#bar trends

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Pubs vs Bars: Which Is Your Ideal Hangout?

Are you team pub or team bar? You are sinking into the comfort of a traditional pub. Alternatively, you are soaking up the buzz of a modern bar. This age-old debate has been dividing drinkers for generations. In this post, we’ll break down what makes pubs and bars unique. We will explore current trends shaping the industry. This will help you decide which suits your vibe. Let’s get started—cheers…

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[pubgoer]

Pubs vs Bars: Which Is Your Ideal Hangout?

Are you team pub or team bar? You are sinking into the comfort of a traditional pub. Alternatively, you are soaking up the buzz of a modern bar. This age-old debate has been dividing drinkers for generations. In this post, we’ll break down what makes pubs and bars unique. We will explore current trends shaping the industry. This will help you decide which suits your vibe. Let’s get started—cheers…

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Why French Onion Dip Is the Right Move for Your Super Bowl Party

Why French Onion Dip Is the Right Move for Your Super Bowl Party

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A FEW YEARS ago, I was at Musso & Frank Grill, the century-old Los Angeles steakhouse, with a group of fellow food writers. We’d come for Martinis and steaks, but the item we couldn’t get enough of—in fact, demanded multiple orders of—was an appetizer anyone sentient in the middle decades of the last century would recognize: cream-cheese-and-Roquefort-stuffed celery dotted with black…

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[gindmc]

One of the trends in the drinks industry that I’m most excited by at the moment is the ever-increasing richness of experiences that bars are building around their bars and their drinks lists. 

  As consumers feel the pinch of the current economic climate, it would have been easy for small to mid sized bars to admit defeat, blaming the recession for a reduction in their weekly takings. Thankfully, this hasn’t been the case and we’ve seen a number of outlets really step up their game, innovating their way to a genuine point of difference with consumers, that has encouraged them out from under the blanket of austerity to continue spending money in bars.

  We’ve seen a massive shift in the past 8 years from style bars towards bars with genuine substance- and this has been an absolute blessing for those seeking to establish new bars in these times of austerity. The focus has shifted from being seen to almost the opposite, with the rise of speakeasy style entrances and ever smaller, more intimate outlets being favored in the on trade.  Coupled to this, we’ve seen a massive increase in the use of vintage glassware, bartenders clad in bow ties and braces, Japanese hard shakes, and ever more specialized brands coming to the fore. Drinking in bars has become a more theatrical experience than it ever has been.

  Experiential marketing has exploded in the past five years across the UK – with more and more brands using ever more creative methods to connect with consumers. Whilst Brands have had some good ideas, inevitably they have to partner with outlets to acquire the expertise to execute them, and this has given birth to some of the most exciting drinks experiences in London in my mind. Bompas & Parr’s collaboration with Experimental Cocktail Club for the architectural Punch Bowl on the Roof of Selfridges is one that jumps to mind, and Bompas & Parr’s Breathable Hendrick's Gin.

  Whilst the recession bolstered alcohol sales in the off trade (people staying at home) to drink instead of going out – it also sparked a large investment from both the spirits companies and the larger retailers to promote the “at home” spirits serve. A quick flick through a supermarkets’ magazine shows just how much the “make your own seasonal cocktail” message is being pushed. Diageo’s World Class competition was extended from the on trade into the off trade under the banner “The Bartenders’ Choice”

  This phenomenon, as well as many other factors has forced bars to raise their game. In order to keep attracting consumers during the week and at the weekend, they need to be offering something vastly superior to what people can create for themselves at home.

  What I’m delighted to see is that the bars have responded, and raised the level of what is expected from a bar again. We’ve seen innovation in Ice, Glassware, Culinary inspired drinks, even styles of service. Others have added an extra dimension and have done this through design, with theatrical entrances greeting people from the street – The wonderful ECC Chinatown is a prime example where a bar has made the best of what could have been viewed as a tough selling point of the venue.  

  Bars like Purl with their theatrically inspired serves have lead the way, along with Nightjar with their intricate garnishes that look almost too good to be reproduced at volume, yet they are. Drinking in these outlets has become a real experience and the craft of the bartender has never been so celebrated.

   Worship St Whistling Shop with its sensory emporium and their Victorian inspired banquets have created quite a stir and Callooh Callay with their through the wardrobe entrance to the larger space and the Mayor of Scardey Cat Town – a bar entranced through a fridge of a Shoreditch Diner.

  What all these bars have done in very different ways is bring something extra to the drinking experience that they offer consumers. As well as excellent Drinks, food and service, these bars are like portals to another world: and perhaps this is the secret of their success?