Eatdrink #81 January_February 2020

20 | January/February 2020
The Marienbad is one of downtown
London’s landmark restaurants where
you are sure to find European clientele,
who come for the relaxed ambience and
traditional offerings. More than half the items
on the menu are dishes the Marienbad has been
serving since 1974. The defining characteristics
of the cuisine are traditionally Czech and
deeply connected to other Central European
dishes due to ever-changing borders.
Marienbad endured construction outside
the restaurant for two years while Fanshawe
College was being built at the site of the
former Kingsmill’s Department Store. Times
were difficult. Owner Jerry Pribil has said
he was indebted and thankful to his loyal
clientele and dedicated staff. Without them,
the Marienbad would not have survived. Pribil
persevered, keeping staffing to a minimum.
Fortunately, Pribil had additional employment
teaching hotel and restaurant management in
the United States and Europe.
Chef Klaus Campbell, originally from
Germany, took over the kitchen in 1988 when
he became the head chef. Chef’s thick and
creamy dill pickle and potato soup is, to many
people who question the pickle, surprisingly
tangy and complex. Especially popular are
house specialties like goulash with Bohemian
dumplings and earthy chicken paprikash
served with Haluska (cabbage and noodles).
The Carlsbad rouladen is thinly sliced beef
wrapped around ham, a gerkin and egg and
served with dumplings.
Schnitzels have always been a mainstay at
the Marienbad, and they are more varied than
you might imagine. The ideal schnitzel has a
crispy, dry crust that rises like a soufflé and
shatters with the touch of a fork, revealing
tender, thinly-pounded meat within. A variety
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Marienbad Restaurant: A Czech-Inspired Classic
Marienbad has offered a taste
of Europe since 1974 in one of
downtown London’s oldest
heritage buildings (c. 1854)
of classic schnitzels are on offer, such as crisp
Jäger schnitzel with a creamy mushroom sauce,
and Franz Josef schnitzel stuffed with ham
and Swiss cheese and lightly seasoned with
mustard. Classic Wiener schnitzel (meaning
Viennese cutlet) is prepared traditionally
with veal. During the Schnitzel fest at the
Recently renovated, the
restaurant exudes Old
World style and elegance
Marienbad, they offer a variety of schnitzels
that include Devil Schnitzel, which is natural
pork topped with sautéed mushrooms and hot
peppers. There is also Franconian Schnitzel,
which consists of breaded pork topped with
roasted bacon, mushrooms, cheese and
Hollandaise sauce. Other iterations include
lamb and tuna steak schnitzels.
Classic Czech open-face sandwiches are all
about the taste, and characterized as being rich
and complex in flavour. Creamy chicken liver
pâté piped open-face onto pumpernickel and
garnished with green olives is reminiscent of
quality liverwurst. At lunch there is a Russian
egg, an open-face sandwich with a chopped
egg on potato salad topped with salami, ham,
Swiss cheese and caviar. The traditional Czech
Ploughman has house potato salad on French
stick topped with mildly smoked
Prague Ham. Wenceslas cheese,
a Czech classic, is Edam cheese,
coated with breadcrumbs and
deep-fried to gooey perfection.
Sharing similar characteristics
in aroma and flavour, beer and
cheese complement each other.
The Ploughman and Wenceslas
Cheese are ideally suited to
beer pairings. The natural
carbonation in beer elevates
the palate and accentuates the
nuances in the cheese.