In years past, the Svet Piva has undergone various names and changes. Starting out years ago as ‘U Radnice’, a local Zizkov pub with a few good beers on tap at decent prices, it changed to ‘Svet Piva’, a potentially prosperous pub with more beers on tap, a diverse clientele, and higher prices. After a year or so of inconsistency, poorly kept taps, sometimes infuriating service, and higher prices, Svet Piva has bitten the dust. And rightly so- you can’t chase away your local beer lovers, at the same time treat tourists rudely, and most importantly, serve over-priced beer on poorly kept taps and expect to be successful. As of the beginning of 2012, Svet Piva is no more. We’ll keep our eyes open to see what happens there next.

Svet Piva had 21 Czech beers on tap, which changed regularly. They also had a well stocked fridge of bottles from around the world. In 1.5 liter bottles, they sold beers from local, smaller Czech breweries to take home. When we visited, they had 6 varieties for sale.

The interior was simple and pleasant, being decorated with classic beer memorabilia. Their small menu consisted of typical Czech cuisine and beer snacks. Svet Piva also had a unique feature; they had a ‘serve yourself’ tap, located in the front of the restaurant. On this tap, which changed beer, you could serve yourself quality beers such as Zatec 12°, or Klaster Premium 12° for a good price. Svet Piva also had their own brew- Svetacek 12° Kvasnicovy Lezak, which was excellent.

Svet Piva had a diverse crowd- young, old, and tourists. Downstairs, there was another small one room pub, Kacovska Pivnicka, which was also operated by Svet Piva. On tap, they had a good variety of Krakonos and Hubertus beers. Located in the heart of Zizkov, on Havlickovo Namesti, take trams 9, 26, or 5 to Lipanska, and walk down the hill.

This pub closed in 2011