Do you have a "regular" bar?

[GH85Carrera]

I was watching another cop TV show and all the officers in a squad were at a bar where the bartender knew them by name and drink they wanted.

I see that scene in movies as well, the neighborhood bar that seems to be much like the bar in the TV sitcom "Cheers" when everybody knows your name.

I have never lived in a major metro downtown area, and have no plans to ever do so.

So my real question how many of you ever go into a bar, and pay a bartender for drink, just to stop after work and talk to friends you know are going to be there? Like the cops and private detectives all seem to do in TV and movies.

Yea, I know it is just a TV or movie, but that must be based on something.

I can think of just a couple of times in my life I went into a bar just to have a beer. I would not order a cocktail if it was free, just beer for me. The two times were long ago, and the cigarette smoke was just too horrible to stand for long.

I for sure went to nightclubs out on the hunt for women, but that is far from the standard bar scene of guys just sitting at the bar and drinking. Maybe the neighborhood bar in an downtown area where I grew up (like the TV shows) is a real thing. I see lots of bars but I just don't go in.

One thing I do see, and have done is a few guys get together but plan a trip to a restaurant bar and go sit at the bar, order some beers, and a meal. That can be fun if you have some buddies to chat with up front. But I do that 5 or 6 times in a year, certainly not regularly.

[Jims5543]

There is a sports bar across from my office, they are more a wing joint but have a full menu and only wine and beer.

After living here for 20 years and my office being across the street for almost 10 years now, I know the owners and the staff well. I hit the place up about once a week for lunch and a pint or two.

My buddy in Tulsa lives across the street from one of the coolest bars I have ever been in, he met is wife there. A mutual friend introduced them. That friend would marry them in that bar.

They know the staff, the owners and most all the patrons.

I wondered if there was something wrong with me because like you, Glen, I really do not go out at night and hang in bars nor do I go out after work for happy hour or drinks with friends. I go home to my wife, I kind of like her.

[Gogar]

I don't have a 'regular' bar, but sometimes I'll go to the local restaurant down the street to make sure it stays open, and I like the owners.

Sometimes I'll go to certain bars even farther away for that one thing they do really well.

Ms. gogar has a few restaurants that just make her feel good. So maybe you could call those 'regular.'

The second part of your question seems to involve knowing people who frequent or work at that place. I'll will say that if you remember the name of your server or bartender and use it on the second visit and pay some genuine attention to them it flings the doors of good service wide open. (almost always.)

I had a friend who I used to bar hop with casually and he knew all the bartenders and servers and we got great service, but it turns out he was just selling blow.

[KFC911]

Naw....Mebbe I gots a "queer" bar instead .

Used to go out to see live music in bars/clubs....they knew me and the beer I preferred. Don't think I've ever done the TV bar thing....just go in for a drink ....solo anyways. Just not my thing....not much of a drinker at all these daze...just an occasional beer or two.

[Sooner or later]

I hit a local steakhouse every other Wednesday or so. I'll drink one beer. Pretty much the same people show up. Carol and Tom there every time. Place knows my name and what I order.

[bivenator]

As a former bartender, I can say that there is most always a "regular" group that attends. My last job was favored by lawyers. One spot was contractors/construction related and one had a group of FBI agents. IIRC the contractors tipped well, the FBI drank the most and the lawyers were blah blah blowhards.

[pete3799]

Not much to choose from around here. Nearest place is 12 miles away but we eat there (Italian food) on average twice a month. Have known the owner for 30 years or more, the bartender there, the same but he retired 2 years ago. No idea what the new bartenders name is. Don't know as we've ever gone there just for drinks.

Sea food place 17 miles the other way we go to once in a while. Don't know anyone there by name.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by bivenator

As a former bartender, I can say that there is most always a "regular" group that attends. My last job was favored by lawyers. One spot was contractors/construction related and one had a group of FBI agents. IIRC the contractors tipped well, the FBI drank the most and the lawyers were blah blah blowhards.

Also a former bartender, worked in a very popular bar/restaurant in La Jolla, definitely a regular crowd shuffling in. Most memorable were the kids from crazy rich Mexico City families that tossed money around, the female real estate agents drinking cheap wine-by-glass until a guy bought them something decent, and the Del Mar track season people. Then there was Jeffery, dressed in expensive clothes, sporting a fake British accent, who made his living stepping in front of cars at opportune moments. We could always tell when he was working - he sported the same neck brace every time. He would close the bar 3x a week drinking well gin martini's up with an onion and never tipped.

Working that industry yes I did have 1-2 goto bars to unwind after work. That was a different lifetime and now the wife and I enjoy a glass (or two) of wine at home.

[fastfredracing]

I quit drinking 10 years ago, but when I did, I always had a " home base " bar. Usually the safest, easiest drive home .

[legion]

I used to have a regular sushi place.

I once took a friend. The waitress said hello to me and took my friend's order. After she left, my friend turned to me and said: "She totally ignored you!" I just smiled.

10 minutes later, she arrived with food for both of us...a spicy tuna roll and an eel cucumber roll including my extra pickled ginger and low sodium soy sauce.

My friend just smiled at me.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by legion

10 minutes later, she arrived with food for both of us

That's a good story. You been there once or twice before.

[Seahawk]

Lots of former bartenders here

Me, too, but I was a gun for hire: weddings, parties, sports events, etc., very lucrative and a lot of fun.

I don't think I have been to the same bar twice in the last 30 years...

[Jeff Higgins]

I used to have a bottle of Lagavulin with my name on it a place called "Rock Oldies" in Taipei. That bottle sat on the shelf with other regulars customers' personal bottles for years. Even though it would sometimes be a year or two between trips, the owner always remembered me and grabbed my bottle for me. One of my co-workers wound up marrying her sister. The place was closed by the time I made my last trip over there, but my bottle was almost empty anyway.

[Otter74]

Yes, in a sense. I've been going to Goose Island's tap room before plays for years and years and years, and there is one bartender there who knows me and always serves me. There's a great beer and cider bar (and music venue) three blocks down the stree from me that is my first choice whenever I want to go somewhere nice for a drink without going too far. Or the same people have a great tiki bar a mile away and I occasionally stop on my way home from work for the $8 daiquiri of the day.

[Bill Douglas]

I'm quite surprised sometimes. I'll be in a restaurant and wondering about which pinot to order and the cute waitress will say "You usually have the etc etc pinot." Far out! I'm not very interesting so I'm amazed at how they can remember what I drink when even I can't.

[flatbutt]

yes, but it's a small town.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Hit up lots of bars with the wife or family but bounce around too much to be a regular. My wife and I’s favorite sushi place does remember our drink and food orders. So I guess that sorta counts.

When I travelled a lot for work, One Flew South at ATL terminal E remembered me and my order. Good sign that you travel too much.

[LakeCleElum]

I Have the Right to Remain Silent.........

[Rick Lee]

I have band practice about 5 min. away from a Macaroni Grill that has Peroni on tap. I usually finish up work in that area about an hour before band practice, so I head there for a beer or two before band practice.

[red-beard]

I used to when I lived in Downtown Albany. When the Lionheart was on Lark Street, it was one block from my house. It was my regular spot for a beer. If you were there before 10PM, you could get a seat at the bar. When I moved to SoCal, I took my mug with me.

When I lived in West Stockbridge, we had a place, until it closed. Then we had to travel to Stockbridge...

I live in the burbs in Houston. Nothing nearby, that I would want to be a regular.