Fun serious gastronomy. Chef Levitate is inspired by his childhood experiences in his native Vietnam

Even at its new address with a view of the Vltava, the Prague restaurant Levitate remains a phenomenon of the local gastro scene. Its owners take their profession very seriously and regularly travel to the world’s best restaurants for their professional perspective. Why is a business boasting the Michelin label Creative Cuisine and great ambitions an extraordinary experience?

At the time of our winter evening visit, it is raining hard outside, but the staff make no bones about our rather soaked clothes and seat us at a ready table. You need to book in advance to the Levitate tasting restaurant, especially so that the local chefs have the necessary time to thoroughly prepare for you. The visitor never knows exactly what awaits him on the menu in the spirit of Asian-Scandinavian fusion. Visually impressive, yet minimalist-looking dishes are made exclusively from local food of the highest quality, and their delicate processing often takes a whole day, as our personal waiter explains to us in the ambient darkness.

The food pairings here are truly original and captivating and a little different every night. The local creativity is also appreciated by the Michelin guide, with the eloquent nickname Creative Cuisine – by the way, Levitate holds this title as the only one in our country. After moving from the original address in Štěpánská to Pařížská, chef Christian Chu and creative manager Miroslav Šole make no secret of the fact that they would like to receive two stars from the famous bedekr in the near future.

The wait staff patiently introduces each individual course, each nuance of this “creative cuisine”, and makes it clear to us that Chef Chu is often inspired by his childhood experiences spent in his native Vietnam. But we have no idea what led him to, for example, a mushroom dish served on moss and stones with a mushroom decoration, from which a spectacular “forest” drizzle flows over the table. However, this course is clearly one of the highlights of our visit and still garners well-deserved likes on Instagram.

The intimate gastronomic show at Levitate is aptly named Culinary Sensory Performance and can be enjoyed in two tasting menus – Mystery and Elite. The mystery menu presents eighteen courses from more than a hundred kinds of ingredients. Elite is twelve-hour taste bliss. “At Levitate, we focus on a complete gastronomic experience. We want to treat our guests to a unique seasonal menu that is inspired by the season in the Czech Republic and emphasizes its beauty. For a new dimension, we come up with a new pairing every day with carefully selected drinks, so that our guests can enjoy a unique experience on every occasion,” summarizes Miroslav Šole.

The high-end banquet is underlined by an intimate environment in muted colors, with an exhibition of porcelain and other artifacts. The interior is supposed to evoke the atmosphere of Scandinavian nature and perfectly matches the location of the restaurant at the end of Pařížská street, with an unsurpassed view of the Vltava and Letenský bank. In addition, this whole area will soon undergo another transformation with the redevelopment of the neighboring Intercontinental Hotel.