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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Camilla Bell-Davies

‘People dance on tables’: welcome to Belgrade’s kafana pub culture

Inside a Kafana
Kafanas are Belgrade’s tavernas/pubs and are introducing live music and more adventurous menus as they evolve. Photograph: Ed Godsell

I’m in a good old-fashioned pub, drinking beer over wooden tables and tucking into a hearty meal. Except the wooden tabletops are covered in red checked cloths, the decor is Balkan folk.

Instead of a roast I’m diving into a pile of minced beef sausages called ćevapi and imbibing shots of rakia, the local plum brandy. An accordion player draws musical breaths in a corner, his companion strikes Gypsy tunes from a fiddle, people dance on tables. Welcome to the kafana.

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