The Tržnice - Getting warmed up
The gastronomic scene in Brno continues to grow apace, and one venture which has already made a mark and is set to make a bigger one this year is the Tržnice Brno, the (fairly) recently opened indoor market in the top right corner of Zelný trh. Whilst the 2nd floor still remains largely unoccupied, there are a number of notable eating opportunities below.
Cou Cou
Cou Cou make sandwiches – a concept which has never caught on as strongly in the Czech Republic as in my homeland of England. But these sandwiches are pretty special, . These are decadently topped, faithful reconstructions of classic international sandwiches, including the Reuben, Montechristo, and my favourite, the New York style Pastrami sandwich. The pastrami they use is second to none in Brno; thick sliced, meaty and flakey – proper pastrami.
Eh? Bistro
On the first floor there is something completely new in Brno. The “Eh?” Bistro is a Canadian Bistro that specialises in poutine, the Canadian national dish. Poutine is a mix of cheese curds and gravy served on fries. The fries here are freshly cut and twice fried to make sure they’re extra crispy. The cheese curds are local, and the gravy is homemade. It all combines to create a glorious, hearty, mess of a meal, that couldn’t be better suited to warming yourself from the chill of the winter.
Take a stroll
As the seating is universal for the whole indoor market, you can take your food (wherever you might want to eat) and sit down at the Craft Beer Bottle Shop and Bar, also on the first floor, with a lovely view over the square. They have a large selection of bottled and canned craft brews, plus a number of constantly changing draft ales.
Or, you could head up to the rooftop terrace that overlooks Zelný trh, the old town hall, and Petrov, which looks particularly spectacular floodlit at night. I think it is one of the best views in Brno, and is completely open to the public, and the perfect place to enjoy the food and drink you’ve bought inside (although maybe in a couple of months when the weather warms a little).
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The Tržnice Brno has certainly not reached its full potential yet, but there are some very promising signs there, and it is becoming one of my go-to spots for a quick but delicious meal either on a weekday lunch or a weekend dinner.
