Excellent continental cuisine awaits at Alchymist By Evan Rail Thank heaven for reader tips! Without your help, we wouldn't have heard about some of our favorite new restaurants, places like Isabella, Nagoya, Don Pedro and Botanic. And without the oh-so-discreet e-mail from one of our most productive tipsters, a man known only as "Mr. Y," we never would have visited Alchymist, an excellent new restaurant in Mala Strana. Unfortunately, Mr. Y couldn't provide a concise description of Alchymist's interior. After visiting, we know why. It's very ... "sultan." Very ... "Baroque pimp." Very ... well, you've got some chairs that might have suited Louis XIV, red-velvet banquettes in another area, alchemical symbols on the walls, blood-red curtains, sky-blue ceilings complete with stars and lots of gilt-framed mirrors and statues that would have turned on Oscar Wilde. Add in real candlelight and chandeliers with "flickering candle" lightbulbs, and you've got an elegant yet Goth-friendly set of linked dining rooms with more stylish gimcracks than Dracula's yard sale. The menu is much easier to describe: continental with a pronounced French influence. Among starters, there's an excellent sheep-cheese tart, called a "caprini," served with fresh mache lettuce and sweet-tart port-wine syrup. The cheese tart was described as "warm," though it was closer to room temperature when it arrived. No matter: It was still delicious, slightly garlicky and hinting of black truffles. Another recommended appetizer is the foie gras terrine. Thick and funky, it's framed with bits of sugary dates for a sweet contrast to the rich, creamy, salty pate. A small salad of pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and more mache provides balance. On our visit, the plate was crossed with thin ribbons of reduction sauce -- the same wine syrup from the cheese tart? -- but the portion was too meager to contribute much beyond mere decoration. More, please. Main courses feature several pastas, including a "legendary" saffron risotto. This is where the presentation doesn't do justice to the cooking: The risotto is fragrant, funky and creamy, but it looks like nothing, with no garnish or other variation in texture. Mr. Y said this was the best he'd tasted outside of Italy, and it is delicious. But to the eye, it looks like a spoonful of creamed corn. If we used emoticons, there'd be a sad face here. Much, much better is the roast duck breast, partly just for the accompaniments: soft roast apples and chips of celery root sliced so thin they come out looking like squash blossoms. Delicious! The duck is not bad either: tender and rich, paired perfectly with a tangy, oniony, slightly sugary sauce. Desserts include a decent dark-and-white chocolate terrine with stewed raspberries, though it's not strong enough for real chocolate lovers. Recommended is the creme brelee, brightly scented with pistachio and boasting a perfect sugar crust worth a trip across town. One thing not worth crossing town for, unfortunately, is the price: dinner for two can easily come to 2,000 Kc ($75), even if you go extremely light on the alcohol. Appetizers are mostly above 200 Kc, main courses around 400 Kc, and the vino is especially pricey. Forget the bottle -- there's no glass of red wine listed for less than 180 Kc per 15 deciliters, and they charge the same price for Czech vintages as they do for French and Italian. Ouch -- right in the wallet! Obviously, Alchymist isn't trying to compete with less-expensive places, and the cooking and atmosphere compare favorably with some of the city's best eateries. Moreover, service is excellent, performed by a team of waitresses with a precision bordering on that of Austin Powers' deadly fembots. If you know of other restaurants as good as this one, make like Mr. Y and drop us a line: We couldn't do it without you. Highly recommended. Evan Rail can be reached at erail@praguepost.com Restaurant Alchymist
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