After experiencing some superlative new restaurants in Prague, I should have expected that the Czech Republic’s second-largest city would also contain its fair share of notable dining establishments. Nevertheless, as I explored what Brno had to offer, I couldn’t help but be surprised by the high quality of the cuisine. Unsophisticated provincial fare this was not.

All the restaurants below serve food in a contemporary manner, but their roots in the Czech tradition and the use of local ingredients give them a strong sense of place. Dining in Brno is one of the great pleasures of the city. The capital of Moravia also makes a good base for forays into Czech wine country, most of which is just to the south.

Atelier

This friendly restaurant has decorated its courtyard and vaulted dining room with colorful Pop Art-style paintings and midcentury-modern furnishings. Since Atelier prides itself on its cocktail program, we elected to sit at the bar, in view of the surprisingly compact open kitchen (just two burners, a griddle and a prep counter, really). From this little kitchen comes pretty but unfussy cuisine with big flavor. We opted for the six-course tasting menu, a startlingly good value at about $40. Things began promisingly with a bowl of celeriac cubes topped with nutty toasted oats, a sweet purée of red beets, crunchy walnuts and pumpkin seeds. It was a delightful mix of flavors and textures. Another vegetarian dish also impressed: a chunk of breaded cauliflower accompanied by mashed potatoes flavored with pungent “beer cheese” and smoked almonds. A Spanish-inflected dish of crispy-skinned Moravian trout with creamed lentils, apple and chorizo came next, followed by a plate of tender roast wild boar with red cabbage, chard and fingerling potatoes. And I enjoyed a dessert of ginger-cinnamon parfait with gingerbread chips and tart plum jam. Nor did the cocktails disappoint: A “Negroni Speciale” came topped with fragrant orange espuma, giving it the appearance of a small beer, and the “Dark #Worldclass2020 Milan,” a mix of scotch, sweet vermouth and housemade tonka bean bitters, was redolent of cherries, smoke and citrus. Atelier is the most casual restaurant on this list, but it takes its food and drink very seriously.