The Medieval Taverns of Prague
Prague is pretty much your go-to European city for medieval-style taverns. The dining room pictured above is literally called Medieval Tavern, located in the heart of the historic Old Town. Some might say it’s a tourist trap but there’s no arguing they’ve done a pretty good job of making the surroundings look like something straight out of a Game of Thrones episode, a banquet thrown by the House of Stark!
Alternatively, there is the Tavern Brabant, complete with skulls hanging from the ceiling and hay on the floor to take you back to the Middle Ages. The food is just as authentic at both venues, with medieval and traditional Czech dishes on offer from pork roasted in bock beer to beef goulash– don’t expect to eat light, this is banquet-style eating.
Albergo Diffuso, Italy
You might recall we’ve looked at an Italian hotel built inside abandoned medieval grottos, with its beautifully but simply decorated rooms carved into limestone rock. Over in the next village, the same owners have created another hotel, this time with a restaurant serving local specialties, using ingredients of the region such as spelt, lentils, saffron, dill, parsnip from ancient and medieval mediterranean cultivations that still grow here in their original form.
The Albergo Diffuso in S. Stefano di Sessanio also creates a unique setting for special events such as weddings and parties. There is also a tea lounge for quiet after dinner gatherings. “The signs of past dwelling lifestyle are still visible on the stone floors and recuperated terracotta pavements; the traces of time are still tangible in the sedimentary traces on the thick stone walls; even the blankets are woven on ancient looms”. Even the reception of the hotel used to be where the medieval dwellers raised their pigs. Explore the Albergo Diffuso hotel.
Gordon’s Wine Bar in London
Okay, so this one is not exactly medieval but it is the oldest wine bar you will find in London, and hey– it has the dripping candles and the spooky dark cave rooms, what more do you need for a Game of Thrones vibe? The building itself is as old as the 1680s, but the didn’t become a wine bar until the 1860s. Rudyard Kipling lived upstairs in the 1890s as a tenant and famously wrote “the light that failed in the parlour above the bar” (the building is now named Kipling House).