Coffee Bars

Coffee bars are widespread in almost all cities and towns. They serve coffee, juice, beer, wine, and mixed drinks. Often coffee bars are combined with pizza places. In a place that serves both food and alcoholic beverages, round tables are for drinking, rectangular tables for eating. Food (even snack food) is not usually served in the drinking section. Coffee bars and pizzerias are gathering places for young people, especially the fourteen to twenty-year-old crowd. There is no drinking age minimum. Most people over twenty are married, involved with family life, and socialize mostly in each other's houses. However, it is not uncommon for adults to frequent coffee bars. There are separate bars that cater to hard-drinking, local, older men. These bars are not recommended for foreigners. Anything labeled "coffee bar" should be safe. If a customer has a question, it is permissible to simply look through the window, or walk in and out. Most establishments allow smoking throughout; very few places have non-smoking sections.