Gastronomy in Prague: Ginger & Fred

Having recently written about Frank Gehry's newest architectural marvel in Paris, I was eager to see the building he has designed for the city of Prague, and as it so happened, the restaurant we had chosen for lunch is located in a building designed by him.  I have decided that the next exhibit I see will have to be at the Pompidou Centre where there's a current exhibition on Frank Gehry. I may as well take it all in while there's still all this attention on him.

Ginger & Fred is on the seventh floor of this Gehry building in Old Town. Oddly, no signs reveal its location. The charming young lady at the reception asked where we were headed before directing us to the seventh floor. Oddly mysterious. Very spy movie-like, given that we were in a city where most spy movies seem to be set.

The restaurant was a lovely surprise given the austere building and its minimalistic interior decor of the grey, beige and white colour palette.
We were teased with a spiced carrot mousse, which according to my son, tasted like air. This came with home-made bread and generous heaps of Belgian butter.
Starters were a  pan-seared calamari and shrimp with fennel, potatoes and crustacean sauce, and  a poached egg of free range duck - all of which were very well presented but not full of the heartiness I was looking for in my meal. Other starters were smoked duck breast, slowly cooked gizzards, mushrooms and bread sauce. A mouthful to say, but they were real starter portions.
Mains were Ginger & Fred's version of fish and chips - which turned out to be the order of the day; Farmer duck leg confit with creamy polenta with pine nuts and black olives; Lamb Ginger&Fred burger; Roasted saddle of deer with pumpkin purée, and roasted pear and figs.
I have just delighted in writing about the food again. My poached egg starter was good, but my main of duck confit just alright. The second starter was also a bit of a miss, but everyone else was happy with their mains.
I guess I had gone with very high expectations hence the rather neutral review.
The views of the city below us were incredible. The interior of the restaurant looks like an art gallery - with the backs of the chairs painted with different motifs, and artwork displayed at the foyer and on the walls within.

After our dessert we went up to the roof-top terrace, which is an entirely different venue, and serves drinks with the finest views of the city.

Ginger & Fred
Jiráskovo náměstí 6
Prague, 120 00
Czech Republic