Behind many of the desserts enjoyed by diners at Café Imperial, Divinis or Next Door by Imperial, lies a single source. It is neither a restaurant nor a traditional café, but rather the modern patisserie workshop, Café Imperial Dolce – a specialist hub where desserts, pastries and baked goods are hand-crafted for these renowned dining establishments each day.
🖊 redakce | archiv Imperial café
Dolce represents the perfect marriage of traditional pastry craftsmanship and the precision of professional-grade catering. It is here that both sweet and savoury delicacies are prepared before making their way to the restaurants overseen by chef Zdeněk Pohlreich. Every dessert, cake or piece of pastry is the result of a dedicated team of confectioners and bakers who place an uncompromising emphasis on the quality of ingredients, technique and fine detail.
The Café Imperial Dolce project was born out of a natural desire to centralise the production of patisserie and bread in one specialised facility. This allows the team to operate in an environment designed exclusively for precision work – from mixing doughs and whisking delicate creams to the final, artistic decoration of each dessert. The result is a level of quality consistency that is essential in professional gastronomy.
Confectionery is a discipline that demands precision, experience and an intuitive sense of flavour. Consequently, Café Imperial Dolce primarily works with premium ingredients: real butter, fine chocolate, nuts, vanilla and seasonal fruits. Alongside classic desserts, the workshop produces modern patisserie creations inspired by contemporary European trends. In today’s culinary world, a dessert is no longer merely a sweet finish to a meal. It is a fully-fledged gastronomic experience designed to delight both the palate and the eye.
Guests can sample the results of this expertise at three distinct Prague venues. The legendary Café Imperial on Na Poříčí Street stands as one of the city’s most iconic institutions. Its interior, featuring rich ceramic tiling and a mosaic ceiling dating back to 1914, creates the atmosphere of an interwar-era ‘grand café’ that has retained all its original elegance and social tradition. Guests can today enjoy a modern interpretation of Czech cuisine, built upon craftsmanship, quality ingredients and bold flavours.
In the historic heart of the Old Town, Divinis remains one of the most respected Italian restaurants in Prague. Its elegant interior, designed by Italian architect Luciano Belcapo, complements a menu founded on authentic recipes, fresh ingredients and handmade pasta. The restaurant has long been recognised by the Michelin Guide, regularly earning the Bib Gourmand award for its exceptional quality-to-price ratio.
The third address is Next Door by Imperial, a more modern and relaxed concept situated in the immediate vicinity of Café Imperial. The restaurant bridges the gap between traditional Czech cuisine and the dynamic style of modern dining. An open-plan kitchen allows guests to watch their meals being prepared, while the swift service is perfectly suited to the pace of modern life, making Next Door a popular choice for both business lunches and evening gatherings.
In addition to supplying these restaurants, Café Imperial Dolce serves another vital role, operating its own online shop. This has quickly gained a strong following among its customers, who can order cakes, pastries, sweet boxes and seasonal specialities directly from the site. This fusion of traditional patisserie with modern online retail offers a new way to enjoy high-quality desserts at home or on special occasions.
Today, Café Imperial Dolce serves as a discreet yet essential foundation for several prominent Prague restaurants. Every day, from a space largely unseen by guests, desserts and baked goods emerge to complete the gastronomic experience at Café Imperial, Divinis and Next Door by Imperial. And this is where a simple truth is confirmed: even in an age of modern technology, honest craftsmanship remains the foundation of success.
