How to book a New Year's Eve table in Belgrade
Booking a New Year's Eve table in Belgrade is simple once you know what to check. Here is a short step by step guide.
1. Choose the type of party
Decide whether you want dinner and live music, a big gala night or a club party. This narrows the list quickly. Browse taverns, hotels, clubs and river clubs.
2. Check what the price includes
Look at the Price, Drinks and Food sections of the offer. Some packages include dinner and unlimited drinks, others include only entry or a welcome drink.
3. Look at the seating map
Many venues divide the hall into zones with different prices. When a seating map is published, you will find it in the Price section. Tables close to the stage are the most expensive and the first to sell out.
4. Ask before you pay
- Is the table shared with other guests?
- Is there a minimum number of tickets or a minimum spend for larger tables?
- What are the cancellation terms?
- Are there extra charges, for example for the cloakroom?
5. Plan the rest of the night
Note the start time and arrange transport home, since taxis are in high demand after midnight.
Booking for a group
For larger groups, book the whole table at once and let one person handle the payment and communication with the venue. Ask whether the table will be shared with other guests and whether there is a minimum number of tickets for your table size.
From ten people upwards the rules change. Tables of that size exist in limited numbers, they are usually placed in the better zones and they sell out first, often by mid November. The practical solution is for one person to leave the deposit for the whole table and settle up with the others later.
Waiting until everyone confirms usually ends with the group split across two tables in different parts of the room.
When to book
The second half of November is the best moment. By then the programmes are published, early booking discounts are still running and the choice is still complete. From December onwards you pay the full price for a smaller selection, and in the last week single seats in good zones can go above the advertised price.
What the price depends on
Two things: what is included, and where the table sits. The menu and the programme are the same in every zone of a room; the difference is how close you are to the stage and how far from the aisles and the bar.
Because of that, two offers are never compared by the figure alone. Ask what is in the drinks selection, whether the price is per person or per table, and what is charged separately.
Drinks: three different models
All inclusive means unlimited drinks from a defined selection, usually domestic spirits, beer, house wine and soft drinks. Imported spirits, cocktails and bottles of sparkling wine are charged on top. The second model is a welcome drink with everything else on the bill. The third is dinner included and all drinks paid by consumption.
For a group that drinks through the night the all inclusive package almost always works out cheaper, and for light drinkers the opposite is true.
What a confirmation must contain
It does not have to be a formal contract and a message is enough, but it must state the date, the number of people, the price per person, what is included, the table position and the name of the person taking the booking. With those details any misunderstanding at the door is settled in seconds.
Paying from abroad
A transfer to a company account is the standard and the safest option. A deposit by card through a payment link is common as well. If you are asked to send money to a private account or through a fast transfer app with no document at all, stop and ask who the organiser is.
Currency and cash
Prices are often advertised in euros but everything is paid in Serbian dinars. Exchange offices are closed on 1 January, and cash machines near popular venues run empty during the night, so change money before 31 December.
Special diets and children
Vegetarian and fasting options exist in most venues but must be declared when booking, with the number of portions. The kitchen prepares a fixed number of plates on that night and does not cook to order.
In restaurants and hotel ballrooms children below a certain age either do not pay for a seat or pay half, and there is a children's menu. Clubs and river clubs are not an option for children.
If you need help with a booking, write to us via the contact page.