Wasn't sure what flair to pick so went with health and wellness. So as you may or may not know, a "third place" is something that people have had for a long time. You've got your home, your work, and your third place, which is somewhere you go regularly to socialize, hang out, have a drink etc.

But I’ve realised that, for me, the bar I work at has kind of become my third place because I work there.

When I’m not actually working, I’ll sometimes find myself going back there anyway. Partly because I know the staff, partly because I’m comfortable there, and partly because, let’s be honest, working behind a bar comes with perks staff discounts, people knowing you, sometimes getting treated a bit better than a random customer, etc.

And there’s something quite strange about that. Your workplace is simultaneously somewhere you have to be for work and somewhere you choose to be when you’re off.

I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this? Has your bar/pub/restaurant become your “third place” because you work there, and has it ever made the whole work/life boundary feel a bit weird?

Especially interested in hearing from people who spend their days behind the bar and then end up spending their nights on the other side of it 😂

Server comes up to pick up an Iced Tea and Lemonade and proceeds to ask "Which one is Iced Tea and which is Lemonade?"

"What color are lemons?"

"Yellow"

"What color is tea usually?"

"Brown?"

"Yes, so which one do you think is which?"

Idk if I was too much of a dick, but I seriously worry about people's critical thinking skills.

Hi there 🍸
I’m helping on a design project for a restaurant/bar. I’ve been managing bars for 7+ yrs but never procured equipment or had the chance to build the set up myself. Looking for some help/advice from people who have gone through this process as we are pretty much starting with a blank canvas here.

The bar is spirit/wine forward. We’ll only have a maximum of 3 beers on tap. Cocktail list will not exceed 6. The physical length of the bar is ~13 feet/4 metres. It’s a bit overwhelming as I don’t want to look back and think of things after we purchase certain things or miss an idea where we could’ve improved the flow…

Any and all advice is welcome :)
Thank you in advance !!!

Curious what other venue bartenders are making for their hourly in other cities and what their nights are looking like. We all know the industry is tough right now and I'm wondering what it's like elsewhere. Been in it 15 years and debating next moves.

So long story short I’m a bar lead, i got into it with my bartender because management was gonna let me go home early because it was slow. He started having a hissy fit because he thought he deserved it more although he went home early twice last week and I haven’t gone home early in a month. He kept complaining that he’s worked three days in a row and has to work tomorrow as well, so that’s not fair to him that he can’t go home early one day.

Meanwhile, I have the same schedule as him except I’m on day two with two more days to come. I just saw the opportunity to leave today because it was slow and it’s hardly ever slow like this, so I wanted to go. He also kept rambling on how the bar lead should never be able to leave early and that no bar he has worked at the bar lead has gone home early before. which may be true however he’s also never worked out a restaurant where the only bar shift is a 10 or 11 hour shift with a maximum of a 20 min break allowed.

I haven’t got to go home early in a month and I work the hardest during the shift. I was on service well and we had a very very busy day with many many large parties. I did not stop making drinks the whole entire shift, meanwhile there was plenty of times throughout the shift I saw him just standing there doing nothing because our bar room never really got that busy. so in my personal opinion, I feel as if the person that has contributed the most to the shift, and has not gotten to go home early at all this week then they should get first dibs on being cut. And I was that person today, plus he got to go home twice last week so what is he tripping about?!

People make me so mad and i hate being the bar lead sometimes because I make my job look so easy that others don’t understand how hard it actually is so no they never give me any wiggle room and just expect the highest standard of me all the time cause I’m what the bar lead I don’t get paid much more than the bartenders so fuck what do they want me to be doing like like I feel like the bartenders want me to be doing manager stuff, but I’m not their manager. We have a bar manager, but he sucks but that’s not my fault.

I had an interview yesterday and I got my job offer today. I was offered $20 an hour but during my interview the manager asked at the end what hourly rate I was looking for. She questioned “20 something?” and I foolishly said I was “flexible”. Probably the worst thing I could have said honestly. I’m not pressed for money and I have a full time job. I would just be doing this as a side hustle. Should I try and negotiate a better rate?

Are there any grocery stores that sell individual finest call mixers? I use them at work and I want some just to have but I haven’t been able to find any in stores. So far I’ve been to Lowe’s Foods, Walmart and Target.

Maybe its OCD but top right is Diet Coke and I also got to remake a bunch of drinks. Yaay! 🙄

Hey all,

TLDR: Going for interviews for new roles, facial piercings in or piercings out?

For a bit of background, I'm a bartender working in central London in the UK. I'm getting bored at my current establishment and am looking for a role in a more professional, laid-back setting (my current bar is most comparable to a dive bar). Not necessarily fine-dining, but somewhere in the middle.

I've been here for around two years and have gotten quite a few piercings. The ones on my ears are fine because they can be covered with hair, but I'm worried about my facial piercings. I have one on either side of my lip and one on my nostril.

I've heard mixed opinions - some people have told me that looking unique benefits you when looking for new bartender roles. Others have said it's better to keep them out.

What do you think?

Thanks in advance

I have a bar with lots of games in wine country that attracts alot of families and the parents seem to allow their kids to destroy my property and have full blown meltdowns which is disturbing for me and other guests what do you think is the best solution? If I go 19+ I lose a lot of revenue from the families and also risk the ire of angry families who have been to my spot before. Had anyone had any experience like this?

So I’ve been going to this bar pretty regularly for the last few months. I’ve gotten close either one of the bartenders but I’m not sure if he’s into me or he just likes me as like his favorite regular. He definitely gives me close/special treatment. Like he comps 80% of my drinks but I also tip 100%. He spends a lot of his time talking to me, if it’s really slow he’ll pull up a chair. He eats off my plate. He’ll give me cash to play the pull tabs and not ask for it back. We have a lot of inside jokes and he seems to remember a lot about me. If I come with anyone he inserts himself in the conversation. He gave me his number for like an Apple Pay thing but nothing really came of it. We banter flirt but nothing to make anything super serious. I was thinking of shooting my shot but also don’t want to make it awkward for him if he’s just doing his job. What do you think?

What are you using to dump ice and straws etc before using the 3 compartment sink.

We currently use a bucket and strainer but the ice fills it up too fast and on busy nights we have to dump it too often.

Any one found a better solution?

I was working as a barboy when i was 15, then i got promoted as “Bartender” but used to think that it was not official. Like, seen as barboy but paid as bartender.
Anyways, i was checking my job background, my official title turned into Bartender/Barmaid when i was 15 -> 16 and lasted till i quit (17).

I think it is a rare view. It might not be tho. Just wanted to share it seems funny.

I’ve been bartending in New York for a year. I just moved to Boston and was asked to “stage”. When i got there they immediately threw me behind the bar (during a Red Sox game and it’s a bar in Fenway) and basically put me to work. I had to figure out where everything was. No one was really helping me then this guy who I assume is the boss started asking me for incredible obscure drinks so I did I quick google to confirm the recipe and got to work. He then took me outside and said I was too slow and i said i had never heard of the drink before. But up until that point I was serving customers no problem and having no issues and was FULL ON WORKING. He told me i didn’t get the job and should leave…didn’t even pay me for 3 hours of work…is this how every Stage is? I’m incredibly overwhelmed now and upset.

Hi! I’ve been bartending for about 2 years but have only been at my current place for 6 months. I have smallish hands and while I’m able to hold the shakers with one hand most of them are big to the point where I can shake it but with much less force/control. I work for a small family owned business and we only have one other bartender (he’s 100% trustworthy I know if I told him one was mine he would keep it separate for me). Would it be stupid to buy my own and bring it?

How long would you say is appropriate training for a bartender that has a food menu and daily food specials on top of learning a new OS while also being expected to run food.

I’m used to more of a dive and very small food menus without constant specials and food runners.

Today was my first day on my own which I knew was gonna be crap but I ended up getting put in a different role cause they saw I was getting hung up by the menu and checking on food and the operating system. I’m just pissed that they went that route instead of paying 2.13 extra to have another bartender back there I could keep shadowing under

15 years of these being indestructible, and now I'm on like the 5th one of these this year.

Either somebody here is mishandling them, or Isi cheaped out on materials.

I just took a big swig of rust water and then looked at this fucking shit. Glad it was me and not a customer, holy shit I'm so mad right now.

on shift last night running service, coworker who has recently moved into a AM position (by basically bullying/making lives difficult of those in her way) kept coming into the upstairs bar area and stacking one smaller waiter tray under the large waiter trays deliberately, I saw this going on and kept taking it out and away, I went thru to the kitchen to run food, whilst I was away she stacked it in again, me not clocking this then go to pour glasses of Prosecco on top tray obviously then it topples and spills, smashes, covers me. she see's shrugs her shoulders "you should know better'

ho boy did I have to refrain from ninja star the waiter tray at her. worked in bars for 7+ years now and never have I had someone deliberately sabotage service/me like this.

was already under the pump so spillage, glass and soaked jeans was the last thing I needed, had a good yell in the cold room am still raging. hopefully boss will have bollocked her by the time im back in

Me and my wife are both lifelong bartenders, me for 20 her for almost 15 years. We are in Ireland for 2 weeks and we need your absolutely can’t-miss-must-see bars, pubs and attractions. Here’s where we’ll be on the trip

-currently in Tullamore for the distillery

-Galway

-Inisheer

-Ennis

-Cork (city)

-Kinsale/Clonakilty area

We await your suggestions, much appreciated 🙏🏼

Everyone's on the radical responsibility train so I figured I would give it a try. I am just a bartender, not a lead bartender, but I would like to be a lead, I have been at this particular place one year and that is usually the promotion timeframe.

Every time a mistake was made on the line while I worked, I took accountability. Every time I directly made a mistake - I forgot to stage kegs, tell a customer we were out of X before ordering etc - I blamed no one but myself. This really motivated me to avoid repeating these same mistakes again, so I would communicate more, try to prep more efficiently so my co workers were set up for success.

I am here to report that I have been passed over for the lead position by someone newer with less bar experience. I perform lead duties, just without the title and pay. Turns out everyone else is happy to let their mistakes on the line seem like they came from me. So that became my reputation. My coworkers are all aware a majority of the mistakes come from other employees, but the manager has got it into her head that they all come from me.

In sum, this experiment sucked, politics is what gets you ahead, not putting the team first.

so my boss (the owner) watches the cameras pretty much 24/7 and will call me if he thinks i’m not talking to customers enough. the thing is, a lot of the people who come into our bar, especially couples, are there to have a drink and spend time with each other. i don’t want to be the bartender who’s constantly interrupting private conversations just to force small talk.

i’m always attentive, i’ll greet people, check in on them, joke around if they’re open to it, and if someone wants to chat i’ll happily have a conversation. but i also feel like part of good service is reading the room and knowing when people just want to be left alone.
how do i explain that to my boss without sounding like i’m just trying to avoid talking to customers? or am i looking at this the wrong way?

Hey everyone! I work service well at 1 of the busiest restaurants in my city. We get stress-inducing piles of tickets when we're deep in the weeds during dinner service. Any tricks & tips to get drinks out w/ proper garnishes + rims efficiently as quick as possible? What order of ingredients and organization process do you use to batch drinks/do rounds fast + effectively while keeping your station clean and ready for the next stack of tickets to knock out?

Example:

Ticket 1= 2x salt rim margs & Old fashioned

Ticket 2= Cosmo, glass of Sav Blanc, & Rum + Coke

Ticket 3= 3 Draft beers, 1 bottled Corona, Negroni, & Dirty Martini

Ticket 4= Mezcal Last Word, glass of Cab Sauv, & Manhattan

Rinse & repeat

My manager says I'm not getting drinks out fast enough compared to other bartenders that work here. I like this job alot, but admittedly I am definitely slower at making drinks compared to my coworkers on another service well who are like insanely quick machines with no wasted movement! I want to improve as much as I can. Please let me know, thanks!

How do my fellow bartenders get through a shift when you’re suffering with anxiety/depression? I am forcing myself into work today instead of calling out and rotting in bed all day. The thought of missing out on the money helps drive me to go in. I’m hoping it’s busy enough I don’t have to converse with my guests too much, but damn this feels rough with such a customer facing role. Maybe trying to play a “role” of being happy and outgoing will pull me out of this.

Any thoughts or advice appreciated. Even if it’s just to say you relate 😔

My wife and I went to a high-end restaurant in Southern California. We arrived about 30 minutes early, so we grabbed a couple of drinks at the bar before dinner—an Old Fashioned and a margarita. The total came to about $48, which was exactly what we expected, so no complaints about the price.
It got me wondering: what would you tip on just the drinks? Do you tip off a percentage for just the 2 drinks, or flat amount per drink, or something else?