There’s a texture and a language British pubs that never get’s expressed very often, a culture around ordering a drink that might be very alien to someone from another country. You must attract the attention of the barman without making any sound or waving cash at him, never ever jump the invisible queue at the bar for example. No one is allowed to complain about the slow service unless they’re a regular, non-regular’s who try this will end up very sober and very thirsty. You know that if you don’t buy your round it won’t get mentioned, but your friends will be talking about it when you’re not there. By the way, I wonder if there’s a new convention developing now that more and more smokers have to go outside for a cigarette?
4 responses to “Drinking rules”
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Its an unwritten rule of a good bartender that you look in the eye the next person you are going to serve so they get ready to order without getting impatient.
Next time you go to a bar see if they do it.LikeLike
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Funnily enough I was thinking this very thought when negotiating London’s most challenging pub, The Cheshire Cheese, last Friday.
For those not in the know, the CC is a very, very old pub (rebuilt in 1667… I love the way that word’s applied on their sign) on several levels.
It takes about 10 minutes to get down to the tiny basement bar. It’s striking how tolerant the crowds are when squeezing through them, as is the unspoken pub etiquette, without which there’d be claustrophobia-driven rioting.LikeLike
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Agree with Rob.
Alternatively, if you’re a girl and the bartender is male, hike your chest up and out. Works for me.
Or, for either sex, just try smiling at them. No one else seems to.LikeLike
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Women rule the world, not fair
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