Bars have been an integral part of the human lifestyle since ages and can be traced back to thousands of years. Alcohol and wines were mainly consumed for their medicinal values. The first recorded joints were ale houses which used to offer beer to its patrons. In ancient Greece and Rome, taverns served alcohol, food, games, and other entertainment.
During the Anglo-Saxon period, public houses emerged as a popular gathering place for businessmen and social meetings. The New Englanders brought these public houses or taverns to the New World.
Table of Content
Types of Bar
13 types of bar are mentioned below:
- Hotel Bar
- Live Music Joints
- Nostalgia Bar
- Plastic Bar
- Speciality Bar
- Sports Bar
- College Bar
- Cocktail Bar
- High Concept Bar
- Irish Pub
- Neighbourhood Dive
- Pub
- Vertically Challenged Bar
Hotel Bar
Hotel bars are one of the most popular types of bars as they get visitors from all around the world. In most of cases, there is no specific theme attached to them and in fact, they create their own designs.
Normally, they serve snacks along with alcoholic drinks inside the bar itself and can serve food in the restaurant. In some cases, they have restaurants attached with the main bar or vice-versa. Such types of bars maintain huge inventories in order to cater to the needs of varied clientele. Because of the hospitality involved in these types of bars, many of the locals also prefer to have a quiet drink at such places.
Inside the hotel, there can be subcategories of a bar like Dispense Bar, Banquet Bar, Lounge Bar, etc.
Live Music Joints
The major attraction of these kinds of bar is live music. Such types of joints are highly crowded and are mainly frequented by the youngsters because of the noise level inside the bars. Customers looking out for a calm environment will never patronize live music bars. Often, it is observed that they have a limited inventory to offer.
Nostalgia Bar
Literally, nostalgia means ‘old‘. The theme, design and décor, all three, are of yesteryears. The furniture and fixtures along with the lighting around make the ambience perfect for a nostalgic feel. Such places serve the basic wines, beers and straight drinks and age-old or few of the classic drinks.
Plastic Bar
These are very basic bars which are without any life. They are often called yuppie bars or fern bars, and if there is a frozen daiquiri machine in the establishment, it can be called a plastic bar. These bars are basically designed for such people who want only a place to sit and drink and they do not bother about the environment and surroundings of the place. The style of service is also very basic and the owners are interested in the amount of beverage sales only.
Speciality Bar
These are one of the most popular types of bars which specialize in a particular drink or any other USP e.g. Hookah bars or Cocktail Bars. Nowadays, most of the public places around are putting a restriction on smoking around and hence a new concept of Cigarette Bars or Cigar Bars is gaining popularity. Such bars do offer drinks to their customers which becomes an added attraction to the crowd. In addition, bar-owners are continuously coming up with newer and better ideas for their facilities, and hence new types of speciality bars are coming into the market.
Sports Bar
Sports bars are generally equipped with large screen televisions or at times, projectors which telecast the popular sport of the country or any other specific sporting event all around the year. These joints are designed for people who would like to go for a drink while watching their favourite sport amongst a group of people which gives them a feel of the sports arena or stadium. These testosterone boosting events increase the sales of the outlets and are often open till late at night or till the time match is over. They often have menus shaped like sports equipment and food items named after local teams or even ballparks or stadiums, and the best part is that the newer ones have a very different ambiance than the sports bars of long ago.
College Bar
These are designed for the young generation and full of colours also offering games and other activities like live bands, cheerleading squads. These places are dedicated for the youngsters and full of energy. The offerings are huge in terms of alcohol but fewer in terms of food items and snacks. Also, the pricing is comparatively on the lower side.
Cocktail Bar
These types of bars are fully dedicated towards serving cocktails. Normally, these places are wonderful to sit, eat drink and relax but at the same time are very expensive. The trained bartenders ensure that they serve authentic cocktails by following the standard recipes of the drinks. They are quite a good place to sit and relax as the patrons are mainly the outsiders who can afford the expensive drinks.
High Concept Bar
The metropolitan cities are usually the place where the high concept bars can be found. These bars are often visited by tourists who have plenty of money to spend and are known for being the leaders in terms of the latest styles and fashion. They are known to be very expensive but always be found involved in doing something different or creating something new to woo the consumers to its place. Generally based on a theme, the patrons chiefly include the rich segment of the society.
Irish Pub
Although an Irish pub usually only serves green beer on St. Patrick‘s Day, they usually have a wide variety of whiskey and beer that comes straight from Ireland. They have a great ambiance and a great overall feel that stresses fun and relaxation.
There is also the possibility of some great music to enjoy while you‘re there, which can include musical instruments such as guitar, fiddle, and some of the instruments made with pipes, such as uilleann or bodhran pipes. These bars go to great lengths to make sure that the alcohol, the decorations, the music, and the overall ambiance is just right.
Neighbourhood Dive
Neighbourhood dives are usually filled with locals and are usually no-frills bars which are open seven days a week until late at night. These bars tend not to keep up with the times, and the fact that they look a little old and outdated is what adds to their charm. They may or may not serve snacks or food, but if they do, it is likely not the highest quality cuisine in the city.
These dives usually have dartboards and jukeboxes in them, and they rarely have a theme or concept attached. Their patrons are usually locals and regulars, and, in fact, often these are the only people who know that the bar exists. They serve inexpensive drinks and are usually located in a convenient spot near where a lot of these people live.
Pub
Pubs are larger and cleaner than neighbourhood dives, and their food is usually better as well. They serve both locals and tourists and are very cosy and a great place for people to relax. Pubs have affordably priced food and drinks, including the greasy cheeseburgers that everyone loves, and you can either sit at the bar and flirt with the bartender or sit at a table and order your food and drinks.
Vertically Challenged Bar
These are the bars which specialize in playing a certain recording artist‘s songs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but the people who visit these bars never seem to get tired of the songs. These bars are sometimes difficult to find, and, in fact, many times only the locals know about them. This doesn‘t mean that they aren‘t crowded, however, because on any given night they tend to be booked solid with wall-to-wall customers.