Kafana

Kafana is a distinct type of local bistro (or tavern), common in Southern European countries, which primarily serves alcoholic beverages and coffee, and often also light snacks (meze) and other food.

[citation needed] In Macedonia, kafeana is sometimes confused with the more traditional meana, while the variant kafana (adopted from commercial Serbian folk-songs and popularized by domestic artists) may be used for the establishment described in this article; however, both terms are used interchangeably by some.

The Slovenian kavarna shares neither its etymology nor its functionality with the Ottoman kahvehane, deriving instead from the coffeehouses of Vienna and thus not offering its guests alcoholic beverages or entertainment in the form of folk music.

Naturally, in the absence of mass media these bands strictly had a local character and would only play folk music that was popular within a particular region where the city lies.

Some continued to uphold a higher standard of service, while others began to cater to newly arrived rural population that mostly found employment in factories and on construction sites.

During the 1960s, in contrast to the state-sponsored Partisan films, Yugoslav movies of the Black Wave movement started depicting contemporary individuals from the margins of society.

Socially relevant films like I Even Met Happy Gypsies, When Father Was Away on Business, Život je lep, Do You Remember Dolly Bell?, Specijalno vaspitanje, Kuduz, etc.

Kafana is stereotyped as a place where sad lovers cure their sorrows in alcohol and music, gamblers squander entire fortunes, husbands run away from mean wives while shady businessmen, corrupt local politicians and petty criminals do business.

However, stereotypical kafanas hold some popularity amongst high-schoolers and students, as well as working-class men, who frequent them as places to binge drink due to their affordable prices.

kafići) is a more general term encompassing all establishments serving coffee and alcohol drinks only, while kavana is the name for distinctly styled bistros described in this article.

According to the State Statistical Office, there are 989 kafeani (19% of the total number) in the capital Skopje, 413 in Tetovo, 257 in Bitola, 244 in Gostivar, 206 in Kumanovo, 205 in Struga, 188 in Ohrid and 161 in Strumica.

[4] City of Belgrade features many establishments equipped with extensive kitchens serving elaborate menus that are officially called restaurants yet most patrons refer to them as kafane.

Its name was Crni orao (Black Eagle) and it was located in Dorćol neighbourhood, at the intersection of today's Kralja Petra and Dušanova streets.

The Golden Beluga) at the Zeleni Venac neighbourhood where Young Bosnia conspirators frequently gathered while plotting the June 1914 assassination of Austro-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Most of the younger Serbian crowd started to associate the term kafana with something archaic and passé so the owners of places that cater to them began avoiding it altogether.

Golden Parrot) in Belgrade, a kafić that opened in September 1979 and almost immediately became the main gathering point for the city's well-dressed youngsters from affluent families.

Good examples of this would be the numerous watering holes that have sprung up over the last 15 years in Strahinjića Bana Street, such as Veprov dah, Ipanema, Kandahar, and Dorian Gray, or various new restaurants in downtown Belgrade — none of these places are referred to as kafane, either by their owners or by their patrons.