How the Uyváris built an Italian slow-food bistro near Prague

Eva and Ján Uyvári opened a family bistro called E&J in the small town of Nehvizdy outside Prague, where once a week they host themed Italian dinners — turning a niche gastronomic project into a business that guests plan their holidays around.

The couple, of Slovak origin, spent many years working in the restaurant trade and lived for a long time in Cyprus. In 2013, choosing between Switzerland and Czechia, they settled on Czechia. Eva specialises in fine pastry and baking, Ján in Italian cuisine. They brought both specialities together under one roof at their own bistro: Eva handles the desserts, Ján the main courses.

The menu is deliberately compact: homemade pasta, their famous tartare, desserts made to Italian and French recipes — everything made in-house, with no compromises and no ready-made shortcuts.

The place's signature feature is its themed Italian evenings, held on the last Friday of every month. Each time, the couple devote the dinner to a different region of Italy — both the food and the wine — so that over the course of a year guests get to “tour” the entire country. The idea came from the family's own travels around Italy, where they dined with locals and tried regional dishes that are little known even to devoted fans of Italian cuisine.

The couple spend the whole month preparing for each evening, searching out the best ingredients and wines from small, historic wineries. As many as seven courses can end up on the table — from sheep's cheese and fried artichokes to porchetta, meatballs in tomato sauce, roast lamb and ricotta cake.

The business started without an investor — the couple deliberately looked for premises they could afford to rent on their own while still staying close to the city. That's how they stumbled on an old house in Nehvizdy, built before 1600, with surviving vaulted ceilings, which reminded them of small Italian trattorias.

Being located outside Prague brings its own challenges: most local residents work in the capital and head back there in the evenings to relax, so attracting guests takes constant effort, and revenue is unpredictable — some days are fully booked, others completely quiet. At the same time, Eva has noticed that visitors are happy to pay for an unusual dessert but are far more cautious about spending on a full dinner — a contrast the couple keep in mind as they grow their small but recognisable venture just 20 minutes from Prague.