The major difference between a bar and a pub is that bar is a direct business establishment that provides alcoholic beverages for the local place, whereas a pub is usually a place where people come to eat, drink, enjoy music, and hang out.
The word “Bar” originated from the place where the bartenders are appointed to serve the drink to people; on the other hand, the word “Pub” originated from a penthouse or beer house.
Bar and pub are different in many ways, but people often get confused while using these terms. They can be differentiated based on the things they serve to their customers, moreover their location, sitting arrangements, and music.
The bar mainly serves a vast range of alcohol, including beer, rum, wine, mocktail, and cocktail. However, the food served by the bar does not have very much variety. It simply includes some appetizers and other food options without very much variety. On the other hand, the pub offers a vast range of alcohol, including wines, and beers, and also serves sprite and other soft drinks. The food served by the pub has great variety. Pubs are usually constructed near offices and other working locations. People come there to eat, drink and enjoy their time. The location of the pub, also makes it more attractive.
What is a Bar?
A bar is defined as a place that mainly serves alcohol. The main purpose of the bar is to provide their customers with a variety of alcohol to meet their desires as it serves a limited type of things and is a specialized business, so it also limits the customers that could get served.
There are the following points that help you to understand the bar:
Food and Drinks Served
The bar contains a huge variety of alcohol. And people specifically come to bar for drinking alcohol. And the food served by the bar does not have very much variety and taste. It mainly serves the food in the form of appetizers and snacks such as peanuts just to make the taste of alcohol better. It does not serve food to have a full meal.
About the Drinks
As previously explained, the bar is all about alcohol and drinks, so it matters a lot what they are serving as alcohol. As the primary purpose of the bar is to serve alcohol, so it’s their responsibility to entertain the customers with the best quality, including drinks from wine to beer standard vodka to old rum and whiskey. They also include some amazing cocktails to widen their variety. For example, pizza hut is expected to serve a vast variety of good pizzas because its name says. Similarly, it goes with bars as a bar are mainly established for serving alcohol.
About the Customers
Bars can attract only specific types of audiences and have certain limits for them. It depends upon the types of bars. Many types of bars present serve only a specific part of the community. These types include a gay bar, ladies bars, biker bars, etc., so with a bar, you can also target only a specific type of community and can be limited to them.
All about the atmosphere
It is easy to distinguish differences between bars and pubs only by observing the atmosphere of the place. There is an atmosphere of the party in the bar accompanied by loud music, dance, and a crazy crowd. People often go to the bar to have fun and part of enjoy their time.
Age Limit
As in many countries, there is an age limit for drinking alcohol. People below this age are not allowed to serve with alcohol as the bar is all about alcohol utilization, so there must be an age limit for the people in the bar. The age limit may range from 18 to 21 or above.
Advantage of Bar
- The bar can provide you with a spot to increase your creativity. As the bar serves different varieties of cocktails, it provides you the opportunity to use your wisdom and creativity to enhance the variety.
- You can run a bar by your own means and even can name it whatever you want, and more specifically, you can also precisely the type of crowd you want.
- The bar can also provide you with remarkable profit depending upon the popularity and variety served at your bar.
Disadvantages of Bar
- It would help if you had a huge investment before opening the bar, and you have to pay for authorized an area
- It is very usual to work late at bars. You will have to spend the whole evening at the bar and even need to show up on Sunday and Saturday.
- There is huge competition in the market as there are many varieties of bars available. You have to maintain your quality standard very high in order to compete with others.
What is a Pub?
The pub is a drinking initiation connected with Ireland, Australia, Britain, Newfoundland, and New Zealand. The word “pub” originated from a public house. A pub is a place where drinks and food are served. The pub serves a variety of drinks, including beer and wine. The fact that differentiates it from a bar is that it also serves a variety of good food.
There are the following points that can help to understand the Pub:
Food and Drink Served
A pub is more or less like a restaurant where food is served with a great variety of alcohol. At the pub, food is not only served as an appetizer or snack to make the taste of alcohol better but an actual meal is served. It ranges from snacks and appetizers to full meals and desserts along with alcohol.
About the drinks
As a pub, it is considered a classy place to visit, eat, and drink. It does have to be anxious about the drinks they serve. To keep the customer happy, a simple variety of wine, rum, and whiskey is enough.
About the Customers
Pubs are not specific for some parts of the community, but people can go to a pub. They are available for anybody and everybody.
All about the Atmosphere
As compared to bar pub is a quieter place. People come here to enjoy their drinks and good food. However, soothing music can be accompanied to make the atmosphere more beautiful and reliable.
Advantages of Pub
- It does not require a huge investment to open a pub. It depends upon the location of the pub and the choice of the pub.
- The pub is also a source of social networking. It provides you the ease of approaching people and society in a better way.
- You can run a pub according to your own will.
- There are huge options for the menu, so you can choose the menu that suits you the best for business.
Disadvantages of Pub
- It would help if you had a good awareness of your customers and customer service to handle the situations
- You have to give your time and attention to your business.
- As the pub also serves actual meals, it increases the landlord’s responsibility to maintain quality standards.
Comparison Chart Between Bar and Pub
| Basis for comparison | Bar | Pub |
| Food served | The small menu only serves appetizers and snacks. | The menu is vast, ranging from snacks and appetizers to full meals and desserts |
| Alcohol served | It serves a huge variety of alcohol, beer, wine, rum, cocktail, and mocktail | It usually serves wine and beer to keep it classy. |
| owners | The owner of the bar is called as bar manager | While the owner or the manager of the pub is called a landlord. |
| Age limit | The age limit ranges from 18 to 21. Below that age is not allowed. | As pubs also serve food, minors are also allowed in the pub; however, they may not be served alcohol. |
| Atmosphere | A club is a place where people come to enjoy, party, dance, and drink. So loud music is played in the bar. | A pub is a comparably quiet place than the club. A piece of nice soothing music may be played to entertain the customers. |
| Types | There are a variety of bars, including gay bars, bikers bars, karaoke bars, cop bars, etc. | However, the pub is available to any person and is open to everybody. |
Conclusion
It’s up to you whether you want to run a pub or bar. However, you need to analyze the pros and cons of bars and pubs carefully. Usually, even customers do not know the difference between these two terms, but with good knowledge and information, you can easily determine your decision about the business model and can run a bar or club easily and successfully.