Bar (counter)

Bar (counter)

A bar is the counter at which drinks are mixed by a bartender, mainly in hotels, taverns, and pubs. This term is applied as a synecdoche to drinking establishments called bars. Bars may also be found in restaurants, private homes, offices, and cruise ships.

Bars typically store a variety of liquors and other nonalcoholic drink ingredients, and are organized to facilitate the bartenders' efficiency. They may also have areas for the storage of snack foods.

It has been suggested that the method of serving from a counter was invented by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the great Victorian engineer, as a means of more quickly serving the sudden rush of customers caused by passenger trains arriving at the refreshment rooms at Swindon railway station while the Great Western Railway trains changed locomotives. It has also been claimed that the first bar to serve alcohol was installed at the Great Western Hotel on Paddington station, London. However, the word "bar" in this context was in already use by 1837 at the latest, [According to the [http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50017420?query_type=word&queryword=bar&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&search_id=iNd1-DWvIeV-4482&result_place=2 Oxford English Dictionary] ] before opening of Swindon railway station in 1842 and the construction of the Great Western Hotel in 1851.

Counters for serving other types of food and drink are sometimes also called bars. Examples include salad bars, sushi bars, and sundae bars.

ee also

*Soda gun
*Wet bar

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Counter service — is a form of service in restaurants, pubs, and bars where food or drinks are ordered at the counter. Counter service is also called bar service in the case of pubs and bars where the counter is also called the bar. Counter service is compared… …   Wikipedia

  • Bar — may refer to:* A rod/stick, pole, or handrail made of structural steel ** Grab bar ** Rebar * an ingot or gold bar * Bar (diacritic), a line through a letter used as a diacritic * Bar (establishment), a retail establishment which serves alcoholic …   Wikipedia

  • Bar (establishment) — A bar in Switzerland. A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails for consumption on the premises.[1] Bars provide stools or chairs that are place …   Wikipedia

  • counter — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun 1 long flat surface ADJECTIVE ▪ checkout (AmE), post office (BrE), shop (esp. BrE), store (AmE) ▪ There was a line of people waiting at the checkout counter. ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • Counter (disambiguation) — For edit counters on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:WikiProject edit counters. Counter may refer to: Counterattack, an attack intended to curtail an enemy attack. Countermeasure Countertop, a flat surface or worktop, possibly in a kitchen, shop, or… …   Wikipedia

  • bar — I n. counter or place where drinks are sold 1) to manage, operate, run a bar 2) to stop at a bar (on the way home); to drink at the bar; to drop into a bar 3) a cash (AE); cocktail; coffee (BE); gay; open ( free ); public (BE); salad; saloon… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • Counter (furniture) — A counter combined with an aquarium at a take out shop (Thailand) Check out counter is furniture for servicing customers, consisting of a table that divides the seller s and buyer s space. Goods are put onto this table for counting and accounting …   Wikipedia

  • Bar — (b[aum]r), n. [OE. barre, F. barre, fr. LL. barra, W. bar the branch of a tree, bar, baren branch, Gael. & Ir. barra bar. [root]91.] 1. A piece of wood, metal, or other material, long in proportion to its breadth or thickness, used as a lever and …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bar shoe — Bar Bar (b[aum]r), n. [OE. barre, F. barre, fr. LL. barra, W. bar the branch of a tree, bar, baren branch, Gael. & Ir. barra bar. [root]91.] 1. A piece of wood, metal, or other material, long in proportion to its breadth or thickness, used as a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bar shot — Bar Bar (b[aum]r), n. [OE. barre, F. barre, fr. LL. barra, W. bar the branch of a tree, bar, baren branch, Gael. & Ir. barra bar. [root]91.] 1. A piece of wood, metal, or other material, long in proportion to its breadth or thickness, used as a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”