frank kogan needs to know the diff between a pub and a bar

A 'vibe' eh? Interesting. All Bar One is definitely ruled out then.

That is all.

I expect pubs to sell cider, real ale and stout. I expect bars to sell brightly coloured synthetic alcopops.

Much of this will change too when the licencing laws change. Student bars are bars by the above definition because that is how the define themselves (though they would have more physically in common some times with pubs).

English pubs tend to be more loungey than Irish ones in my experience.

Pete this thread is a wake-up call to those of us who have neglected the publog. (ie everyone but you Tim and Starry)

Man, I love that pub and I ain't been there in two years nearly. I need to go back.

BTW, pub = The Charles Bradlaugh in Northampton.

Booths are fantastic for small groups - you can sit and scheme cosily surrounded by the mighty oak (or facsimile thereof). Useless for more than about 5 people though.

The Shakespeare at Victoria Station used to have a CAVE underneath with booths (I think it was the shakespeare).

If only that were still the case.

ie, there is no difference

End of debate.

*this threshold may go up in central London.
**unless it's happy hour or student night or some bollocks.

oh i dunno.

i think what suzy calls "feminised pubs" are the cursed middle here viz ALL BAR ONE (which is fine for eg office xmas lunch)

The other think they all have in common is the light wood - so they could be called pined & wined pubs.

Ricky T has an important point here. One important difference between pubs and bars which is fast disappearing is that bars are all one room whereas pubs, traditionally, were separated into the Saloon and Public Bar. Even though the divides have been knocked down in lots of pubs, many still have separate rooms for playing pool ect ect. Bars may have alcoves, but are rarely if ever have separate rooms.

"On tap" isn't the important thing, it's what comes out of the taps. And whether it is refrigerated or not.

If the person in charge is referred to as the landlady or landlord, it's a pub. If they have a dog, it's a pub. If the sign comes out of the wall at right-angles and it's suspended from a wrought iron structure or it is on a separate post outside, it's a pub.

What about taverns?

My sister is a bartender and waitress at a bar/short order grill three blocks from her house which some ilXors have even been to drink/eat at (see Minnesota thread). It has regular, local customers (inc. one pro US football coach) who are in there a few times each week, know the names of bar staff, and don't go anywhere else in the area for a quick drink.

My dad, for years, was manager of 'sports bar' full of regular, known-to-staff-by-name guys who participated in the bar's softball team, which went to play other teams from other area bars also comprised of locals (sports bar locals are alwayus the guys who were jocks in school, long since retired to armchair sports, like my dad the 300-lb former Junior Olympics athlete).

A local bar in the US will have a few different beers on tap and burgerish food is served with fries in those plastic baskets lined with wax paper. In fact, 'local' rule of thumb for the US is whether or not the bar exhibits some kind of Burger Pride.

Frank: a 'tavern' is a local bar in Wisconsin.