Kafana

**Kafana** () (in Serbian and Slovene), **kafene\kafenë** (pl. **kafenejet\kafenët**) (in Albanian), **kafeana** (кафеана, in Macedonian), **kavana** () (in Croatian), **καφενείο\kafenio** (pl. **καφενεία\kafenia**) (in Greek), **cafenea** (pl. **cafenele**) (in Romanian), **кафене** (in Bulgarian) are words used in Bulgaria, Greece, the former Yugoslav countries and  Albania for a specific type of local bistro which mostly serves alcohol and coffee, and often also light snacks and other food. Most kafanas feature live music.

The idea of a social meeting place for men to drink alcohol and coffee started in the Ottoman Empire and spread to the Balkans while it was under Ottoman rule. Over time, this became the modern kafana.

## Etymology

- Serbian (Cyrillic): кафана (_kafana_), pl. кафане (_kafane_)
- Serbian (Latin) and Bosnian: kafana pl. kafane
- Croatian: kavana, pl. kavane
- Macedonian: кафеана (_kafeana_), pl. кафеани (_kafeani_)
- Albanian: kafeneja\Kafenë pl. kafenejet\Kafenët
- Greek: καφενείο (_kafenio_), pl. καφενεία (_kafenia_)
- Romanian: cafenea, pl. cafenele

The word 'kafana' is taken from the Turkish word _kahvehane_ ("coffeehouse") which is in turn taken from the Persian word _qahveh-khaneh_ (a compound of the Arabic _qahve_ [coffee] and Persian _khane_ [house]).

In Macedonia, the word _kafeana_ is sometimes used as if it means the same as _meana_, while the variant _kafana_ (adopted from Serbian folk-songs and made popular by artists) may be used for the kafana described in this article; however, both terms are used as if they have the same meaning by some people.

Nowadays in Serbia, the term _kafana_ is used to describe any informal restaurant serving traditional cuisine, as well as some other kafana dishes like Karađorđeva šnicla.

## History

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, running a kafana (then usually called _mehana_) was a family business, passed on from generation to generation.

As the Balkan cities grew in size and became more urban, the kafana also changed.  Some started serving food and offering other things to customers since the owners now had to compete with other similar places around the city. Most bigger towns and cities in this time had a _Gradska kafana_ (City kafana) located in or around main square where the richest and most important people of that city would come to see and be seen.  Prices in this kafana would usually be higher than others around the city that didn't have such an exclusive location.

Live music was first used in kafane in the early 20th century by kafana owners looking to offer different kinds of entertainment to their guests.  Naturally, since there was no mass media these bands  were local and would only play folk music that was popular in the local region.

As the 20th century began, Balkan cities saw lots of rural people move in, especially after World War II, and kafane changed for this. Some stayed the same, caring for the upper-class, while others began to change to be better for the new rural population who mostly worked in factories and on construction sites.

This is when the word _kafana_ slowly began to mean something that you did not want and that was only for lower classes of society, like a ghetto.  By the 1980s, calling a restaurant a _kafana_ almost became an insult and most owners would not call their restaurants kafane. Instead, they used words like _restaurant_, _cafe_, _bistro_, _coffee bar_, &c. instead.

Now, the kafana is thought of as a place where sad lovers cure their sorrows in alcohol and music, gamblers waste lots of, husbands run away from mean wives while shady businessmen, corrupt local politicians and small criminals do business. Going to kafane often is seen as something that more men would do than women, and "honest" women dare only visit finer ones, and usually while they are with men.

This is mentioned in late-20th century folk songs, like "I tebe sam sit kafano" (_I'm Already Sick of You, Kafana_) by Haris Džinović, "Kafana je moja sudbina" (_Kafana is My Destiny_) by Toma Zdravković, and "Čaše lomim" (_I'm Breaking Glasses_), by Nezir Eminovski.

## Other websites

- Kuda Večeras - portal o kafanama i restoranima u Beogradu
- Inns Were the Soul of the City
- Kafane pred izumiranjem , _Press_, February 23, 2008
- Kafane pišu istoriju, B92, June 25, 2009
- Baš lična istorija beogradskih kafana: "Grgeč"; Blic blog, 5 February 2010
- Baš lična istorija beogradskih kafana: "Bermudski trougao", Blic blog, 12 February 2010
- Obecana Zemlja