pleasant hideaway ´s food and table service are just as carefully considered. Take, for example, the prosciutto with melon, it s a simple and fairly common appetizer, but when made with the best ingredients, as it is here, one is reminded why this dish became so popular in the first place. The lean prosciutto oozes a rich, smoky flavor, offset by the sweet fragrance of perfectly-ripened cantaloupe.

I will be back for this one before summer´s end. Because Luka Lu is modeled after the traditional konoba (the Croatian seaside´s equivalent to a Greek taverna), seafood is featured heavily on the menu. A fish soup consists of a sizeable cluster of shellfish bathed in a simple, clear broth. The mussels are some of the largest I´ve seen in Prague. Generous, too, is the „traditionally prepared“ octopus entrée, it arrives with plenty of meaty baked octopus set upon a refreshing mix of small new potatoes, onions, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. The vegetables are cooked just enough to keep the faintly crunchy and do well when dipped into the accompanying olive oil herb sauce.

For dessert, I selected the panna minta, a twist on traditional panna cotta. The mint-flavored cooked cream is smooth and luxurious on the tongue, and clusters of fresh berries and a sprinkle of powdered chocolate provide a nice contrast. It´s an unusual dish, but very well-executed. The strawberries with balsamic vinegar and green peppercorns are delicious, too—sweet, acidic, and spicy all at once. Luka Lu has the feeling of a pleasant little restaurant you might find in a forgotten seaside village. The service feels family-style, too, it´s warm and attentive without being too fussy.

This unpretentious, down-home eatery just might become a local favorite.