There is the story, in which the pre-war French Prime Minister Herriot visited U Zlatéhp tygra. He was accompanied by the section chief of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a permanent guest U Zlatého tygra. They bought pork neck with bread and mustard and fitted incognito in the beer hall . While Herriot was drinking, showed to the opposite side and said : "There is sitting chair of the Chamber of the Deputies of the Parlaïament Malypetr, but the gentleman sitting next to him I do not know . " – The section chief said: " There is sitting a master of painting from Melantriška. " Herriot greeted again and then whispered : "But there is sitting the president of the Administrative Court , but the gentleman next to him I do not know. " Also the guide did not know. Then their right neighbour said:" This is a manufacturer of funeral lamps from Karlovka. " – Surprised Herriot turned to that neighbour and asked : " And who are you ? "That gentleman raised up his glass and answered" I am a caretaker from Skořepka, please . " – Then the Prime Minister declared : " Gentlemen , fault! Democracy is not in France but here ! "
...Karel Hulata, the landlord, said
A tiger used to be a medieval symbol of the cruelty of war, therefore people avoided using it as a house sign. Only a European café style interrupted that taboo. In Prague the tiger first appeared on a house in Husova street, then in Bretislavova and Haštalská street. In the 15 th century the house in Husova street was marked with the hoe, the next hundred years there was a black lion, and since 1713 it has been a golden tiger .
The history of the house in Husova street No. 17 is dated from the 14th and 15th centuries. It was associated with the complex, which is one of the most valuable monuments in Prague , the palace of the Lords of Kunštát and Poděbrad.
Originally the town house was called U černého tygra, U kopáčů, and U Kraftů. The gothic ground plan of the old cellars reminds of the Renaissance and Baroque reconstruction. Since 1702 the house has had its sign - the relief of a walking tiger. In 1816 there was mentioned the beer hall in the description of the city. In the thirties there was the famous Šochov and Šmiler´s patriotic cafe . The room was a kind of the reading room in which the representatives of the Czech National Revival had the opportunity to meet the European magazines . There were the regular guests such as Karel Hynek Mách, Josef Kajetán Tyl, the historians such as František Palacký, Karel Sabina, František Ladislav Čelakovský and etc. When the cafe chaged into a pub, beer was drawn into earthenware, glazed black jugs. The drink was stored in the deep cellars. Also in the twentieth century the fame of the beer hall U Zlatého tygra continued. French Prime Minister Herriot, who apparently wanted to see a typical Prague tavern, visited it incognito.
The beer hall U Zlatého tygra retained its democratic tradition in the post-war period. There sat a companionable group (on the bench by the wall and the chairs at the long tables) of the top Czech actors and singers such as Zdenek Štepánek and Václav Bednař, here appearing Jan Werich, Bohuš Záhorský. At the table on the right of the entrance the place is booked for the prestigious Club of intelligence „Golden Prague“ with its membership from a wide range of artists and sculptors (Bartoš, Udržal, Zavadil),doctors (prof Dungl, Petrus, economists (Cígler, Jandera, Jurečka), artists and art staff (I. Mládek, Brad, Stach, Kohák, Dymák). The life president of Golden Prague was writer Bohumil Hrabal, who mostly sat at the table at the back, at the entrance to the kitchen.
U Zlatého tygra Hrabal, whose work has been translated into 29 languages , spent the best part of his life. It was not only his friendly meeting place, but in the true sense of the word his creative workshop. There were his personal meetings with a number of personalities, including president Clinton and Havel. This beer hall as one of the few has preserved its original , ancient character . In order of the spirit of hospitality and cultural traditions of the Czech nation , this beer hall should continue to be linked with the name of the great European and world writer Bohumil Hrabal. (It is the same as literary centers such as Prague cafe Arco, which Kafka, Werfel and the others used to vist, Hemingway´s bar Daiquiri in Havana, Paris cafés in the Latin part, etc.).
The permanent decoration of the beer hall U Zlatého tygra and its art and spatial design expresses the relationship of the one artistic generation to Hrabal and will remain in Prague for a long time , as well as the decoration of the brewery U Fleků, the lunette paintings U Šuterů, U Bonaparte in Lesser Town of Prague, etc.