Svíčková is the Czech word for tenderloin, and this dish is traditionally beef tenderloin prepared with vegetables (carrots, parsley root, celeriac and onion), spiced with black pepper, allspice, bay leaf and thyme, and boiled with double cream, though in practice other cuts of beef may sometimes be used, especially falešná svíčková ('false tenderloin') which is a cut from the front shoulder equivalent to jumeau à bifteck in French, or girello di spalla in Italian, cuisine.

Svíčková na smetaně is served with a cream (smetana) topping and usually with cranberry sauce and slice of lemon in many restaurants around the Czech Republic.

Bohemian immigrants to the United States following the First World War have passed on an older variation of the dish to subsequent generations, while regional tastes and product availability have influenced its preparation.

Svíčková made in the Chicago area, for example, rarely includes vegetables in its final presentation, but instead incorporates them into a vinegar-based marinade suffused with crushed allspice and bay leaves.

The second theory suggests that the name derives from the fact that this cut of meat is often found in areas rich in tallow, the substance historically used to make candles.