Pelíšky is one of the films that Czechs can watch again and again and still never get tired of it. Those who would like to enjoy them other than on TV at Christmas can visit the cafe in Prague’s Radotín, opened by husband and wife Eva and Vladimír Barák. Time stood still there in the 1960s. Guests can settle into Brussels-style armchairs, stir their Turkish with a spoon from comrades from the GDR and toughen up with a game of Rent a Pioneer.
“They gave us a year, two at the most,” says 57-year-old Eva Baráková, who runs the Pelíšek cafe in Prague’s Radotín. The business inspired by the immortal film comedy recently celebrated its tenth birthday. In the interior, guests can relax in iconic retro armchairs and sweeten their lives with, for example, a punch cut, an Indian, a toe, but also a pinwheel baked by pastry chef Naďa Pohlreichová – the former wife of a popular chef. The Brussels style, which penetrated into most Czechoslovak households in the 1960s, will also remind them of tables, lamps or a flower wall.
On the shelves above the bar are stacked sets of unforgettable onion china or supposedly unbreakable glasses. For a cup of coffee, those interested can even order spoons from comrades from the GDR and have them dissolve in a hot drink, following the example of movie heroes. “But don’t worry, these are made of marzipan. We’ve already banned the plastic ones,” jokes Eva. Visitors can also remember Pelíšky thanks to props from famous scenes. There is also a glass paperweight that Jaroslav Dušek gave to Eva Holubová when he came to her with an offer of quality sex. A poster of Gagarin’s brother Mick Jagger hangs on the wall.
If any of the visitors would like to try out how the children in the Soviet Union steeled themselves, they can reach for the game Vyderžaj pioněr. “We couldn’t find the original anywhere, so here we only have a replica that our friends made for us. However, customers don’t know that, so they often take a long time to decide before taking the wires in their hands. When they finally get over it, they are disappointed that it doesn’t work like in the movie . However, I remember how my classmates and I held hands in physics class in elementary school and the teacher really let the current flow into us. It was such a terrible experience that I still remember it fifty years later,” admits Eva.
Eva studied theater dramaturgy and directing. “But then my husband and I had three children one after the other, and in the meantime I missed the train in the field,” admits Eva. | Photo: Jakub Plíhal
Vladimír Pelíšky edited, Eva is the millionth viewer
She has a personal bond with Pelíšky. She is their official millionth viewer. “A year after the premiere, there was a large-screen projection at Wenceslas Square, after which the millionth viewer was drawn from the tickets. I went there with a friend, but he had to leave before the end. So he thrust his ticket into my hand, and when the draw came, they chose just his. You can’t make that up,” Eva laughs. To make matters worse, her husband Vladimír Barák edited the film almost twenty-five years ago. As a result, the original script is also on display in the cafe, which is a rarity.
“We think highly of it. That’s why we only lend it to guests inside, they are not allowed to take it into the garden,” points out Eva. Another copy is owned by director Jan Hřebejk, who, by the way, likes to visit the cafe. Once he also took Karel Gott with him, whose hit Trezor was played during the famous bed scene. “They were filming a movie together in Černošice and on the way back they stopped for a wine at our place. They sat outside in the garden and Gotťák chatted with us as if we had known each other for a hundred years. We caught up with him still in full force,” recalls Eva.
She herself is also close to the art world. She studied theater dramaturgy and directing. “But then my husband and I had three children one after the other. So I was on maternity leave for so long that I missed the train in my field,” she admits. Therefore, she changed several different jobs – she was a receptionist, she worked in administration, sports centers and publishing houses, but she was not completely satisfied anywhere.
“My husband comes from Radotín and one day he heard that a space had become available here. He knew that I like coffee, so he told me to try it. At the same time, we realized that we had to differentiate ourselves because there are a lot of cafes and more are being added . Rather than the sterile, cold spaces that are cool now, we envisioned a cozy living room where guests will feel at home. In the end, we opted for Pelíšky, because we are the closest to them,” says Eva.
People have confused them with a pet store and a cat cafe
They looked for equipment from the golden sixties in bazaars, through advertisements and in collection yards and junkyards. “You wouldn’t believe what people are capable of throwing away. For example, I found a flower wall in Jižní Město by the garbage cans, even before we got a building permit for the cafe. I immediately put it over my shoulder and dragged it home. Today, they already have these retro things a huge price. I just paid a lot of money for a umakart flower stand. The tables were made to order by friends according to the original pattern. In the Brussels style, only the low, conference ones were sold, and we needed to raise them for the purposes of the cafe. Otherwise, we have the same ones here refurbished originals,” explains Eva.
“Rather than the sterile, cold spaces that are cool now, we envisioned a cozy living room where guests will feel at home,” Eva describes. | Photo: Jakub Plíhal
According to her, the café is most popular among her peers, who still remember the time Pelíšky talks about from their childhood. Some even order a Czech Turk with logr out of nostalgia. “Sometimes even young people try it out of curiosity. They add a spoonful of marzipan to it, take a photo and then often drink it down with an espresso,” smiles Eva. “People who claim that things were better under the communists don’t come to us. They are already deterred by the red thongs that we still have stuck on our doors, because they won’t come off even after the change of president,” Eva points to a symbol from the era of Miloš Zeman.
Sometimes a travel agency visits Pelíšek, which organizes cycling trips to Karlštejn for tourists. “The guides always stop here and tell foreigners about our 60s and the totáka,” Eva mentions. At first, some passers-by mistook the cafe for a pet store. “They were confused by the name and asked if we had a dog bed or cat food. At best, they thought it was a cat cafe. So far, I’ve had someone call me occasionally to ask if I’ll accept a cat. And no, we really don’t accept cats ,” emphasizes Eva.
Finally, one more warning should be added. If the toilet in Pelíšek was occupied for an unusually long time, the book Zavátý život paleontologist Josef Augusta is to blame. Visitors will find it on the shelf above the toilet bowl.
