10 Shady Bar Practices That Should Be On Your Radar

A bar can be the perfect spot to wind down with some drinks after work or meet up with friends on the weekend. When bars are great, they can make for the perfect third space to congregate or to simply be out on your own, safely. Unfortunately, when alcohol is in the mix, there have to be certain safety measures in place to keep everyone secure. You don't want people losing complete control over their actions and potentially harming others, and it's often up to the bar staff to keep their eyes on things. As a trained mixologist and someone who has bartending experience, I've witnessed a lot of shady behavior from customers. It's something that's expected at bars to a certain degree. The real problem is if the shady practices are coming from the bar management themselves.

In my experience, the work culture in a bar tends to be slightly more relaxed than that of a restaurant, where food safety and service are of the utmost importance. However, that doesn't mean that there shouldn't be strict rules about appropriate behavior and limits. As a customer, you want to have a tipple, with the trust that the bartenders have the customers' interests at heart. Keep your eye out for these shady bar practices before you let go and have fun.

There's no denying that people go to bars to drink alcohol. Of course, there are exceptions and not everyone may partake, but for the most part, most people are there to indulge in a boozy beverage and maybe let loose. This is all perfectly expected, and it's how many fun bar memories are made (or lost, if I'm being honest). In truth, it's what any bar establishment would want you to do, since it's how they make their money. However, there's a danger when the pressure to drink is coming from the staff. In my experience, this isn't as rare as you might think; staff at popular bars can be more pushy than you'd like. The bar staff appear as soon as the drinks are empty and keep asking you for your next order. Or, they keep encouraging people to do shots.

This can seem like a harmless sales tactic, but the fact that it's alcohol they're selling makes it a little more ethically murky. While people may set limits for drinks, control can become lost the more you drink, and having an external party that keeps trying to upsell you doesn't help. Not only will your bank account take a hit, but getting too drunk can cause other poor decisions or put you in harm's way, especially if you don't have the right people with you to look after you.

There's nothing quite like a well-made cocktail to set you up for a good night on the town. Cocktail menus can range from the very classic old faithfuls to the trendy and unique concoctions that mixologists come up with. Regardless of the range on offer, the menu should always include a list of what's in each cocktail. Not only does it help you choose a drink based on what you like, but you can know exactly what you're ordering so that you can keep track of your consumption and verify that your bartender is making it with the right ingredients. A list of ingredients can also help you see if the bar is using syrups instead of fresh fruit, or simply if the martini is vodka or gin-based.

If the bar you're visiting doesn't have a full menu, you'll have to ask and trust the knowledge of the staff, instead of having all the information in your hands. While it's not always a tell-tale sign of something shady going on, it can be a way that bars get away with inconsistent drink-making and using substitutions without transparency. This can be more forgivable at the corner dive bar that's not known for its cocktails (where you shouldn't really be ordering cocktails anyway), but should never be the case at a cocktail bar.

Inflation has hit everything in recent years, and it can be a shock to see how much cocktail prices have gone up. It's hard to find an affordable cocktail these days, but some establishments have taken things a bit too far. Swanky cocktail bars have always been pricey, but some places take it to new heights. Perhaps you're paying for a beautiful view or a trendy venue, but the drink itself can at times be marked up way too high. Now, if the quality of the cocktail matches the high price tag, then it's acceptable, but if it isn't, it can reflect poorly on the bar. 

From what I've seen first-hand, a bar may raise its prices beyond what inflation calls for to mimic the prices of the other bars in the area. But if the other bars were offering a better product to begin with, matching prices without changing anything in what they're serving is an unfair markup.

There are some shady restaurant practices that one can also find at a bar, like using an elaborate presentation to distract you from a mediocre dish or drink. Although there's the old adage that you "eat with your eyes first," but it doesn't always mean that a pretty thing tastes good. The same is true for drinks at a bar. Bars everywhere have upped their presentation game for drinks, but sometimes they use gimmicks that look impressive to cover up for less-than-impressive drinks.

Not all booze is created equal, and you want to make sure these gimmicks aren't distracting you. These showy presentations can be covering up bottom-shelf products — on your dime. So remember, just because a cocktail has smoky, dry ice haze around it, or something is on fire, doesn't always mean that it's a quality product. It's best to ask your bartender what brands are being used and see for yourself.

It's not super easy to open your own bar, and there are plenty of regulations you need to follow in order to do so. These policies are usually meant to protect communities, and while they may differ from state to state, you should expect any bar you go to to follow them. The opening and closing times are part of that, and while it can be annoying to be told to go home when you're having the best night out, it's a good sign that the bar is following the rules. 

Bars that stay open later than they should are often pushing the limits of the law to keep making money. If this is their attitude toward the law, then it can be a sign of shady practices. If they're breaking this rule, it can be an indication that they might be breaking other rules, too. If you find yourself at a bar beyond the legal time, it's probably best to find another watering hole to frequent.

Most of us would prefer our drinks to be made on the spot when drinking at a bar. The idea of a pre-mixed drink isn't that appealing. In my experience working behind the bar, pre-mixed drinks aren't as uncommon as you think. A bar might pre-mix their cocktails because it saves a lot of time, especially if the bar is super busy. However, this only works if the ingredients are shelf-stable, and this is where bars can get it wrong. After all, there's nothing worse than sipping on a sour piña colada because it had been made ahead of time. 

In my opinion, bars that pre-mix drinks are usually understaffed. When a bar has enough bartenders to meet the demand, there's usually no reason to make pre-mixed drinks. A much worse offense is using a wholesale, mixed drink product instead of mixing the drinks themselves. Customers go to bars for the experience as much as for the drink, and watching a bartender make your drink can be part of the allure. If I wanted to drink pre-mixed drinks or canned cocktails, I would have gotten some from Trader Joe's and stayed home.

Many bars have policies on serving visibly inebriated customers. If someone looks like they're on the brink of passing out or starting to become unruly, there's usually an unspoken agreement among the servers that they won't serve them any more alcoholic drinks. However, if a bar isn't doing this, and serving people no matter the circumstances, then they likely only care about their bottom line, and not the safety of their customers (or staff).

Some people might keep spending on drinks on an open tab when they're beyond drunk, and while this is good for the bar's profit, it is hugely detrimental to the customer. While it may even be upsetting to the drunk customer to be denied a drink, it will be for everyone's best interest that they are. If you're at a bar and you see the staff continue to take orders from people who are showing signs of extreme inebriation, then that's not going to be the safest environment for anyone.

In terms of the general rules of service, there shouldn't really be favorites or those who receive special treatment. The reality can be quite different. Servers may all have their personal attitudes and biases towards certain clientele, and may give a little extra attention to the customers that they know will tip them highly. I've observed this practice first-hand and seen how it can lead to poor service and low satisfaction from other customers.

Whether they tip highly or poorly, everyone should receive a similar level of service. When bars don't have a culture of equal treatment towards their customers, it can also open up space for different prejudices to come out too. It's a slippery slope and not one that should be accepted, especially in a place that's meant to be a meeting point for people to enjoy themselves.

Bar staff should always attend to customers who are bothering other people. This can mean different things, but can include anything from an intoxicated person who is picking fights to patrons harassing one another. These types of customers not only ruin the night for everyone else, but they can be dangerous. Staff should keep an eye out for this behavior and immediately deal with it. If there's a bouncer, usually they will come and remove someone, but if not, staff should ask them to leave and even call the police if necessary.

If you're at a bar where the staff is actively ignoring customers who are harassing others, this isn't the type of environment you want to be in. Staff may be reluctant to cause an upset or may want to avoid a confrontation, but this indicates that it's not a bar that has sufficient safety standards. Not swiftly dealing with aggressive people can lead to escalated and even violent incidents.

One place where bars can be really shady is by not enforcing standard ID checks for everyone. This not only allows underage drinking, but a bar can be shady enough that it might even encourage it. This isn't just about making money, but there is an even more twisted side if staff are more lax toward underage women than underage men. Underage drinking can promote a culture of predatory behavior and should be reported to authorities immediately.

Even if you, as a customer, are sympathetic to your younger self who tried to get into bars before you were of legal age, it's important to understand that it's not a safe practice. Plus, if the bar is lax about underage drinking, what else may be going on behind the scenes?