Food and drink
Mead, beer and a Czech dinner
What the mead toast, the unlimited beer and wine and the four-course dinner mean at a Czech folk evening, with the dietary choices and the drink culture.
Book the folk dinner ↗Quick answer
The evening opens with a mead toast, a drink made from fermented honey, then serves a four-course traditional Czech dinner with a main dish of your choice. Unlimited beer, red or white wine, soft drinks and water are included. The main choices include halal, semi-kosher and vegetable options. Czech meals and beer culture are closely linked, so the drinks are central to the evening and not an extra.
What is on the ticket
Listed on the booking page are a welcome drink, unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks, and a four-course traditional Czech dinner. The description says the evening starts with a traditional mead toast before the show, that you watch the show while sipping unlimited drinks including beer, red or white wine, soft drinks and water, and that you choose your main dish. This guide explains the background to each and deliberately gives no menu, because dishes change so read them on the live page.
The mead toast
Wikipedia defines mead as an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and says the majority of its fermentable sugar comes from honey. Its list of mead variants gives medovina as the word for mead in several languages including Czech and Slovak, and says it is commercially available in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. A toast with it opens the evening, so the first taste is sweet and honeyed, and a good cue that the night is about tradition and company.
The four courses
Wikipedia says the body of Czech meals typically consists of at least two courses, soup first and a main dish second, with a third course, often a sweet dessert or compote, common on more festive occasions. The booking page describes a four-course dinner of traditional Czech recipes. You choose the main dish, and the booking page says the food is served in the middle of the table or as a garden buffet. Shared service is part of why the evening feels communal.
Dietary choices
The main-dish choices on the booking page include halal and semi-kosher options as well as vegetable ones. If you need something else, such as a vegan, gluten-free or allergy-safe meal, contact the provider before your date and do not rely on the restaurant on the night. Choosing early also gives the kitchen time. Children's meals and other special requests are likewise a matter to settle with the provider in advance. Your confirmation shows what you ordered.
Beer and wine
Wikipedia says the Czech Republic has the highest per-capita consumption of beer in the world and that pilsner, the most common style, originated in the country. It adds that meals are often accompanied by beer or wine, and that Czechia also produces wine, mostly in Moravia. The ticket's unlimited beer and wine therefore fits the cuisine as well as the show. Pace yourself: the evening lasts about two and a half hours.
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If you do not drink alcohol
Soft drinks and water are unlimited too, according to the booking page, so you can take part fully in the toasts and the evening without alcohol. Wikipedia mentions non-alcoholic Czech drinks such as Kofola, a cola substitute developed in the communist era, and raspberry-flavoured Malinovka. The booking page does not say which soft drinks the restaurant serves, so ask on the night if you have a preference. The mead toast is alcoholic, so say so at the start if you need something else.
Who this isn't for
This is not the evening for a tasting menu with wine pairings, a fully customised order or a late, quiet dinner. It is a set evening with a fixed structure, shared tables and a show. Strict allergen guarantees are another reason to look elsewhere unless you contact the provider first without contacting the provider first. The main guide to the evening explains what else happens beyond the table.
Read next: Czech folk dinner: what happens
Frequently asked questions
What is the mead toast?
A traditional toast with mead, a drink made by fermenting honey with water, that opens the evening before the show, according to the booking page.
Are there vegetarian options?
The main-dish choices include vegetable mains, along with halal and semi-kosher options. Contact the provider if you need something else.
Is beer unlimited?
Yes. The booking page lists unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks, and names red or white wine and water.
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