La Finestra

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Roman Address in Bohemia

La Finestra in Cucina opened in 2009 on Platnéřská street, just a few hundred yards from Old Town Square, as the second Italian restaurant from founder Riccardo Lucque. Lucque's path to Prague is worth knowing: he started in the kitchens of the Marche region at sixteen, moved through a Michelin-starred seafood restaurant in Pesaro, then spent years in London and New York before arriving in Prague in 2002. Co-founder Ondřej Rákosník joined him in 2005 to open Aromi in Vinohrady, and four years later the two became co-owners of La Finestra — a restaurant that has since earned a 2-fork recognition from Gambero Rosso, Italy's most authoritative food guide.

The Kitchen and Its Signatures

Head chef Roman Kintler runs a modern kitchen with a clear identity: dry-aged meat cuts sourced from organic farms in Italy, Spain, and the USA sit at the center of the menu, alongside fresh fish and seafood. The current à la carte spans antipasti, pasta, risotto, and secondi that show both Italian classicism and precise technique. A beef tartare arrives with bone marrow, truffle mayonnaise, pickled black chanterelle, and potato grissini; ricotta gnudi are paired with summer truffle, chard, and Piedmont hazelnuts; a grilled lamb loin comes with green apple, aronia, and a beef croquette. The pasta section holds a raviolo alla carbonara with ricotta and guanciale alongside spaghetti cacio e pepe finished with veal tartare and green pepper — Italian cuisine read through a confident, contemporary lens.

Seasonal thinking is visible throughout: spring brings Italian asparagus specials to the menu, and the kitchen has collaborated with sister restaurant Aromi for special evenings where both culinary teams combine their work into a single tasting menu.

Wine, Cellar and the Room Itself

Head sommelier Václav Vašek — trained in South Africa and across European fine dining — oversees a list built around natural Italian wines, the thread that runs through the entire La Collezione group. The restaurant's wine cellar is a space in its own right: a private, atmospheric room in the centre of Prague used for Italian wine tasting courses, tasting dinners, business evenings, and intimate celebrations.

The dining room itself reflects the same balance of elegance and ease that defines the Italian cuisine on the plate — a setting where lunch and dinner both feel considered, and where a dedicated pastry chef handles desserts with the same seriousness as the savory kitchen.