Barfly Best Practices

A companion thread to Bartender Best Practices

what happened to bar etiquette

before you leave you gotta stick $20 in the Doggie Diamonds machine. I swear it's gonna hit any day now.

When unsure if a bar is open, approach from the opposite side of the street because

be sure to lock the bathroom door before snorting that cocaine

and if you do get caught, offer to share

tip your fucking bartender

with w33d

if they smoke it, then definitely

should be a list thread?

corollary to the above: don't smoke weed in the bar, not even in the smoking area

A quick shake of salt on your cocktail napkin keeps it from sticking to the bottom of your glass.

You can use a straw to try someone else's drink without germ concerns (insert a straw, plug the top end with your thumb, lift it out and sample).

Ear wax and nose oil are good for dispelling bubbles (rub your nose or put your finger in your ear, then put the finger into excessively heady beer).

The old "dollar per drink" tip makes sense only for beer and rail drinks. 20% of pretax total is best for tabs that include more attentive service (hand muddling, etc.).

Coffee-based drinks consumed in the evening will usually be made with really terrible coffee.

If you don't want people to talk to you, work on a crossword puzzle or prop up a book on a condiment caddy. Protip: choose a very boring book or one with a nondescript cover, so no one tries to initiate conversation with "whatcha readin'?"

If there is a TV tuned to Fox (even if it is muted) ask for it to be changed.

if it doesn't fold, it isn't a tip (exceptions for regulars may apply)

Depends on the amount

this thread and the weather today make me want to go spend a few hours at my local tbh

haha otm

See you there dude

Sometimes a regular sitting near the taps gets to have a partial beer left by a dead keg (and yes it is still a free drink that you should consider when tipping).

General tipping guidance (may not apply for non-USians) is that you shouldn't try to punish a bad service experience with an insultingly small tip because you end up screwing over people who were not responsible.

If you had three glasses of the same wine, you could have bought the bottle.

Note: UK-style "and for yourself?" tipping does not work well in USian bars, as the bar staff is usually not drinking during working hours. I have seen people try to do it and it fell flat.

cocktail napkins are so beyond horrible, there is this wonderful invention called the coaster...

Who knows what life is or where it’s going
So cheers

Always pay with cash. This eliminates the risks of:

- Forgetting your credit card
- the bartender taking advantage of your inebriation to overcharge you

Also bar staff (and other service workers) have better visibility into what happens to cash than to credit/debit charges.

Oh and speaking of inebriation: if a bartender offers to call a cab for you, DON'T ARGUE. If they think you need a cab then you need a frickin cab.

if taking a car to the bar, park or get dropped off a block away and arrive by foot. No one likes a VIP.

When an interested party asks how old you think they are, subtract 5 from your gut feeling

If you are the only person left in the bar very close to closing time...please leave.

If there is more than one bartender
Choose one, preferably the older,
And when it comes time for subsequent rounds,
Always order from the same one,
To increase the chance of buy backs

May have changed opinions on paying with a card vs cash. I only got charged for 3 while consuming 5 today. Maybe the Card allows the bartender to keep the discounts on the DL, thereby rewarding good tipping regulars without being subject to the inquisitiveness of nosy fuckers at the bar who keep track of this shit

one thing i genuinely never know is whether bartenders prefer to be tipped in cash or just adding it on the card

Re: paying with cash vs a card -
In the past few weeks I’ve been undercharged and overcharged using a card. I think it’s probably better just using cash

Testing the new bartender on buyback etiquette

I hate having to use a card at the bar. plus if they want to comp you a drink let them do so with a wink and a hand motion, not in a way that makes you think it could have been a "user error"

If it's a quiet afternoon, testing the new bartender on their Old Fashioneds.

Stick with one bartender, especially if she pours them well

If you’re aware of a shift change later in the day, don’t leave the change of a large bill on the bar to pay for your nexts — instead, tip for each as they’re poured. This makes it easier for the early shifter to sign off without them having to remind you and thus ask for their tip explicitly

very otm

very incomprehensible

Otm, I try to be aware of this when I can.

Sic: let's say you like to start drinking at 5:30, and you intend to stay for a while and have several drinks. But the bartender who gives you your first two drinks works only till 6. Then a different bartender comes in.

At this point, all the assembled barflies have a choice:

1. Close out their tab, so as to be sure their tips reach Bartender One. Then open a new tab with Bartender Two, so as to make sure that she or he gets tipped appropriately too.

2. Allow the tab to remain open and be transferred to Bartender Two. This runs the risk of stiffing Bartender One out of the tips on the first couple drinks.

Maybe the bar has a system for equitably distributing tips in this situation, maybe they don't; maybe they just figure it will work out karmically. You don't know, and it would be awkward to ask. So clearly Option 1 is better barfly etiquette.

CAVEAT: this assumes you are running a tab. If I understand Calstars correctly, calstars's seems to be talking more about a pay-as-you-go model. Which is also a tip-as-you-go model, unless you're a dick.

That model can be elegant, especially if you're using cash and rounding up generously to nice tidy whole-dollar amounts. (Speaking in USian terms.)

Two twenties and two tens says sic is not a barfly

I thought sic was just referring to the business of tipping itself

Is sic a British? I forget.

sic is an Australian on long-term loan to Seattle

let's say you like to start drinking at 5:30, and you intend to stay for a while and have several drinks. But the bartender who gives you your first two drinks works only till 6. Then a different bartender comes in.

At this point, all the assembled barflies have a choice:

1. Close out their tab, so as to be sure their tips reach Bartender One. Then open a new tab with Bartender Two, so as to make sure that she or he gets tipped appropriately too.

2. Allow the tab to remain open and be transferred to Bartender Two. This runs the risk of stiffing Bartender One out of the tips on the first couple drinks.

Maybe the bar has a system for equitably distributing tips in this situation, maybe they don't; maybe they just figure it will work out karmically. You don't know, and it would be awkward to ask. So clearly Option 1 is better barfly etiquette.

none of this comes close to explaining what "don’t leave the change of a large bill on the bar to pay for your nexts" means

also

CAVEAT: this assumes you are running a tab. If I understand Calstars correctly, calstars's seems to be talking more about a pay-as-you-go model. Which is also a tip-as-you-go model, unless you're a dick.

I assumed the same re calstars' model so you are additionally saying that your entire explanation is not intended to explain it?

(plus yeah re tombot

If you’re aware of a shift change later in the day, don’t leave the change of a large bill on the bar to pay for your nexts — instead, tip for each as they’re poured. This makes it easier for the early shifter to sign off without them having to remind you and thus ask for their tip explicitly

Otm, I try to be aware of this when I can.

Sic: let's say you like to start drinking at 5:30, and you intend to stay for a while and have several drinks. But the bartender who gives you your first two drinks works only till 6. Then a different bartender comes in.

At this point, all the assembled barflies have a choice:

1. Close out their tab, so as to be sure their tips reach Bartender One. Then open a new tab with Bartender Two, so as to make sure that she or he gets tipped appropriately too.

2. Allow the tab to remain open and be transferred to Bartender Two. This runs the risk of stiffing Bartender One out of the tips on the first couple drinks.

Maybe the bar has a system for equitably distributing tips in this situation, maybe they don't; maybe they just figure it will work out karmically. You don't know, and it would be awkward to ask. So clearly Option 1 is better barfly etiquette.

CAVEAT: this assumes you are running a tab. If I understand Calstars correctly, calstars's seems to be talking more about a pay-as-you-go model. Which is also a tip-as-you-go model, unless you're a dick.

That model can be elegant, especially if you're using cash and rounding up generously to nice tidy whole-dollar amounts.

a slightly more elegant model is: pay a listed price for things.)

If carrying a cash balance on the bar itself, add new bills by placing them perpendicular, on the side of the bartender, to your stack of smaller bills.

Confirm your tip with the bartender. Never leave cash unattended.

I don’t worry about shift changes and tipping. I drink at the same bar all the time. They all know I got them overall.

Smoove Jeff
Respeck

can I get a buyback or what

Cal yr top tier single malt

Make a double, neat chief

When you’re on your 7th and wondering when the right time is to leave, do so whenever one of the following events occur:
- you belch loudly, causing a moment of silence to be observed around you
- navigation and walking control becomes difficult, possibly resulting in collisions with others
- you spill your drink on your running cash tab

- you immediately grab up the wet cash and try to suck out the absorbed liquor

the navigation rule is more otm than many of us would admit

Sometimes it’s ok to talk to the ugly one down the bar. They might have a friend.

the guy who posts to ilx about how irked he is at children being in the bar might have a friend too. but probably not

also might not be ugly (unlikely)

Tip well on the first, then moderately on subsequents. The aim is to strike the right balance between appearing to be generous and evidencing that you’re cheap enough to appreciate a buy back.

the miserable cunt landlord + his rude staff in my local wouldn't even get a steam off my piss tip off me. £4.60 for a pint of Stella, the place is full of unfriendly white-van yeomen arseholes and it's only 2 years since someone got murdered in the car park. The first time I went in there someone rudely shoulder barged past me because i wasn't a reg and the fool i was with sez: don't worry they were like me that with me for a few years as well.

Just out of interest calstars, how much do you pay for a pint in your bar?

$5 for the cheap stuff, $8 for everything else. Quite a jump. Occasionally there are happy surprises like seasonals that are out of season for half price.

that's just about as expensive as the some of godawful pubs here charge, although if you don't mind making a vile multi-millionaire richer it is much cheaper at Wetherspoons branches. Very much a no-tipping culture in the pubs here because we are such a socialist country.

Flashbacks to W4dd3ll sock puppets arguing with themselves in DNs above.

When ordering from a bar and sitting elsewhere, do so from out of arms-reach from others who are sitting at the bar. This reduces the opportunity for others to reach out and grab your tip.

This is not necessary if you never leave cash attended, which is the preferred practice.

Yeah I think in that situation I would either be running a tab (in which case I will tip upon settling up), handing over a card (in which case I will tip on the receipt) or handing over something like the right amount of cash (and suggesting that the change should be kept).

Not sure what barfly mechanics would entail my leaving cash within the reach of other patrons.

Further, if I'm ordering from the bar but not sitting at it, it's likely that the bar is so crowded that there IS no place out of arm's reach.

Sometimes you can’t help but be served by two bartenders. Sometimes there’s just no other option. In these cases you just have to roll with the punches and forgive however many lost buybacks you will miss.

if they care they close your tab when they're going off shift surely

Stupid Mexican beer in a pint glass with a lime slice on the lip drinking tip: rotate the lime a half turn every few draughts and sip from there

Or you could just squeeze the lime into the beer and leave it there

I had to completely refactor my mental calculus when drinking (or eating dinner) in Manhattan because the idea of separate checks or the wait staff splitting the check just does not compute. I mean, fair enough, I'm a traveler in a strange land, I must learn the ways. But it also explains why Venmo took off like crazy in NYC more than other places -- you're constantly having to send your friends cash because they got the tab!

so I guess I'd recommend paying per drink when sitting at the bar with a chum to make it easier, or carrying enough cash to just divvy up the bill. Or just buy the drinks and give the person you'll never see again a "you can get it next time!" wink

Keep in mind: mixed drinks don’t have a set alcohol content

When paying in small denominations, lay the cash out in separate piles for the drink and the tip

When finished with a can, crush it slightly to let the bartender know what’s up

If there are multiple bartenders and there is one you favorite, don’t be afraid to tell the others if you’re approached that you’re “good” with a wave of the hand. Then just be patient til you can order with your preferred.

One way to hit on a bartender is to say, “buy you a drink?”

An experienced server (one that’s probably worth your time) will tip cash face down. When you collect your change, leave the bills for the tip face up.

what is this nonsense

servers must fucking hate you

barfly best practice: run a tab, pay once, when you leave, tip 20-25%. fin.

does the alcohol go in the mouth or can it be drank another way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GCcoaSq3x4

I don't get this leaving cash out on the bar.

Yeah, if it's a tip, but keep it in your pocket otherwise.

Keep in mind — from a bartender’s perspective, there’s nothing more useless than a patron commenting on the music.

ugh, nice newer bar and this group came in and they all are sitting, not waiting in a line. and two are doing the “holding cash up to get service” move. ok, it’s a small space and they are servicing _your group_ from left to right. you are the only people this guy is serving. and the guy near me has money in hand and singles on the bar in front of him, in some passive aggressive “this is the tip” move. and when he is about to be served, he puts those singles back in his wallet

diiiiiiieeee

If the tables are wobbly, place your drink in the middle

If the drinks are wobbly, place your

came here to post the same video as brownie upthread

When paying with a card at a new place, provide the most exclusive plastic (or metal) that you can. This may lead to better service and customer prioritization in anticipation of a large tip.

rich people are bad tippers so this probably won't work

my wife got a 10% tip from one of the countries wealthiest real estate developers/art patrons

lol yeah

this thread makes going to the bar seem like going to the soup nazi

“When in groups of 5 or multiples of 7, make sure to all sit on the same side on the booth and throw 8 five dollars bills folded into airplanes towards the bartender every 24 1/2 minutes”

also know the code name for your drink. calling it by its real name is an insult

Bwahaha

Assuming the bartender is busy, lower your cost per hour at the bar by bringing a thermos or flask from home

PROTIP: Don't go to a bar during COVID

Sometimes a big tip is necessary to alert a new or unfamiliar bartender that you’re “worthy” of buybacks. So if there’s someone new behind the bar, be generous and look forward to the next time for reciprocation.

Just stand in one place and drink until you fall over

If it’s busy, and you score a good spot or table: to deter squatters, order doubles, and have a spare drink on the table at all times

how is that not a dick move

If it’s crowded, place your half empty drink in clear view of the bartender so that it’s clearly visible when they make their rounds. This allows them to quickly assess, together with a nod on your part, that you’re in need of another round.

half empty? we only drink half?

Drinking half is a dick move

Tip directly into the recipients hand / vision

You all stealin what’s not yours can gfy

When arriving at the bar and verbally greeting the bouncer or bartender, volume is more important than content

strolls into doorway, screams "FUCK UP CUNT!!!" across the room, returns to outdoor seating and waits for preferred beverages to be fetched.

When paying cash and breaking a large bill, if you have enough for a tip in small bills, give that to the bartender when he gives you your change. This precludes the never-graceful “let me give you a tip from the change” interaction

Don’t creep or hit on the staff

If you’re sitting outside and it’s windy and seats at the place are at a premium and you’re not finished with your round and you have a glass of water and a clean napkin at hand and you need to vacate your spot temporarily, dip a corner of the napkin into the water and drape it over the round, wet edge touching rim and facing the prevailing direction of the wind. This will decrease the chances your napkin will blow away while you’re elsewhere, thereby decreasing the chances a customer looking for a seat will assume yours is available vis a vis the “abandoned” round.

If you need to limit yourself, order the last round, provide your card, and ask the server to close you out

Most graceful way to close out?
My vote goes to asking for a glass of water or club when you do so to savor the moment a bit longer

Some bartenders will sooner give you a buyback if you pay with a card rather than cash; you will have to determine this via experience

Always have more cash on hand than necessary

When paying cash and breaking a large bill, if you have enough for a tip in small bills, give that to the bartender when he gives you your change. This precludes the never-graceful “let me give you a tip from the change” interaction

Fair

as a server for the time being, i completely agree -- just tell me how much you want back and i will bring it. don't make me do math!!

then again, if i am the most sober person (usually) and you cannot be trusted to do math bc u been drinking, i will do it

A safe assumption

Stack your cash tips in single file if the service doesn’t pick up after each round. A mess of singles could give the wrong impression.

Each time you visit a regular spot, alternate between paying cash and with a card. Eventually you will be able to earn a free drink — either via the bartender assuming you’re paying with a card, or via plausible deniability that you forgot which payment method you’re using.

If a bartender in a plausible but uncommon spot recognizes you (“how’ve you been?”) but you don’t recognize them, confess the truth

Casual mention of other bartenders at the same place may get you you buybacks earlier

If you’re looking for a buyback, delay payment on your deserving round (4th is best). Have the bartender serve you and if necessary, feign to fumble about for your wallet. This pause allows your server the appropriate time to reflect

On a hot day, the glass holding your cold beverage may be subject to condensation. Don’t forsake a coaster or a napkin in this scenario. You want that water soaked up during drink downtime — so that it doesn’t drip on your shirt so much when you sip

The other option is to drink your cold beverage so quickly that it doesn't have time to attract condensation, or to warm up.

If you’re already sitting down and halfway through, a discreet wipe of the bottom of your glass on your pants before sipping is acceptable

Finish right on time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKPcN9qbLZ0

At the cheapest bar around, order bottles or cans. Sometimes glasses get the short shrift.

Tip 5 at dives

This is obvious but if there’s big tip you want to give to a specific bartender give it to them by hand in cash “you’ve been served”

When you want a canned or bottled beer with a glass on the side, don’t order by saying “(Beer X)and a glass.” This can be misheard (“and” for “in”) and misinterpreted as a request for the draft version of Beer X, which is likely several sovereigns more. Better to preface with “bottle or can of,” and when it arrives, ask the bartender for a glass.

Don’t touch a cash tip unless there’s a 10 at the bottom of the stack

tip owners, when they’re tending, a fraction of what you’d tip servers

Stay one ahead of the hour, e.g., have two by 1 o’clock, and six by 5 o’clock.

Lol that’s the practice I’m trying to break myself of

Especially if you're using military time.

lol good point!

If you need to save your table while you pee and you don’t have a hat or bag to place on it, make sure you have at least 1/3 of your drink left in your glass.

Or just use a coaster from the bar lol

or a cocktail napkin

At this bar they have complementary promo stickers that are just big enough to cover the top of a drink. So I took two and put them in my wallet for later

I love bar stickers

Someone should make a google map list of bars with free promo stickers. That person could be me but I’m too much a creature of habit

last week i went to a bar for the first time in a *long* time and felt weird about leaving a dollar tip for a beer, considering that i was tipping that amount two decades ago. is a dollar still acceptable?

No

Ok. I ended up leaving two dollars, but was wondering what the norm is these days.

Bitcoin

No

Oops

a dollar is plenty

for a beer

Straddle the shift change and I say I’ve had 5 being honest and the new server says I it see one

Only

When you want to move a full glass of beer sitting on a coaster across the table, lift the beer and move the coaster independently first

Right before happy hour ends, buy as many as you’re going to have

yeah but they'll go warm

Eh, unpopular opinion but people are too fussed about coldness imo. If you need your drink to be cold, then drink faster. Don't own a beverage long enough for it to get warm. Or practice radical acceptance that entropy is law, and you can't always get what you want.

The whole industry of keeping drinks at or below a particular temperature (ice, "koozies," coolers, etc.) is an edifice built on futility: "pay us," says Big Ice, "to _slightly_ delay the inevitable for a fleeting moment."

Don't get me started on what ice melting in a mixed drink over time does to its ratios. "Here," says Big Ice, "I am here to steadily make your bourbon more and more watery until it is as pale and weak as your scrawny pathetic ass."

To each drink, the coolth thereof

my grandfather taught me the most important life lesson--that soda straight out of the fountain is cold already so you don't need ice. just get more of the good stuff.

I remember being on summer tour in the UK in the early 00s and being absolutely stunned by warm beer in the backstage, like no ice at all, gimme a break

IME all of the people asking for more ice are women, typically over 40 (over 50 more typically). i do not begrudge them their ice because they clearly have their reasons.

we actually banned a regular recently because he popped off at a bartender, claimed he deserved special treatment bc he comes in 6x/week but failed to note that he usually sits at the bar for 3-4 hours and drinks 2 beers. good riddance!

Eh, unpopular opinion but people are too fussed about coldness imo. If you need your drink to be cold, then drink faster. Don't own a beverage long enough for it to get warm. Or practice radical acceptance that entropy is law, and you can't always get what you want.

The whole industry of keeping drinks at or below a particular temperature (ice, "koozies," coolers, etc.) is an edifice built on futility: "pay us," says Big Ice, "to _slightly_ delay the inevitable for a fleeting moment."

Don't get me started on what ice melting in a mixed drink over time does to its ratios. "Here," says Big Ice, "I am here to steadily make your bourbon more and more watery until it is as pale and weak as your scrawny pathetic ass."

To each drink, the coolth thereof

― zydecodependent (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, May 15, 2025 6:47 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

This is all true, but if you're someone whose ideal drink is just-on-the-edge-of-freezing cold pilsner, basically the only way to get this is to be at home, toss a can/bottle into the freezer for 20-30 minutes (or whatever sweet spot you find), and not opening until you're ready for your first sip. IANARestauranteur but I assume most beer at bars/restaurants are kept at around 37-39º at max, which is nice and cold ... for about 10 minutes. I assume holding beer closer to freezing for prolonged periods is enough to damage the beer. No huge deal because there are tons of better-tasting pilsners on draft at bars than anything I'd be drinking from cans/bottles at home, but it's only going to really be enjoyable while it's still cold.

I have no idea how cold the freezer beers get by the time they're opened, but I assume it dips to around 30º-32º (for me, I know the temp is perfect if I pour and there's almost zero foam; any colder and it begins to slush, which means it'll probably get tossed). So, your beer is screamingly cold to begin with, and it stays "cold enough" for about 2X as long as my beer at the bar. I have a Radeberger tallboy with dinner most nights, and by the time the beer starts getting lukewarm I've either finished my beer or I'm done drinking.

This probably only makes sense for the lightest beers on the spectrum w/o a ton of flavor. The thought of gulping down an ice-cold double IPA makes me wretch.

That is a very niche craving, CompuPost, best to you

On a hot day, a cheap cold can straight from a cooler full of ice behind the bar is a distinct pleasure. Just don’t ask for a glass to drink it from cause that’ll warm up the swill right quick

“This one’s on me” can be a gentle invitation to break the ice a bit more