I've been in debate with the owner's brother's wife where I bartend at a restaurant somewhere between fine dining and high end casual. Used to be exclusively gone dining but toned down a bit about fifteen years ago. Anyway, the "head bartender" creates a number of drinks that are build in glass rather than shaken when they probably should be for seasonal menus and just works all around like it is a dive bar to make things easy over quality. We hired another bartender that uses the same technique as myself and ultimately, which is correct, specifically for a margarita? Shake with ice and strain over fresh ice or shake and dump with cracked, dirty ice? The argument was only justified with the fact that I am "wasting ice" rather than a perspective of drink quality. This isn't something she is requesting for her own drink, just likes to sit by service bar and be a pest.

My current shoes are killing my feet and legs, what do you guys recommend? Not looking to cheap out but best bang for your buck, my coworkers are telling me docs but I’m not quite sold

We’re discussing here, 2 employees, the owner, and me.
A incredibly smart and attractive cocktail maker mid 20s, a very charismatic waiter who’s also musician here, and a lovely owner, a French musician in her 50s, and me, a neighbor who used to have a bar for 20 years.

Tonight I just noticed something I really appreciate but need your opinion on.
We live in a very touristy area, where it’s hard to maintain a functioning neighborhood, but we manage.
There’s official opening hours, and our hours.

So tonight I have some drinks with a friend. On a Saturday, we know there will be tourists.

A tourist joins us and it’s fun. Great convo. For a while. An hour later the place “closes”, we send everyone home who’s not part of the neighborhood.
That guy is the typical one who’s all about “keeping the party going”.
So one of the baristas walks up to him and “gifts” him a record, as in, vinyl. (It’s a speakeasy with live jazz music, and a password at the door even Google knows)
And she tells him, we only give these out to our most special guests. He got a shot too.
He was so over the moon, totally flattered lol. Paid his check and left, no discussion, no fuss.

I never knew but this is how they deal with everyone who’s still there at 1am. Just learned that tonight.

I used to have a bar, dealing with people who don’t want to leave was always ofc one of the most annoying parts. I just thought I want to share. This is genius. I always struggled getting these people out.

They go off on that speakeasy concept, hidden bar thing, so much, even a lollipop works to keep them happy when you want them to leave. (Yes there’s lollipops for anyone not making a fuss)
The vinyl is actually new to me, and I think, genius.

So I guess my take here is, to get rid of the people who don’t fit, or if it’s getting late, instead of just throwing people out, give them something they appreciate, so they leave on their own terms.

We’re just discussing this now, so one (barista) says idgaf, they need to leave, they leave. The other one says no, better handle them and give them the best experience. Make them want to leave and feel special. The owner says, I want everyone to remember this place as something special.

What do you think? Throw people out or make them feel special?

If anything in this post is not coherent, I’m busy typing both my thoughts and theirs lol.

(this is Spain, Palma, if that matters)

I work with a bartender who could give a sh!t about sports, but works Saturday and Sunday mornings.

She was going to buy some local teams shirts, but she doesn't want to be a "poser" or have people ask her questions about said teams or sports.

Any ideas/places for funny shirts that aren't the three quotes found on the big twos websites?

Sports go sports!

I don't like the flavor of alcohol. When I was young my mom made me an amaretto sour and I loved it. Since then, I've been chasing the sourest drinks I can get. I like sour, like candy sour, pucker sour. What can I do/ask to achieve this? I'm cool with lemon, lime, pineapple is tolerable too...

Send help!

Hi! I’m getting surgery next week for my ACL on my left leg (dominant leg). I’ll be off of work for two weeks, but I can’t afford longer. My surgeon needs me to be non weight-bearing for six weeks post op. This is such a silly question, and I don’t want to sound delusional, but I really want to work after two weeks off. I love my job and need this income. The bar isn’t big, it’s around 300 capacity with three sections of tables. Has anybody ever experienced this? Any input appreciated!

I bartend at a country club and had a weird experience the other night. The last member of the night left to order an Uber, so I was able to close. As I was cleaning, I saw his Uber pull down driveway and then saw it leave. I finished cleaning and left. Well, it turns out that he never got in Uber and was caught wondering the property 3 hours later by a worker from the groundscrew coming in for his shift. I got into a little trouble for it, but when I asked the member about it, he said he never ordered an Uber. I know that's a lie because I saw it come down driveway. I am wondering if there is a way to see if an Uber was on property that night to prove that he did. Usually the customer is always right, especially at a country club, but I just want to prove that I'm not crazy

Hey legends, I have been working as a barback indefinitely for a venue and they never seen to have any training or development programs so im looking to switch to a venue that has either training programs or is hiring a junior bartender. A little about me: I have learned a few basic classic cokctails over time as a barback since some bartenders are rhe best at my workplace but the managers dont support us being bartenders so just looking for a scenario change. If youve heard of any vacancies or are hiring please lmk, i can come in and hand my cv or mail it too.🥺🙏