How a Czech pub works

Finding a seat

In a busy traditional pub, tables are shared. If a table has free seats, ask *"Je tu volno?"* ("Is this free?") or just gesture at the chair — a nod means sit down. Tables marked *rezervováno* are reserved, sometimes for regulars who have sat there for decades.

Ordering

In the classic beer halls, a waiter may put a beer in front of you before you have said anything. That is not a trick; that is the service. Order food or a different drink as normal. Velké is a large (half-litre) beer, malé a small (0.3 l); *pivo* is beer, *světlé* pale, *tmavé* dark.

The slip and the coaster

Each beer is marked on a paper slip on your table. When your glass is nearly empty, a new one often arrives unasked. To stop, put your coaster on top of the glass — the universal signal for "no more". Then ask for the bill: *"Zaplatím, prosím."*

Tank beer

Tankovna on the door means unpasteurised beer delivered in copper tanks and served within days. It is the freshest lager you can drink outside a brewery, and in a good pub it is the thing to order.

The head

A proper Czech pour has a thick, wet head of foam, and it is part of the beer, not short measure. A mlíko — a glass that is almost all foam — is a real order, drunk quickly.

Manners

Toast with eye contact — *"Na zdraví!"* — and do not cross arms when clinking with several people. Be quiet about ordering spirits with every round; beer is the point. And tip by rounding up as you pay.