Bar (local)

The traditional Harry's Bar in Venice

A bar in New Haven

A bar is a locality or gastronomic facility where primarily drinks are served.

Definitions

The word was borrowed in the 19th century from the English bar , which (like the old French word barre ) originally meant crossbar and later referred to a barrier consisting of several bars .

In a narrower sense, the term only describes the actual counter ( English : bar ; cf. Old High German bâri , 'carrying'), in front of which the guest either stands or sits on bar stools and where the drinks are prepared and consumed, as well as the corresponding shelves for Bottles and accessories ( bakeable ). The term “ house bar ” is sometimes only used for a private collection of spirits bottles . In a broader sense, the bar is understood to mean the entire restaurant in the sense of a gastronomic facility - so you can sit “ in a bar (local) at the bar (counter)”.

A classic form of the bar is the American bar , in which alcoholic drinks are offered in particular. For a long time, such bars were only found in larger hotels (hotel bars) in Europe , and also in upscale restaurants in the French region : there you can have an aperitif at the bar , especially if you are waiting for a table to become vacant, or a digestif .

It was only since the 1970s that independent bar businesses were increasingly establishing themselves as a catering concept. Most of them are only open in the evening and at night, but some are also open during the day. Depending on the orientation and region, special spirits or cocktails , or especially wine or beer, are offered, but only rarely elaborate dishes. In Mediterranean countries it usually refers to a small gastronomic establishment in which special coffee drinks are served, and can be found in almost every street in a city: There it is traditionally not customary to sit down longer to drink coffee (standing café) . Such espresso bars , which are now more like a café , are now around the world.

gallery

Examples of different types of bars:

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  Hotel bar in Switzerland

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  Beach bar in Uruguay

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  Bar in Scotland

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  U-boat shaped bar in St. Moritz

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  Typical retro bar in Berlin

literature

• Literature from and about bars in the catalog of the German National Library
• Flora Stickler (Ed.): Bar Lexicon - mixed drinks, bar customers, spirits. 6th edition, Trauner Verlag, Linz 2014, ISBN 978-3-85499-389-6 .
• Cihan Anadologlu: Bar Bible. Callwey Verlag, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-7667-2330-7 .
• Manfred Köhler: Rooftop Bars - roof bars and roof gardens worldwide. Patzer Verlag, Berlin / Hanover 2017, ISBN 978-3-87617-145-6 .
• Maurizio Maestrelli: Top secret, the coolest speakeasy bars in the world. Kunth Verlag, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-95504-689-7 .
• Jürgen Lijcops: 150 bars that you should have seen. Gerstenberg Verlag, Hildesheim 2019, ISBN 978-3-8369-2159-6 .

See also

• Lounge , resto-bar
• Pub , pub
• Juice bar , milk bar , bar mleczny
• barkeeper

Web links

Commons : Bars  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Duden "Etymologie": dictionary of origin of the German language . 2nd edition Dudenverlag Mannheim, Vienna, Zurich. 1989