Traditional for me - and when I've elbowed my way to the front I like to say, in a relatively loud voice - "Can I get a pint of Harvey's/glass or Rose/Bag of crisps or whatever" - that's an order not a request and I know that the phrase "Can I get....." is a massive wind up for many people so what's not to like!!
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[Drinking] What is your preferred way of ordering drinks in a pub/bar?
- Thread starter Bozza
- Start date
e.g. see post 15 above - excellent!
Hotchilidog
Well-known member
- Jan 24, 2009
- 9,143
Scrum for me and a good pub will ensure you are not waiting too long. I will always give way if someone else has clearly been waiting longer than me, it's just good etiquette. Single line queuing, ordering on the app and having to book a table just to have a drink can all get in the bin.
um bongo molongo
Well-known member
In my bar tending days I would pride myself on this, and my ability to do fast arithmetic in my head (pre electronic tills of course). However, all the tips used to go my bar tending colleague who was totally hopeless but had a great rack and a seemingly endless collection of low cut tops.
Lenny Rider
Well-known member
- Sep 15, 2010
- 6,023
Wench, two bottles of Corona please, doesn't seem to have the same clout anymore.
Washie
Well-known member
"Can I get" is perfectly cromulent.
METALMICKY
Well-known member
- Jan 30, 2004
- 6,856
The scrum at the bar should work particularly if people are considerate and critically you have experienced bar staff. Sadly, increasingly you get feckwit individuals on the customer side of the bar who don't give a monkeys!
Competent barman plus dappy bint with a corking set of Bristols is the preferred barkeeping double act.
METALMICKY
Well-known member
- Jan 30, 2004
- 6,856
So outdated
It's biaatch, two bottles................Jokes aside I never address bar staff as ' mate ' as that would wind me up.
Cotton Socks
Skint Supporter
- Feb 20, 2017
- 2,166
It was the first thing I was taught when I got my first bar job, it was the first thing I taught new staff when I had my own pub later. It absolutely drives me nuts if I go into a pub & see a member of staff not looking around, if they have a phone in their hand as well, I consider it to be a hanging offence.
Cotton Socks
Skint Supporter
- Feb 20, 2017
- 2,166
It's because you haven't put 'now' at the end of the sentence.
I don't remember a time when there haven't been people who try and jump ahead or take advantage if the bar staff got to them first. Happily most people still seem to say "oh he's first" if they know they're not next in my experience.
Obviously if they don't I do some serious judging of them and say absolutely nothing about it.
To be honest, the queuing thing isn't something I give a shit about, but I was amused to notice when I just googled it to try and understand why anybody would care that this story appeared over a year ago and seems to have suddenly flared up again for some reason.
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
I had a poor experience at the Uni bar pre-match on Saturday. It was busy scrum, with 3 serving, but it wasn't long before I had my elbows on the bar. It was still taking AGES to get served though, and then the twunt next to me went and ordered a guinness and three cappucinos. What an absolute COCKSPANGLE. It was all I could do to stop myself from gobbing in his hood.
So I'm still waiting, and this group of 4 lads stroll in through the door and past me towards the other end of the bar, just at the VERY MOMENT the barmaid at the far end shouts "can I help anyone ?" FFS, so of course, they're straight in there.
What a bunch of arse. At least its only circa £4 a pint though, but its worth getting yourself 2 in, so as to avoid another BUNFIGHT.
So I'm still waiting, and this group of 4 lads stroll in through the door and past me towards the other end of the bar, just at the VERY MOMENT the barmaid at the far end shouts "can I help anyone ?" FFS, so of course, they're straight in there.
What a bunch of arse. At least its only circa £4 a pint though, but its worth getting yourself 2 in, so as to avoid another BUNFIGHT.
Very true, Covid didn’t do that brand any favors what so ever.
SkirlieWirlie
Well-known member
- Jan 6, 2024
- 149
It was the first thing I was taught when I got my first bar job, it was the first thing I taught new staff when I had my own pub later. It absolutely drives me nuts if I go into a pub & see a member of staff not looking around, if they have a phone in their hand as well, I consider it to be a hanging offence.
I used to frequent a pub in central London after work and was always amazed at the memory of the older gentleman behind the bar.
Place was always rammed and no matter how large the first round, he'd always ask "Same again?" when ordering again. (And he wasn't looking it up on the till either!)
Was in William the Fourth a couple of weeks ago and having quickly finished the first couple of drinks asked the same young lady that had served us for the same again please, to be met with "How would I know that
"Trouble is, I'm getting to the age it takes me a while to remember myself
I do have a certain love for the traditional scramble at the bar to order drinks. However, I've voted table service here, partly because I've been in Canada too long and I'm used to it now. The main reason is because it lets me drink at my own pace.
When I'm back in the UK, ordering at the bar inevitably leads to getting into the "rounds" system. That usually ends up with everyone drinking at the pace of the fastest person and having to down quarter of a pint to be ready to get the next round in. I'm not a particularly fast drinker and I can't handle the quantities I used to be able to. Then of course I always want to make sure I buy my fair share of drinks, so the round has to be a multiple of the people involved.
Having said that, my last drinking session in the UK was the Spurs match a few weeks ago. I was more than happy to keep drinking then.
When I'm back in the UK, ordering at the bar inevitably leads to getting into the "rounds" system. That usually ends up with everyone drinking at the pace of the fastest person and having to down quarter of a pint to be ready to get the next round in. I'm not a particularly fast drinker and I can't handle the quantities I used to be able to. Then of course I always want to make sure I buy my fair share of drinks, so the round has to be a multiple of the people involved.
Having said that, my last drinking session in the UK was the Spurs match a few weeks ago. I was more than happy to keep drinking then.
Anger
Well-known member
- Jul 21, 2017
- 551