A bartender shares the 5 red flags she always looks for at a bar

With a seemingly never-ending excavation of options, it tin beryllium difficult to cognize if you're picking the champion barroom for a happy hr aliases nighttime out.

Take it from Stephanie Ridgway, who worked astatine respective bars and distilleries earlier becoming the head of marque defense for the liquor marque Charles Jacquin et Cie.

"I've been successful my adjacent stock of bars, from dives to high-end cocktail lounges," Ridgway told Business Insider. "I've developed a keen oculus for what sets the bully isolated from the awesome — and behaviors that will ever raise a reddish flag for me."

To thief spare you a bad experience, Ridgway shared her apical red flags to look retired for astatine a barroom truthful you cognize erstwhile it whitethorn beryllium champion to beeline toward the exit.

It's ne'er a bully motion erstwhile a barroom is dirty, particularly if it's not busy

Ridgway's siren bells commencement going disconnected the 2nd she walks into a soiled bar. For her, that includes things for illustration a sticky barroom tops, soiled towels connected counters, and soiled glassware.

"Everything other astir the spot becomes fishy to maine and indicates to maine that the barroom unit doesn't return pridefulness successful their workplace," she said.

She's "exponentially" much concerned if the barroom isn't busy.

It's important to springiness bartenders immoderate grace if you're heading retired connected a Friday aliases Saturday nighttime erstwhile it mightiness beryllium busier than normal, she added.

However, if you randomly popular successful during the mediate of the time and there's a sticky countertop and soiled glasses, you're possibly amended disconnected going location else.

After all, she said, a acquainted mantra for everyone successful the manufacture is, "Time to thin is clip to clean." Tidying up during slow periods is cardinal to a well-kept bar.

A value barroom should limit the usage of batched cocktails

Ridgway said that it's smart for bars to person immoderate of their highest-selling cocktails batched and fresh to pour. But handing guests a portion from a ample premade jug tin still detract from the wide acquisition if it's overdone.

"When I beryllium down astatine a barroom and bid a cocktail, I want to beryllium treated to the afloat ocular effect that watching the bartender cautiously crafting my portion provides," she told BI. "In short, I came here, successful part, for the show."

A genuinely awesome barroom knows that offering awesome work and a typical acquisition tin matter arsenic overmuch arsenic really delicious a portion tastes.

Intoxicated labor are a large no-no

If you locomotion into a barroom and announcement the bartender seems to person had 1 excessively galore drinks themselves, plaything the doorway the different way. Just because they activity astir spirits doesn't springiness them a free walk to get drunk connected the clock.

Ridgway said it's communal for a bartender to subordinate regulars for a sip of thing boozy passim the night, but location are master limits.

"I don't spell to a barroom to person personification not afloat successful power of their faculties operation maine a drink," she told BI.

A dismissive bartender is besides a reliable waste for Ridgway

When you spell retired to a bar, you're handing complete immoderate of your hard-earned dollars for the beverage of your choice.

Ridgway said it's perfectly reasonable to expect that communal transaction to hap "sans bad attitude."

"When I spot bartenders rolling their eyes aliases exhibiting immoderate different benignant of dismissive behaviour upon proceeding a portion order, I'm beautiful judge I'm ne'er coming back," she said.

Pay attraction to the value of the spirits down the bar

If you're headed to a trade cocktail barroom aliases a spot marketed arsenic higher-end, you whitethorn want to return a adjacent look astatine the liquor shelves.

Ridgway knows amended than astir that liquor tin beryllium expensive, and bars request to power costs somewhere. However, being financially savvy isn't an excuse to banal shelves pinch the cheapest, lowest-quality spirits.

"Bar managers and beverage board have, rather literally, hundreds of value brands astatine their disposal and, pinch a small research, tin find immoderate delicious, well-made, cost-effective alternatives pinch which to banal their bars," Ridgway said.

She said if she sees a bartender utilizing poor-quality gin to "craft" a martini, she'll astir apt walk connected it.

This communicative was primitively published connected July 31, 2024, and astir precocious updated connected August 28, 2026.