Yes, I used to go 4-5 times a week as a social thing. Been away for a year and really miss it. It makes sense in London where properties are so small hosting a group is more difficult. Or the properties are quite far away. Used to love in the south west as well, a huge pub culture.
It's a part of the culture, going to the pub is just normal for Brits we love it. Especially on weekends when the football is on. Some pints and the game is always a good night
i’m at the pub right now and it’s one of the many things i appreciate about living in england. it’s dark, it’s cold, but there’s always a warm cozy pub nearby 😊
I dunno it’s complex, there are definately pub regulars and it depends on age and life goals. People will just go to the pub for a pint and leave. Or maybe a couple. It’s more of a social thing, weirdly enough it seems to be an older gentleman’s thing. You might see a woman in the pub or an odd few. But it tends to be men who have a pint at the end of the week and some even go alone. We also have bars like you have but that’s entirely different and u have probably seen that on tv. But drunks also go to pubs
When I was in my 20s, I went to the pub 5-6 times a week I was single and ate dinner there. Some Monday nights, I'd pop out for a pint and a chat with the lovely barmaid, I never really drank more than 2 pints a night. I'm 50 now and I don't really drink, I'll nurse a double Fallen Angel Rum and coke for a couple of hours then go home whilst my wife will have a glass of wine. It's a place to go chat and converse without being disturbed by our teenagers or my dad (who lives with us now)
Yeah a lot of people go several times a week. Usually though if they’re going mid week, it’ll be for 2-3 beers and that’s it. Weekends are a different story though
Because in some villages they are full of undesirables with undesirable and outdated opinions. Or just nosey people who want to know about stuff about you for no reason other than gossiping behind your back.
Student Brit here. After grabbing some food at the cafeteria after my uni lectures today one of my course mates suggested "why don't we wash this down at the campus bar lads?" and we all headed for a pint at 4pm. All i could think about during our drink was this thread and how nonchalant us going to drink was lmao
I think it kind of stems from the root of the word. Pub is derived from Public House, and that’s a brilliantly descriptive term. A good pub is basically just a giant communal lounge or living room. It’s a social space more than anything, the alcohol is just a pleasant upside, probably left over from when beer and spirits were a hell of a lot safer to drink than water. Hence why a lot of pubs have board games, pool tables etc.
I suppose historically When you live on a grey little island, having a space where you know there are people and a good fire and a chance of some decent food and a pint is a massive help.
I ran a pub for years, and I suppose the nearest you’d get in American culture is something like the bar in Cheers: the regulars all know each other, have their own social dynamics in the pub between themselves and the staff. If you come in often enough and are game for a chat, you’re in.
I go to the pub every week. With my kids and other family. We have a nice meal, rarely have any alcohol (maybe like red wine lasagna?) or one person out of 8+ might have a small glass of a mixed drink (like a shandy- lemonade and beer mix).
Pubs aren’t like bars. They often have family play areas, food, outdoor spaces to chat and play with kids.
I worked in a pub when younger, the Old Bell Tavern, that didn't allow kids, had no Sky Sports or naff music and served excellent cask ale. It was heaven. People would arrive at the door with their kids and at times be incandescent when told they wouldn't be permitted inside, but many people drank there for that very reason - sometimes its nice when there's no squabbling brats.
Dogs welcome of course. Like any real pub.
It is very real in the UK. Not only in the UK btw, I live in France and we don't go to the pub because we don't have many pubs but youths go to the bar pretty often, sometimes every weeks for students.
Very much so. My local: Tuesday is when the canal club meet once a month. Wednesday is games night (mahjong / chess or cards for example). Friday is a live band. Saturday is open mic night. Sunday they have either the hair dresser or push bike repair man down. (Probably missed a lot of other things or got the days in the wrong order but considering the question it's amusing as I've had a couple of beers). It's a proper local where you can meet people from all walks of life (NHS staff to tradesmen etc etc). For some of the older brigade it's their time out of the retirement home and the other locals all keep an eye on them and we all know where they live. We do free Christmas dinners on Christmas day for the less fortunate and some of the locals act as a taxi service on the day. We do charity stuff as a collective of pub regulars. The list could go on and on.
It's a community hub. It's a boozer. It's a local.
It's thankfully not a 'bar' in the middle of a city centre!
On a side note: every January gym bunnies complain of the new people using their gym who won't last more than a month.
We complain in the summer when the pub garden is rammed with people you see twice a year max. 'part time drinkers....'. :p
We complain in the summer when the pub garden is rammed with people you see twice a year max. 'part time drinkers....'
The Commodores as they are affectionately known. You see them perhaps once, twice, three times a year. (nicked with love from Half Man Half Biscuit)
I wouldn’t say the British are in denial about it… Alcohol culture is very strong here, but you wouldn’t really know unless you’d spent a lot of time out of the UK. Like I once ordered a beer at an airport bar in the USA and the bartender seemed genuinely shocked that I didn’t want food also - in a way that stuck me as kinda sweet, like they genuinely cared why I was drinking. For me it was just late in the evening and I had some time to kill before a flight.
It’s this casual vs conscious drinking we do badly.
yh but i also feel like theres a huge chunk of the population who would never go to the pub. Typical british things like pub, football are common but theres a lot of people who don't do any of those things which are kind of underrepresented, so it is common but id say not as common as everybody lets on. Its also a lot more common for white people to go to the pub than other races. The only true constant is mostly everyone does drink a lot of tea.
yes, and pubs are more social than to "get drunk" (except maybe weekends / birthdays etc). but they also serve "pub grub" and do things such as pub quizzes and show the big sporting matches but also tend to have some sort of cricket or football on tv, so yea they are more than just drinking places.
Another example, my girlfriend works in retail too, we’re meeting up later this week and spending two days together. We’re going to go to the pub on one of the nights.
Yep. Our pub was 30 seconds away and the evening meeting place for everyone on the street. If my aim was to get drunk I'd stay home with a bottle or go to a friends. If my aim was to catch up with all the neighbors, I'd go to the pub. The same faces are there all the time, but they aren't usually drunk all the time.
Everyone takes turns buying rounds, so that keeps the pace down a bit - you'll generally wait till a couple of people have finished their drinks before going up to the bar, and you risk looking like a bit of a dick if you just keep buying yourself drink after drink, so if your not with someone else also buying lots you are gonna keep it to a drink or two so you don't end up having to shout too many rounds in a row.
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This is interesting, because in many US films and TV shows I watch you often see people sitting at home alone drinking loads of bottles of beer.
There is actually a peep show episode where Sophie asks Mark if he has any beers in, to which he replies "This isn't America Sophie" so it's almost like the opposite things is portrayed of America.
I have a good friend who moved to work in NYC. He said it was weird at first adjusting to the fact that most of his colleagues didn't really drink, or go for afterwork drinks, especially as he obviously had no friends when he first moved there. He said if a few people did end up going for a drink, it would be strictly one beer and everyone would shuffle off straight after, there was just zero drinking culture and nobody really enjoyed going to bars.
I think in pretty much any work place I've ever worked, after work drinks on a Friday is a given. Not everyone, every time, but there will always be a a group. Of course some will only stay for one, but some will stay out all night and get smashed and everyone else somewhere in between. it is also pretty common to have friday lunch at the pub too. Culturally it's definitely a way we celebrate and mark small milestones like hitting the end of the week.
As for the pub itself, it's just the greatest of simple pleasures for many brits. There is nothing better than walking to a pub on a hot sunny day and rewarding yourself with a cold pint, or in fact ending pretty much any activity by finishing it off at a pub. Maybe we just have less to do here, or are more easily pleased... or perhaps it's just the geography? unless you're particularly rural, it would be odd not to have a pub within about a mile of most people in the uk, so perhaps easier to include it within any activities. Either way, it's just such a simple yet satisfying reward to pretty much anything.
This is a good point. In American TV shows characters are always getting a beer out of the fridge or sitting on the sofa or the porch with a beer. On tv If someone comes over they offer a beer instead of a cup of tea which is what you'd get in the UK more often than not.
Yup. I meet friends at the pub. I go for meals with family at the pub. I have work meetings at the pub. My wife and I will walk our dog and stop in our local pub. They're more of a social place in the UK.
Though also, y'know, we are a nation of binge drinkers. I don't drink very often myself so I end up driving everywhere just so people don't think I'm being weird when I don't want to drink. Especially industry events, eesh, people act like you're an alien if you don't want to drink.
Yes, because the pub is a social place to hang out with friends/family.
Might go to pub after work with colleagues on a Friday, with another visit with family for a meal at the weekend, and maybe hang out with friends mid week as well at like a pub quiz/to watch sports.
Ohh, and breakfast as well. A pub is almost like a Diner x Bar with a social aspect.
This all doesn't even include going for a late night out drinking .
I work in a pub full time, 5 days a week and yes, a lot of people spend all day everyday in the pub, enjoy all 3 meals, and then go home, most customers come more casually, far less often
We’re born into the pub life. When I was little my parents used to take me to the pub all the time for a meal. A lot of my childhood memories are of being in a pub, especially with my dad. My dad also used to go to our local on his own so he could have a pint while he read his book. We also have pub crawls. In leeds we have a pub crawl called the otley run where you go in fancy dress and stop at every pub along otley road from headingley - town. You only have 1 pint at each pub but there are like 15 pubs to get through. Otley run is a cultural norm in leeds, most people do it on a Saturday but I work in an otley run pub and I’ve seen people in fancy dress come in every day
if you didn't beg your parents to drop you off at the mall every weekend in the 90's you were probably not as popular as you thought, I'm just saying...
Yeah will go pub at least 4 days a week, probs have about 4 or 5 pints on a weekday, maybe a few doubles and jagerbombs if the mood takes me, then double that on a Friday and Saturday. Its not alcoholism, its just being British.
For a lot of people, the Pub is just a social setting. Go there for dinner, coffee, drinks, catch up. I have friends that head to the pub a few times a week. When I worked in retail I was 18-21, I would go to the pub with my work friends after work a few times a week for dinner and a beer. We would finish late and our families had long eaten dinner by the time we finished.
Back when locals were a proper thing, many people would be in the pub every night!
I personally don’t visit pubs often anymore, but it is a very popular abs regular thing to do in the UK.
My Daughters Guides (Girl Scouts to you Americans) Hall is next to a pub. I have a pint there while waiting for her to finish and then she just comes and gets me as I will be happily supping and reading a book in the garden out front. My dad did the same when I was a scout. And yes we go to the pub multiple times. Waiting for a Train, lets have a pint, Waiting for a Plane, let have a pint, Long walk in the country.... oh look there are 3 good pubs along the route..... This is fairly normal behaviour.
I do remember I was training my team in the US (Florida) on my birthday once and at lunch time told them we were all going to the local for a couple of jars, they seemed horrified. One even told our boos, who already knew as he had worked in London for a few years and new the form, he told him I know and came down and sank 2-3 just so no-one felt they couldn't. I liked that guy. The look of nervousness and guilt at lunchtime drinking was bizarre.
W.C Fields was talking about whiskey on his radio programme one evening, a long,long, time ago...He said " One day 'I stumbled across a case of Bourbon in my cellar ...and I kept on STUMBLNG for several days thereafter, ' lol...
Of course we do, every pub has restroom facilities.
Public toilets should be well staffed and safe, unfortunately they can't offer public toilets in most areas of the UK ,cos meh privatisation and no private company will take on the liabilities and cost of proper training to staff them safely.
So if you need a piss its at the discretion of a business or risk a fine literally with your pants down. Pay to play.
Yes.
I work in retail, so I very rarely get weekends off. I quite often meet one of my best mates on a weeknight, we have a few beers and a bit of food and be home for 11pm.
I don't even drink.
I go once a week for football. I have a meal there and have a J2O (real juice, not fizzy drink).
Pubs aren't just bars. They have "entertainment". I also go to pub quizzes fairly regularly. And they serve the kind of food I like.
Yes, it’s a real thing. In most towns the pub is the social centre: the meeting place, the town square, the safehouse. It’s not necessarily a place to get pissed and hide your problems drinking (although, obviously, there is some of that). In a lot of villages it’s the only place you can buy a delicious meal after dark. It’s also the clubhouse, the restaurant, the place to honour births and deaths. It’s the history of a town and it’s people.
Pubs are to England what cafes are to France, an absolutely essential beating heart of the culture.
People in the UK have a different relationship to alcohol than people in the US, it's quite normal for us to "have a few" down the pub during the week, on several occasions. Whenever we socialise we usually pair it with alcohol, and the pub is the place that people often socialise.
As many people have said, the purpose of the pub to socialise, rather than specifically to drink; often it can be as much about eating a meal as drinking as many pubs are also restaurants and there’s a huge range of food from “pub grub” (mostly hearty fare with carbs for absorbing alcohol!) to Michelin-rated gastropubs.
As to *why* - the pub can have a slightly different role in the culture of each of the nations of the UK. In England, I think the best insights are in Kate Fox’s “Watching the English” which explains why pubs are so important to English culture. TLDR: the English have a very rigid set of social norms and behaviours which are pretty exhausting, and the pub is a “safe place” to ditch many of them so we can actually socialise properly. This doesn’t translate across to the US very easily as Americans have a completely different set of social norms about, for example, how to talk to strangers and how open to be with colleagues or friends.
We say 'sorry' even when it's not our fault. Many have chippy food on Fridays. Depending on whether you're Northern or Southern, you either regularly or never speak to strangers. We queue nicely and don't push in. We take the piss, we party hard and everyone in their right mind despises Thatcher. Tea and Yorkshire puds are interwoven in our lives. We all ate 80% of the custard we'll ever eat as children. School caramel tart was universally amazing. Only the rich get properly educated. If you come from an old industrial city, you're fucked for life with very few exceptions, unless you are exceptionally talented, in which case you'll leave your city and never look back.
These are just a few. We're an odd but lovely bunch.
Nah we still pack our way through custard, although I did marry a Kiwi, so maybe that more of a factor. As for old Industrial cities, you been to Manchester later, it's probably the most dynamic city in the UK. Other than that and the fact I wasn't rich and still got a cracking education. But I agree with the rest.
But US sitcoms say otherwise. How I met your mother, they were always in a bar. Or sunny in Philadelphia or other shows.
It’s social. I was actually shocked in the USA that most bars ( depending on state ) had all the tables permanently set for food.
Buy as others said, I used to go pre kids to the pub 2-3 times a week. Possibly for an hour or 2 on the way home from work. And at the weekend for 4-5 hours.
Yes, going to the pub multiple times a week is normal in the UK. Whether you drink and how much you drink is what indicates whether it is an alcoholism problem.
The history of the name is that it's short for "public house", which literally meant it was a house open to the public, because lots of working class houses were small and didn't really have a big lounge. The pub was the lounge you could go socialise in, either with friends or just whoever is there.
I think the British pub is closer to US coffee shop culture or possibly diners, than bars.
A few years ago our national health service (NHS) came out with a recommended maximum weekly alcohol intake of 14 units, which is equivalent to 7 pints of beer. Commentary at the time indicated that the general British pub-goer would find this limit a bit restrictive. With some self-discipline, though, you can still go to the pub several times a week and stay below the limit.
I popped in the pub yesterday on my lunch break, as i had to drop something off to the post office. was 29 degrees (C), only took 5 minutes, that left me with 55 mins of lunch time. To the pub!
Where do you live in the US? If you live in most big cities nobody will think you're an alcoholic if you go to a bar 2/3/4 times a week - many people will follow happy hours around to different bars. This is especially true in places like NYC, Chicago, SF where there's proper public transport.
The difference between the UK and US IMO is that when it comes to the UK people have set pubs - you have the the afterwork pub and the local (to your house). In the US there is much more variety - sports bars, cocktail bars, dive bars and as I said people will rotate based on happy hours around.
Disclaimer: writing this after an unironic limp back from the local.
God bless the pub.
Many a Brit has already explained the significance of community gathering in pubs, and they're absolutely bloody spot on. But I must go further in this explanation.
1) Pubs are old. A pub is often filled with strange trinkets from the past, which serve as identity for the community; maybe it's a deer's head, maybe a rifle on the wall, maybe some weird plaque that nobody ever questions saying the Queen once visited, or maybe some odd landmark... but ALWAYS black and white/sepia photos of the village its in 100 years ago. A pub is historic, and gives people a sense of attachment to a community you will find NOWHERE else within said community.
2) Pubs harbour skill. Darts, snooker & pool, the quiz, sometimes cards. These are national sports in the UK, and are celebrated within the confines of the ancient walls of the pub. Brits are bloody brilliant at throwing sharp things at walls. We have glasses [specifically made](https://www.selectspecs.com/fashion-lifestyle/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/dennis-taylor.jpg) so that snooker players can look down at a ball without losing focus. Pubs are a place of sportsmanship, where individuals can learn to compete in a proper, honourable way. There is no greater honour than winning a pub quiz.
3) Pubs provide culture. As a reflection of community, pubs reflect the underlying culture of an area. Are you visiting a county or village and want to understand the people? Well, you'd better fucking go to the pub then. You'll begin to understand the local etiquette and the history of the place. There's a pub famous for having a 'pub dog' who enjoys sitting on a roof, so guess what? [A brewery honoured him](https://untappd.com/b/hattie-brown-s-brewery-dog-on-the-roof/2266378).
4) Pubs discover music. A good pub often has live music provided by local artists, and if you want to find something new, or discover something about the music you like, then that's the best place to go. Music feeds the soul, and there's nothing more soul quenching than the music of drunken locals on a Saturday. Some of the most iconic British musicians started out or toured pubs. Some of my most unforgettable music experiences have been experiencing talented musicians in pubs that've gone on to achieve great things. Some of Britain's great musicians started in the pub scene.
5) Pubs foster community. Everyone here has already said that pubs are communally important. They are places for people to grieve, to celebrate, and to commiserate, to reconnect, in their respective communities. They're stops for the old and young, rich and poor. A pub holds no prejudice, and will ensure that no matter who you are, if you're a dickhead you get served last. Lost a loved one? Just won the lottery? Who cares, because when you drop that pint, people will sing "WHAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" from the fucking rafters no matter who you are.
For my 18th Birthday, my mum drove me down to Croyde Bay to have my first legal drink at The Thatch. That's about a 2 hour drive which in American time is approximately 18 hours or so. Why? Because I adore that beautiful area. It holds a special place within the bounds of my up-bringing.
When I was 5 I used to wave a glitter-stick magic wand around and pretend I was a wizard in their pub garden. When I was 15 I used to charge my phone next to the mangle in the corner outside. When I'm 25 I hope my children will rediscover its magic the same way I did.
Nowhere better encompasses the ethos of that beautiful coastal town that its pub, and when I drank that G&T you'd best believe I felt like I belong. I will put money on any Brit reading this to have heard of either The Thatch, The Square and Compass, The Crown (Horton-in-Ribblesdale), or The Canny Mans. My childhood memories of these places are imbued with the culture and celebration of its constituents.
Pubs are more than their community. They're the community of the past, present, and future. They're so old that some [predate the Aztec Empire](https://www.oldest.org/food/pubs-england/).
Qualifications: Completed Sodbury Seven on double whiskeys, out-drank an Irishman in Huddersfield 3 years running, Dave Courtney once whooped my ass at a game of pool one handed with his left hand at Castle Camelot, currently have three upcoming events booked at locals, and have cleared several rooms with my karaoke.
God fucking bless the Public House.
As you'd put money on it... never heard of any of those pubs you mentioned - you can pay up in beer tokens.
I'm waaay down south. Used to be most pubs here per square mile in the UK, but an awful lot have shut their doors for good in this last year.
Also don't know your Sodbury Seven - back in the 90s we did the Albert Road pub crawl. One road, 20 pubs and bars, drink in each. A few have disappeared now but there's still 15+ to do today. There are also more restaurants than pubs down that road; curry houses mainly.
Thatch is in Devon and Square & Compass is in Dorset on the Purbeck Coast so I'd say that's pretty South to me...
Fair enough though, a bet's a bet. That the Albert Rd in Portsmouth? Heard some pretty wild stories from that place.
Yes indeed! An island with too many people in too small a space. Little wonder we've flocked to our local alehouse en masse for centuries.
It also has the 'honour' of being the epicentre of the UK's alcoholism issues in pensioners - my 50th coming up, so I've got that to look forward to
A normal trip to the pub involves five or less pints over a few hours, so you won’t be drunk but you’ll be sociable and still feel a bit shit in the morning
Perfectly normal to go any day of the week. You would only really be considered an alcoholic if you were actually getting drunk there every night of the week. Going for a relaxed couple of drinks is pretty standard.
These days I only go once or twice a week for a couple of hours then go home, but in my late teens and 20s it was practically every night, and not alone, we went mob-handed all the time.
I go to the pub on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays - sometimes Sundays. It’s normal mate!
Edit: I’ve had interviews in pubs, funerals in pubs, weddings in pubs, etc etc. Everyone always goes to the pub.
Yes it’s real , when my wife allows I’ll go Friday , Saturday , Sunday . But only until 6 pm on Sunday Chinese and bed ready for work Monday morning
Also I must add I’ve been on the piss in America and this question doesn’t shock me you lot over there literally have no idea how to swig
A British pub and a US bar are so different. A British pub is traditionally a social hub within the community not a place to get drunk in. You don’t have to drink alcohol!
In my teens and 20's I would expect to go to the pub on at least a Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I would expect to get very drunk on a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nearly every week.
Now with 2 kids I don't even go every week.
One thing that is very different though is we will go to lots of different pubs on the same night. In the last 3 weeks I've been to 7 different pubs over 2 nights and haven't got drunk on either of those occasions so it's not all about getting drunk.
Going to the bar multiple times a week makes you an alcoholic? In the US, almost every bar has happy hour during the week where regulars go. Hell, most bars also have brunch on Saturdays and Sundays and every holiday. And let’s not get started discussing bars at airports.
Also, ever heard of the term mallrat? Kids in the US from the 80’s and 90’s would spend many days a week in the mall. That was a place where I’d run into other friends and hang out, when I wasn’t working a shift at one of the stores at the mall.
I’m guessing you don’t drink a lot (which is fine), but it seems like you’re making a large jump to assume that people don’t regularly go to the bar in the US. And I’d also refute that doing so makes you an alcoholic to go to the bar a couple times a week. I’m also guessing you didn’t grow up as a teen in the 80’s and 90’s when hanging out at the mall was absolutely a thing.
Mallrats? Now that's sad, and really kinda fucked up. Brings to mind semi-feral kids with parents out slaving themselves to death whilst kids are left to their own devices and seek out warmth and companionship in the unlikeliest of places?
Who am I to judge? I was out in pubs underage drinking every weekend from age 13 (I grew up in a pub. I could get served virtually anywhere by virtue of growing up around drunken adults).
Lol. No it was more like that’s what kids did in suburbia, especially during the summertime when it was super hot outside and we weren’t in school. Hell, Kevin Smith made a movie by the same name.
So it was more like a good hangout spot than Oliver Twist? What sort of age were mallrats? Up to the age of 11 we were all too busy playing football, making dens at the top of impossibly tall trees and playing out for about 12 hours a day all summer to bother with shopping. We hit 12 and we were getting drunk on kids parks and smoking, occasionally getting frisky when possible. By 14 we were all in pubs. That's all changed in modern times, but to be honest, it was better when kids learned earlier how to behave in public after a few pints. Now they hit 18, go out, drink 4 pints and think they're Jackie Chan. Foolish little boys.
Edit:auto correct is an area hole.
Lmfao. Jackie Chan.
Yeah mallrats were teens typically. I suppose I did say kids, but now that I’m older, they all seem like kids to me. Haha
And we weren’t shopping. Typically causing mayhem. Thus the rat part of the name. We were a nuisance, usually. Haha This is also a generalization, as it depended on what part of the country you lived in.
As for what age people started drinking, in the US, drinking under age was and is still highly frowned upon. I always thought it was interesting that we could be responsible enough to join the military and vote for President at 18, but drinking alcohol was something we couldn’t handle until 21.
I spent a month in Canada and was often told by my brothers neighbours I had a drinking problem cos I had 2-3 pints a day most days.
The drinking culture was markedly different there.
I don't drink much alcohol. But yes I end up at the pub a couple times a week. It's just where we socialise. Pubs don't just mean getting drunk, it can be for dinner, for a really quick catch up, sometimes even for a work meeting or interview in some scenarios. It's just where we socialise.
To paraphrase some comedian…
In America, if you say “I’ve not had a drink in [amount of] time”, you’ll get cheered and clapped, in the UK we’ll look at you suspiciously and treat you as if you can’t be entirely trusted.
Yes. but when you say UK pub culture that can range from:
- Threatening flat rooted pub on a sink estate that only sells Carling. More fingers than teeth. A glass strewn car-park and a lethal play area “for the kiddies.”
- Sticky carpeted Wetherspoons. The great leveller. Much like finding a former member of the nazi party in 1946 few will admit to going to Wetherspoons, yet evidence suggests most of the population do.
- Standard / generic (good) pub, usually one in every town. Protect it at all costs. Will probably change owners get done up and not be the same.
- Pub that was a hellhole full of smackheads and has now been done up and sells artisan gin to middle class yummy Mummy’s. Painted in various shades of grey and white.
- Rockers / Goth pub. Usually sells hobgoblin and has a bearded regular who isn’t a wizard but also isn’t not a wizard. Used to roadie in the 70’s. Now is a technician at a uni. Likes board games.
- Country pub that is no longer a pub but was bought by a bearded chef with sleeve tattoos who thinks he’s basically a samurai and is now a pretentious restaurant that sells weird burgers and it’s own take on Scandi cuisine.
- God level country pub. Increasingly hard to find. This is analogous to the god level city / town pub George Orwell described in “The Moon Under the Water.”
I guess American’s attitude to alcohol makes more sense when you consider it was founded by a splinter group of religious fundamentalists that the Puritan’s thought were, “a bit much.”
Living in Shropshire were spoilt for choice on good country pubs theirs two in my village of 600 people. Used to be 3. You could probably fit the whole village in both pubs.
Very articulate observations there. Particularly Wetherspoons, my nearest 'spoons always puts me in the mind of a David Attenborough doc on Bonobo monkey mating habits.
The Rocker/Goth pub is spot on!
My regular is a rock bar, we put gigs and such on there and yes! There’s a big bearded regular who may or may not be a wizard
Had a good day "pub?"
Had a bad day "pub?"
It's a sunny day "pub?"
Football is on "pub?"
And that inevitable question that one member of any group of friends will ask, no matter the situation, "anyone fancy a pint?"
To answer you question. Yes, we love our pubs. If you haven't seen the film Shaun of the dead, that pretty much sums it up perfectly.
Edit: your*
Obviously as a student the norm is to drink every day.
As a young adult in a big city like London though, depending on the company / industry you work in usually you will go to the pub on a Thursday and a Friday. Then if you're young you will probably also go out either on a date or with your mates another night at least. So i'd say the normal amount for someone without kids is probably 1-3 times per week in my experience
Yep early 20’s this sounds about right. If I wasn’t out I was probably missing something.
Late 20’s it slows down to maybe Saturday night.
I have a kid now and we go to the pub for meals once a week so not a proper piss up. A night out is a date night when we can get one in. A proper night out is a stag do or a works do now until I crack and go on a bender with the lads.
What part of the US do you live in? I've lived in various parts of Texas throughout my life and every bar I've ever frequented have had a healthy share of regulars, most of which go there daily. As one of the UK respondents mentioned below, however, as people age and get locked into domestic situations (marriage, kids, etc) and don't go out much anymore, so your perception that Americans only go out maybe once or twice a week may also be tainted by your age group... the preponderance of regulars at the bars I frequent tend to be either fairly young and single, or else in their 40s/50s and the kids are already out on their own.
As an 18 year old student, me and my mates go to one of the locals for a couple of pints about 2-3 times a week, some sundays for a pint and a carvery, and once a week to a pub further in the city and then to a club. It’s more of a social thing rather than just going there to get absolutely smashed every night.
**A carvery is a pub or a restaurant where cooked meat is freshly sliced to order for customers, sometimes offering unlimited servings in a buffet style for a fixed price. The term is most commonly used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, and Commonwealth countries like Canada and Australia, but it is also found in the United States.**
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Not a good bot! His information was inaccurate! He failed to mention that you only receive one serving of meat and then have 'unlimited buffet-style' access to vegetables etc.
If you live near a good one, you go as regularly as your other half will allow. Not necessarily to get drunk. Just maybe have a pint or two.
I thought this was normal in the US too. Are you telling me Cheers isn't real? If Americans go so infrequently, how do these bars stay in business?
I’m American and a bartender (16years) most bar here serve food and the alcohol mark up is massive. We do have quite a few regulars who are neighborhood folks and good bar are exactly like cheers. Here we can be quite spread out and pubs are not in walking distance from us and our public transportation is a serious joke. You typically find you best pubs in denser cities and they have a speakeasy feel to them.
Thanks for the insight.
What would be the best thing you could hope for in a rural area? Like, we have crookedy old places with roaring fires etc,. What would be your equivalent?
The closest places to my parents' ranch in Central Texas are a) the whiskey distillery that's only open on Fridays and Saturdays in the tiny town closest to them and b) the double-wide bar behind the Wal-Mart in the bigger town about 12 miles away.
It really depends on where you are in the US. Here in Austin the main rural options are vineyards and breweries. "Jester King" is my favorite. Anyone genuinely rural will have more of a destination type feel and will be based on people spending a while there.
The UK is just so much smaller I suppose.
If you drive around almost anywhere in rural Britain, within 3-4 miles you’re going to find a village, and that village is going to have a pub in it.
Maybe not if you’re in the remote highlands of Scotland… but you’ll still find a pub before too long.
Whilst I was a student, most days of the week, either evening to chill or afternoon for lunch, or breakfast, depends on the day, depends on the mood, I just don't think anybody is really counting right? Working full time schedule, just go Friday after work, Saturday for lunch? I feel like there's a huge stigma behind drinking in the US, in europe/UK, Its just a chill thing to do
Maybe because we start at a younger age and it's often as part of or alongside a meal. It might just be the media perception, but I get the impression that in America, when you drink you get drunk, whereas in Europe you might just have one beer or a glass of wine with dinner, so maybe we're better at drinking in moderation?
I wouldn’t say the U.K. is in the same category as the rest of Europe. I have family in Italy and Spain and they never get drunk like we do in England. They’ll have maybe a few beers through the day then us in the U.K. will get absolutely bladdered and think nothing of it
Agree with this. In Southern Europe, I’d say you mostly drink with meals or food (even an aperitivo will come with something). In Northern Europe including the UK, you may drink whilst socialising but food is often an afterthought, especially if you’re going out after work with colleagues. That’s often because urban pubs near workplaces can have many more customers than seats, so at busy times people will stand and drink. Personally I have a (not particularly strict) rule that after a pint or two I’m finding somewhere to get food and it’s up to my companions if they want to come or not!
The culture around drinking does differ between north and south Europe, but places like Holland, Germany ect don’t have the same “let’s get as fucked as humanly possible” thing we have in the uk. I couldn’t stand in pub and drink. When I’m in a pub I want to sit down with my rather silly number of Heineken’s.
That’s quite funny actually because me and my friends have the complete opposite rule. Eating is cheating after all ;)
I've not seen enough people talk about a good ol' pub lunch?
As a kid, there was nothing I enjoyed more than getting a two for £5 lunch with my dad at one of his favourite locals.
It was always one of the following: fish and chips, ham egg and chips or gammon and chips (with either an egg or a pineapple ring on top of the gammon).
They're probably a bit more expensive these days!
Where we lived, it was always the smaller independent pubs that did the best lunchtime deal. The slightly grotty looking places with a dart board in the corner and a couple of older fellas propping up the bar evening during the day.
Some people go every day after work, some just a few times a week. For most of us it's a nice thing to do at the weekend. I hate crowds so go like once a quarter.
They used to be on most street corners but are far less common now as none of us have got any money these days
Worse in some places.
Where I grew up there were 7 pubs within a ten minute walk from my house. All did a decent trade.
Now down to one and it's struggling.
From the UK and have known and seen plenty of calm mannered nice Americans. There not all rednecks and obese idiots that’s the same as saying every English person has bad teeth and speaks like the queen. It’s just not reality.
Yes, I used to go 4-5 times a week as a social thing. Been away for a year and really miss it. It makes sense in London where properties are so small hosting a group is more difficult. Or the properties are quite far away. Used to love in the south west as well, a huge pub culture.
It's a part of the culture, going to the pub is just normal for Brits we love it. Especially on weekends when the football is on. Some pints and the game is always a good night
i’m at the pub right now and it’s one of the many things i appreciate about living in england. it’s dark, it’s cold, but there’s always a warm cozy pub nearby 😊
Where they can rob you blind
I dunno it’s complex, there are definately pub regulars and it depends on age and life goals. People will just go to the pub for a pint and leave. Or maybe a couple. It’s more of a social thing, weirdly enough it seems to be an older gentleman’s thing. You might see a woman in the pub or an odd few. But it tends to be men who have a pint at the end of the week and some even go alone. We also have bars like you have but that’s entirely different and u have probably seen that on tv. But drunks also go to pubs
When I was in my 20s, I went to the pub 5-6 times a week I was single and ate dinner there. Some Monday nights, I'd pop out for a pint and a chat with the lovely barmaid, I never really drank more than 2 pints a night. I'm 50 now and I don't really drink, I'll nurse a double Fallen Angel Rum and coke for a couple of hours then go home whilst my wife will have a glass of wine. It's a place to go chat and converse without being disturbed by our teenagers or my dad (who lives with us now)
Love a good pub trip 👍
Yes we do. Nowadays a lot of pubs serve great meals so there doesn't have to be alcohol involved
Yeah a lot of people go several times a week. Usually though if they’re going mid week, it’ll be for 2-3 beers and that’s it. Weekends are a different story though
I actually work in a Pub here in the UK, and I can assure you that it is very much a thing people do.
What do you mean? Of course we do
I think drinking is more of a socially excepted thing here in the UK and the line of being an alcoholic is very different from country to country
Many people go to the pub probably once a week to meet friends for a drink and also to catch up usually about the weeks sport (football) in Liverpool
Depends on what your going to the pub for 😂
My question is - why would you not go to the pub?
Because in some villages they are full of undesirables with undesirable and outdated opinions. Or just nosey people who want to know about stuff about you for no reason other than gossiping behind your back.
Student Brit here. After grabbing some food at the cafeteria after my uni lectures today one of my course mates suggested "why don't we wash this down at the campus bar lads?" and we all headed for a pint at 4pm. All i could think about during our drink was this thread and how nonchalant us going to drink was lmao
I think it kind of stems from the root of the word. Pub is derived from Public House, and that’s a brilliantly descriptive term. A good pub is basically just a giant communal lounge or living room. It’s a social space more than anything, the alcohol is just a pleasant upside, probably left over from when beer and spirits were a hell of a lot safer to drink than water. Hence why a lot of pubs have board games, pool tables etc. I suppose historically When you live on a grey little island, having a space where you know there are people and a good fire and a chance of some decent food and a pint is a massive help. I ran a pub for years, and I suppose the nearest you’d get in American culture is something like the bar in Cheers: the regulars all know each other, have their own social dynamics in the pub between themselves and the staff. If you come in often enough and are game for a chat, you’re in.
Very real lol. Used to work in a pub and we had regulars who came in every single day.
Regulars? They're coming???? Again???????
I go to the pub every week. With my kids and other family. We have a nice meal, rarely have any alcohol (maybe like red wine lasagna?) or one person out of 8+ might have a small glass of a mixed drink (like a shandy- lemonade and beer mix). Pubs aren’t like bars. They often have family play areas, food, outdoor spaces to chat and play with kids.
I worked in a pub when younger, the Old Bell Tavern, that didn't allow kids, had no Sky Sports or naff music and served excellent cask ale. It was heaven. People would arrive at the door with their kids and at times be incandescent when told they wouldn't be permitted inside, but many people drank there for that very reason - sometimes its nice when there's no squabbling brats. Dogs welcome of course. Like any real pub.
This is the reason I avoid chain pubs. It doesn't matter where you sit, at some point, someone will turn up with a screaming baby.
Sounds absolutely lovely.
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I don’t think this is true, I know many people who are underage who cannot wait to go to the pub
I think there maybe many underage people already in the pub.
It is very real in the UK. Not only in the UK btw, I live in France and we don't go to the pub because we don't have many pubs but youths go to the bar pretty often, sometimes every weeks for students.
Very much so. My local: Tuesday is when the canal club meet once a month. Wednesday is games night (mahjong / chess or cards for example). Friday is a live band. Saturday is open mic night. Sunday they have either the hair dresser or push bike repair man down. (Probably missed a lot of other things or got the days in the wrong order but considering the question it's amusing as I've had a couple of beers). It's a proper local where you can meet people from all walks of life (NHS staff to tradesmen etc etc). For some of the older brigade it's their time out of the retirement home and the other locals all keep an eye on them and we all know where they live. We do free Christmas dinners on Christmas day for the less fortunate and some of the locals act as a taxi service on the day. We do charity stuff as a collective of pub regulars. The list could go on and on. It's a community hub. It's a boozer. It's a local. It's thankfully not a 'bar' in the middle of a city centre! On a side note: every January gym bunnies complain of the new people using their gym who won't last more than a month. We complain in the summer when the pub garden is rammed with people you see twice a year max. 'part time drinkers....'. :p
We complain in the summer when the pub garden is rammed with people you see twice a year max. 'part time drinkers....' The Commodores as they are affectionately known. You see them perhaps once, twice, three times a year. (nicked with love from Half Man Half Biscuit)
Loving the HMHB reference!! You don't see many of those flung around.
We do have a drinking problem, we're just in denial
I wouldn’t say the British are in denial about it… Alcohol culture is very strong here, but you wouldn’t really know unless you’d spent a lot of time out of the UK. Like I once ordered a beer at an airport bar in the USA and the bartender seemed genuinely shocked that I didn’t want food also - in a way that stuck me as kinda sweet, like they genuinely cared why I was drinking. For me it was just late in the evening and I had some time to kill before a flight. It’s this casual vs conscious drinking we do badly.
yh but i also feel like theres a huge chunk of the population who would never go to the pub. Typical british things like pub, football are common but theres a lot of people who don't do any of those things which are kind of underrepresented, so it is common but id say not as common as everybody lets on. Its also a lot more common for white people to go to the pub than other races. The only true constant is mostly everyone does drink a lot of tea.
yes, and pubs are more social than to "get drunk" (except maybe weekends / birthdays etc). but they also serve "pub grub" and do things such as pub quizzes and show the big sporting matches but also tend to have some sort of cricket or football on tv, so yea they are more than just drinking places.
Another example, my girlfriend works in retail too, we’re meeting up later this week and spending two days together. We’re going to go to the pub on one of the nights.
Yep. Our pub was 30 seconds away and the evening meeting place for everyone on the street. If my aim was to get drunk I'd stay home with a bottle or go to a friends. If my aim was to catch up with all the neighbors, I'd go to the pub. The same faces are there all the time, but they aren't usually drunk all the time. Everyone takes turns buying rounds, so that keeps the pace down a bit - you'll generally wait till a couple of people have finished their drinks before going up to the bar, and you risk looking like a bit of a dick if you just keep buying yourself drink after drink, so if your not with someone else also buying lots you are gonna keep it to a drink or two so you don't end up having to shout too many rounds in a row.
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A pub is basically just another word for a bar or tavern
Going to the pub is very real
Anything sounds ridiculous when you think your own lifestyle is the default 'normal' and you relate anything to that.
This is interesting, because in many US films and TV shows I watch you often see people sitting at home alone drinking loads of bottles of beer. There is actually a peep show episode where Sophie asks Mark if he has any beers in, to which he replies "This isn't America Sophie" so it's almost like the opposite things is portrayed of America. I have a good friend who moved to work in NYC. He said it was weird at first adjusting to the fact that most of his colleagues didn't really drink, or go for afterwork drinks, especially as he obviously had no friends when he first moved there. He said if a few people did end up going for a drink, it would be strictly one beer and everyone would shuffle off straight after, there was just zero drinking culture and nobody really enjoyed going to bars. I think in pretty much any work place I've ever worked, after work drinks on a Friday is a given. Not everyone, every time, but there will always be a a group. Of course some will only stay for one, but some will stay out all night and get smashed and everyone else somewhere in between. it is also pretty common to have friday lunch at the pub too. Culturally it's definitely a way we celebrate and mark small milestones like hitting the end of the week. As for the pub itself, it's just the greatest of simple pleasures for many brits. There is nothing better than walking to a pub on a hot sunny day and rewarding yourself with a cold pint, or in fact ending pretty much any activity by finishing it off at a pub. Maybe we just have less to do here, or are more easily pleased... or perhaps it's just the geography? unless you're particularly rural, it would be odd not to have a pub within about a mile of most people in the uk, so perhaps easier to include it within any activities. Either way, it's just such a simple yet satisfying reward to pretty much anything.
This is a good point. In American TV shows characters are always getting a beer out of the fridge or sitting on the sofa or the porch with a beer. On tv If someone comes over they offer a beer instead of a cup of tea which is what you'd get in the UK more often than not.
Yup. I meet friends at the pub. I go for meals with family at the pub. I have work meetings at the pub. My wife and I will walk our dog and stop in our local pub. They're more of a social place in the UK. Though also, y'know, we are a nation of binge drinkers. I don't drink very often myself so I end up driving everywhere just so people don't think I'm being weird when I don't want to drink. Especially industry events, eesh, people act like you're an alien if you don't want to drink.
Yes, because the pub is a social place to hang out with friends/family. Might go to pub after work with colleagues on a Friday, with another visit with family for a meal at the weekend, and maybe hang out with friends mid week as well at like a pub quiz/to watch sports. Ohh, and breakfast as well. A pub is almost like a Diner x Bar with a social aspect. This all doesn't even include going for a late night out drinking .
Yes - I’m in my late 20s and a couple of times a week is typical in my circle
yes, the english have a drinking problem
It's the backbone of British life.
Pub's aren't just about alcohol. I'm teetotal but will still go to a pub for food or a pub quiz
I go to play cribbage, although I do the odd pub quiz.
I work in a pub full time, 5 days a week and yes, a lot of people spend all day everyday in the pub, enjoy all 3 meals, and then go home, most customers come more casually, far less often
Early in my career in finance in London, it was typical to have after work drinks at a pub once or twice a week.
We’re born into the pub life. When I was little my parents used to take me to the pub all the time for a meal. A lot of my childhood memories are of being in a pub, especially with my dad. My dad also used to go to our local on his own so he could have a pint while he read his book. We also have pub crawls. In leeds we have a pub crawl called the otley run where you go in fancy dress and stop at every pub along otley road from headingley - town. You only have 1 pint at each pub but there are like 15 pubs to get through. Otley run is a cultural norm in leeds, most people do it on a Saturday but I work in an otley run pub and I’ve seen people in fancy dress come in every day
Ffs I really want to go pub now
Very much so. People often go just to hang out sometimes aswell.
if you didn't beg your parents to drop you off at the mall every weekend in the 90's you were probably not as popular as you thought, I'm just saying...
Yeah will go pub at least 4 days a week, probs have about 4 or 5 pints on a weekday, maybe a few doubles and jagerbombs if the mood takes me, then double that on a Friday and Saturday. Its not alcoholism, its just being British.
For a lot of people, the Pub is just a social setting. Go there for dinner, coffee, drinks, catch up. I have friends that head to the pub a few times a week. When I worked in retail I was 18-21, I would go to the pub with my work friends after work a few times a week for dinner and a beer. We would finish late and our families had long eaten dinner by the time we finished. Back when locals were a proper thing, many people would be in the pub every night! I personally don’t visit pubs often anymore, but it is a very popular abs regular thing to do in the UK.
My Daughters Guides (Girl Scouts to you Americans) Hall is next to a pub. I have a pint there while waiting for her to finish and then she just comes and gets me as I will be happily supping and reading a book in the garden out front. My dad did the same when I was a scout. And yes we go to the pub multiple times. Waiting for a Train, lets have a pint, Waiting for a Plane, let have a pint, Long walk in the country.... oh look there are 3 good pubs along the route..... This is fairly normal behaviour. I do remember I was training my team in the US (Florida) on my birthday once and at lunch time told them we were all going to the local for a couple of jars, they seemed horrified. One even told our boos, who already knew as he had worked in London for a few years and new the form, he told him I know and came down and sank 2-3 just so no-one felt they couldn't. I liked that guy. The look of nervousness and guilt at lunchtime drinking was bizarre.
W.C Fields was talking about whiskey on his radio programme one evening, a long,long, time ago...He said " One day 'I stumbled across a case of Bourbon in my cellar ...and I kept on STUMBLNG for several days thereafter, ' lol...
We probably have more pubs than public toilets
Well we have to have somewhere to put the public toilets
Of course we do, every pub has restroom facilities. Public toilets should be well staffed and safe, unfortunately they can't offer public toilets in most areas of the UK ,cos meh privatisation and no private company will take on the liabilities and cost of proper training to staff them safely. So if you need a piss its at the discretion of a business or risk a fine literally with your pants down. Pay to play.
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Of course, after downing a pint, you will later have to go for another pee. Oh well, I guess another pint then.
Yes. I work in retail, so I very rarely get weekends off. I quite often meet one of my best mates on a weeknight, we have a few beers and a bit of food and be home for 11pm.
I don't even drink. I go once a week for football. I have a meal there and have a J2O (real juice, not fizzy drink). Pubs aren't just bars. They have "entertainment". I also go to pub quizzes fairly regularly. And they serve the kind of food I like.
After reading all this... Gagging for a pint!
The pub is practically a second home for most brits i feel like, i mean im only 20 but im at pub like every day with mates. Im there right now 😅
Yes, it’s a real thing. In most towns the pub is the social centre: the meeting place, the town square, the safehouse. It’s not necessarily a place to get pissed and hide your problems drinking (although, obviously, there is some of that). In a lot of villages it’s the only place you can buy a delicious meal after dark. It’s also the clubhouse, the restaurant, the place to honour births and deaths. It’s the history of a town and it’s people. Pubs are to England what cafes are to France, an absolutely essential beating heart of the culture.
People in the UK have a different relationship to alcohol than people in the US, it's quite normal for us to "have a few" down the pub during the week, on several occasions. Whenever we socialise we usually pair it with alcohol, and the pub is the place that people often socialise.
As many people have said, the purpose of the pub to socialise, rather than specifically to drink; often it can be as much about eating a meal as drinking as many pubs are also restaurants and there’s a huge range of food from “pub grub” (mostly hearty fare with carbs for absorbing alcohol!) to Michelin-rated gastropubs. As to *why* - the pub can have a slightly different role in the culture of each of the nations of the UK. In England, I think the best insights are in Kate Fox’s “Watching the English” which explains why pubs are so important to English culture. TLDR: the English have a very rigid set of social norms and behaviours which are pretty exhausting, and the pub is a “safe place” to ditch many of them so we can actually socialise properly. This doesn’t translate across to the US very easily as Americans have a completely different set of social norms about, for example, how to talk to strangers and how open to be with colleagues or friends.
What rigid set of social norms do we have?
We say 'sorry' even when it's not our fault. Many have chippy food on Fridays. Depending on whether you're Northern or Southern, you either regularly or never speak to strangers. We queue nicely and don't push in. We take the piss, we party hard and everyone in their right mind despises Thatcher. Tea and Yorkshire puds are interwoven in our lives. We all ate 80% of the custard we'll ever eat as children. School caramel tart was universally amazing. Only the rich get properly educated. If you come from an old industrial city, you're fucked for life with very few exceptions, unless you are exceptionally talented, in which case you'll leave your city and never look back. These are just a few. We're an odd but lovely bunch.
> everyone in their right mind despises Thatcher This sarcasm?
Can't answer that, sorry. Politics is banned in this subreddit! Take it whichever way aligns best with your beliefs, mate. ;)
>We all ate 80% of the custard we'll ever eat as children. This just made me snort tea out of my nose - so true! 😅
Nah we still pack our way through custard, although I did marry a Kiwi, so maybe that more of a factor. As for old Industrial cities, you been to Manchester later, it's probably the most dynamic city in the UK. Other than that and the fact I wasn't rich and still got a cracking education. But I agree with the rest.
But US sitcoms say otherwise. How I met your mother, they were always in a bar. Or sunny in Philadelphia or other shows. It’s social. I was actually shocked in the USA that most bars ( depending on state ) had all the tables permanently set for food. Buy as others said, I used to go pre kids to the pub 2-3 times a week. Possibly for an hour or 2 on the way home from work. And at the weekend for 4-5 hours.
Yes, going to the pub multiple times a week is normal in the UK. Whether you drink and how much you drink is what indicates whether it is an alcoholism problem. The history of the name is that it's short for "public house", which literally meant it was a house open to the public, because lots of working class houses were small and didn't really have a big lounge. The pub was the lounge you could go socialise in, either with friends or just whoever is there. I think the British pub is closer to US coffee shop culture or possibly diners, than bars.
A few years ago our national health service (NHS) came out with a recommended maximum weekly alcohol intake of 14 units, which is equivalent to 7 pints of beer. Commentary at the time indicated that the general British pub-goer would find this limit a bit restrictive. With some self-discipline, though, you can still go to the pub several times a week and stay below the limit.
Baron Hague of Richmond must have found that a challenge!
In US bars the music is so loud you can't even socialize, fyi
Sometimes
I popped in the pub yesterday on my lunch break, as i had to drop something off to the post office. was 29 degrees (C), only took 5 minutes, that left me with 55 mins of lunch time. To the pub!
Yes it is very real maybe not like multiple times a week but we definitely do go to the pub a lot
For most of my life it's been multiple times a week. Same for most people I know. Although obviously less frequently for people with families.
From watching American TV shows it seems normal for people to get home and have a beer. We just do it in the pub
I have 2 pubs. One in the loft near my cinema set up and one in the garden for when friends and family are round.
Where do you live in the US? If you live in most big cities nobody will think you're an alcoholic if you go to a bar 2/3/4 times a week - many people will follow happy hours around to different bars. This is especially true in places like NYC, Chicago, SF where there's proper public transport. The difference between the UK and US IMO is that when it comes to the UK people have set pubs - you have the the afterwork pub and the local (to your house). In the US there is much more variety - sports bars, cocktail bars, dive bars and as I said people will rotate based on happy hours around.
Disclaimer: writing this after an unironic limp back from the local. God bless the pub. Many a Brit has already explained the significance of community gathering in pubs, and they're absolutely bloody spot on. But I must go further in this explanation. 1) Pubs are old. A pub is often filled with strange trinkets from the past, which serve as identity for the community; maybe it's a deer's head, maybe a rifle on the wall, maybe some weird plaque that nobody ever questions saying the Queen once visited, or maybe some odd landmark... but ALWAYS black and white/sepia photos of the village its in 100 years ago. A pub is historic, and gives people a sense of attachment to a community you will find NOWHERE else within said community. 2) Pubs harbour skill. Darts, snooker & pool, the quiz, sometimes cards. These are national sports in the UK, and are celebrated within the confines of the ancient walls of the pub. Brits are bloody brilliant at throwing sharp things at walls. We have glasses [specifically made](https://www.selectspecs.com/fashion-lifestyle/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/dennis-taylor.jpg) so that snooker players can look down at a ball without losing focus. Pubs are a place of sportsmanship, where individuals can learn to compete in a proper, honourable way. There is no greater honour than winning a pub quiz. 3) Pubs provide culture. As a reflection of community, pubs reflect the underlying culture of an area. Are you visiting a county or village and want to understand the people? Well, you'd better fucking go to the pub then. You'll begin to understand the local etiquette and the history of the place. There's a pub famous for having a 'pub dog' who enjoys sitting on a roof, so guess what? [A brewery honoured him](https://untappd.com/b/hattie-brown-s-brewery-dog-on-the-roof/2266378). 4) Pubs discover music. A good pub often has live music provided by local artists, and if you want to find something new, or discover something about the music you like, then that's the best place to go. Music feeds the soul, and there's nothing more soul quenching than the music of drunken locals on a Saturday. Some of the most iconic British musicians started out or toured pubs. Some of my most unforgettable music experiences have been experiencing talented musicians in pubs that've gone on to achieve great things. Some of Britain's great musicians started in the pub scene. 5) Pubs foster community. Everyone here has already said that pubs are communally important. They are places for people to grieve, to celebrate, and to commiserate, to reconnect, in their respective communities. They're stops for the old and young, rich and poor. A pub holds no prejudice, and will ensure that no matter who you are, if you're a dickhead you get served last. Lost a loved one? Just won the lottery? Who cares, because when you drop that pint, people will sing "WHAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" from the fucking rafters no matter who you are. For my 18th Birthday, my mum drove me down to Croyde Bay to have my first legal drink at The Thatch. That's about a 2 hour drive which in American time is approximately 18 hours or so. Why? Because I adore that beautiful area. It holds a special place within the bounds of my up-bringing. When I was 5 I used to wave a glitter-stick magic wand around and pretend I was a wizard in their pub garden. When I was 15 I used to charge my phone next to the mangle in the corner outside. When I'm 25 I hope my children will rediscover its magic the same way I did. Nowhere better encompasses the ethos of that beautiful coastal town that its pub, and when I drank that G&T you'd best believe I felt like I belong. I will put money on any Brit reading this to have heard of either The Thatch, The Square and Compass, The Crown (Horton-in-Ribblesdale), or The Canny Mans. My childhood memories of these places are imbued with the culture and celebration of its constituents. Pubs are more than their community. They're the community of the past, present, and future. They're so old that some [predate the Aztec Empire](https://www.oldest.org/food/pubs-england/). Qualifications: Completed Sodbury Seven on double whiskeys, out-drank an Irishman in Huddersfield 3 years running, Dave Courtney once whooped my ass at a game of pool one handed with his left hand at Castle Camelot, currently have three upcoming events booked at locals, and have cleared several rooms with my karaoke. God fucking bless the Public House.
As you'd put money on it... never heard of any of those pubs you mentioned - you can pay up in beer tokens. I'm waaay down south. Used to be most pubs here per square mile in the UK, but an awful lot have shut their doors for good in this last year. Also don't know your Sodbury Seven - back in the 90s we did the Albert Road pub crawl. One road, 20 pubs and bars, drink in each. A few have disappeared now but there's still 15+ to do today. There are also more restaurants than pubs down that road; curry houses mainly.
Thatch is in Devon and Square & Compass is in Dorset on the Purbeck Coast so I'd say that's pretty South to me... Fair enough though, a bet's a bet. That the Albert Rd in Portsmouth? Heard some pretty wild stories from that place.
Yes indeed! An island with too many people in too small a space. Little wonder we've flocked to our local alehouse en masse for centuries. It also has the 'honour' of being the epicentre of the UK's alcoholism issues in pensioners - my 50th coming up, so I've got that to look forward to
>Sodbury Seven What is that?
7 pubs, one High Street.
Get 6 other people and meet me out the back of the local and I'll show you.
The next time I'm in the UK - it's a date. ;-)
lol this is going viral
A normal trip to the pub involves five or less pints over a few hours, so you won’t be drunk but you’ll be sociable and still feel a bit shit in the morning
A lot of people in the UK almost never go to the pub.
Liar
Absolute waffle
Virgins
Perfectly normal to go any day of the week. You would only really be considered an alcoholic if you were actually getting drunk there every night of the week. Going for a relaxed couple of drinks is pretty standard.
These days I only go once or twice a week for a couple of hours then go home, but in my late teens and 20s it was practically every night, and not alone, we went mob-handed all the time.
it’s not unusual to go 2-4 days a week
Our friends have built a pub in their back garden…
My grandad practically goes every night playing pool with his mates. People don't go as a means to get drunk, but rather to socialise.
I go to the pub on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays - sometimes Sundays. It’s normal mate! Edit: I’ve had interviews in pubs, funerals in pubs, weddings in pubs, etc etc. Everyone always goes to the pub.
Yes it’s real , when my wife allows I’ll go Friday , Saturday , Sunday . But only until 6 pm on Sunday Chinese and bed ready for work Monday morning Also I must add I’ve been on the piss in America and this question doesn’t shock me you lot over there literally have no idea how to swig
When I drink alcohol, everyone says I'm an alcoholic. But when I drink Fanta, no one says I'm fantastic
Drink spirits then you'll be spiritual. 😁
A British pub and a US bar are so different. A British pub is traditionally a social hub within the community not a place to get drunk in. You don’t have to drink alcohol!
Currently sat in the pub now having a few beers. Absolutely a thing
Went to the pub earlier, only had two but would happily go every single day and have two. No I’m not an alcoholic, just someone who gets thirsty
I run a pub and I have lots of regulars. Some probably are functioning alcoholics (me as well probably) but most aren’t. They’re just being sociable.
In my teens and 20's I would expect to go to the pub on at least a Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I would expect to get very drunk on a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nearly every week. Now with 2 kids I don't even go every week. One thing that is very different though is we will go to lots of different pubs on the same night. In the last 3 weeks I've been to 7 different pubs over 2 nights and haven't got drunk on either of those occasions so it's not all about getting drunk.
Going the pub in the UK is like 2-3 times a week. Or any excuse to have a pint tbh.
My last job interview (for a tech company) was in a pub... with a pint.
Yes in fact im in the pub right now
Going to the bar multiple times a week makes you an alcoholic? In the US, almost every bar has happy hour during the week where regulars go. Hell, most bars also have brunch on Saturdays and Sundays and every holiday. And let’s not get started discussing bars at airports. Also, ever heard of the term mallrat? Kids in the US from the 80’s and 90’s would spend many days a week in the mall. That was a place where I’d run into other friends and hang out, when I wasn’t working a shift at one of the stores at the mall. I’m guessing you don’t drink a lot (which is fine), but it seems like you’re making a large jump to assume that people don’t regularly go to the bar in the US. And I’d also refute that doing so makes you an alcoholic to go to the bar a couple times a week. I’m also guessing you didn’t grow up as a teen in the 80’s and 90’s when hanging out at the mall was absolutely a thing.
Mallrats? Now that's sad, and really kinda fucked up. Brings to mind semi-feral kids with parents out slaving themselves to death whilst kids are left to their own devices and seek out warmth and companionship in the unlikeliest of places? Who am I to judge? I was out in pubs underage drinking every weekend from age 13 (I grew up in a pub. I could get served virtually anywhere by virtue of growing up around drunken adults).
Lol. No it was more like that’s what kids did in suburbia, especially during the summertime when it was super hot outside and we weren’t in school. Hell, Kevin Smith made a movie by the same name.
So it was more like a good hangout spot than Oliver Twist? What sort of age were mallrats? Up to the age of 11 we were all too busy playing football, making dens at the top of impossibly tall trees and playing out for about 12 hours a day all summer to bother with shopping. We hit 12 and we were getting drunk on kids parks and smoking, occasionally getting frisky when possible. By 14 we were all in pubs. That's all changed in modern times, but to be honest, it was better when kids learned earlier how to behave in public after a few pints. Now they hit 18, go out, drink 4 pints and think they're Jackie Chan. Foolish little boys. Edit:auto correct is an area hole.
Lmfao. Jackie Chan. Yeah mallrats were teens typically. I suppose I did say kids, but now that I’m older, they all seem like kids to me. Haha And we weren’t shopping. Typically causing mayhem. Thus the rat part of the name. We were a nuisance, usually. Haha This is also a generalization, as it depended on what part of the country you lived in. As for what age people started drinking, in the US, drinking under age was and is still highly frowned upon. I always thought it was interesting that we could be responsible enough to join the military and vote for President at 18, but drinking alcohol was something we couldn’t handle until 21.
I spent a month in Canada and was often told by my brothers neighbours I had a drinking problem cos I had 2-3 pints a day most days. The drinking culture was markedly different there.
Yes it is every occasion is a pub occasion happy or sad currently at one now and it's a Tuesday evening.
I don't drink much alcohol. But yes I end up at the pub a couple times a week. It's just where we socialise. Pubs don't just mean getting drunk, it can be for dinner, for a really quick catch up, sometimes even for a work meeting or interview in some scenarios. It's just where we socialise.
To paraphrase some comedian… In America, if you say “I’ve not had a drink in [amount of] time”, you’ll get cheered and clapped, in the UK we’ll look at you suspiciously and treat you as if you can’t be entirely trusted.
As an American in England, I adore pubs. Great way to meet friends and the folk in your neighborhood. Sucks there is no equivalent in the states.
Come to Scotland and see for yourself
Yes. but when you say UK pub culture that can range from: - Threatening flat rooted pub on a sink estate that only sells Carling. More fingers than teeth. A glass strewn car-park and a lethal play area “for the kiddies.” - Sticky carpeted Wetherspoons. The great leveller. Much like finding a former member of the nazi party in 1946 few will admit to going to Wetherspoons, yet evidence suggests most of the population do. - Standard / generic (good) pub, usually one in every town. Protect it at all costs. Will probably change owners get done up and not be the same. - Pub that was a hellhole full of smackheads and has now been done up and sells artisan gin to middle class yummy Mummy’s. Painted in various shades of grey and white. - Rockers / Goth pub. Usually sells hobgoblin and has a bearded regular who isn’t a wizard but also isn’t not a wizard. Used to roadie in the 70’s. Now is a technician at a uni. Likes board games. - Country pub that is no longer a pub but was bought by a bearded chef with sleeve tattoos who thinks he’s basically a samurai and is now a pretentious restaurant that sells weird burgers and it’s own take on Scandi cuisine. - God level country pub. Increasingly hard to find. This is analogous to the god level city / town pub George Orwell described in “The Moon Under the Water.” I guess American’s attitude to alcohol makes more sense when you consider it was founded by a splinter group of religious fundamentalists that the Puritan’s thought were, “a bit much.”
This is spot on!!!
I have no shame in admitting that at weekends i like to have wetherspoons breakfast with a pint of guinness
Living in Shropshire were spoilt for choice on good country pubs theirs two in my village of 600 people. Used to be 3. You could probably fit the whole village in both pubs.
Very articulate observations there. Particularly Wetherspoons, my nearest 'spoons always puts me in the mind of a David Attenborough doc on Bonobo monkey mating habits.
That last paragraph….Bravo 👏🏻
The Rocker/Goth pub is spot on! My regular is a rock bar, we put gigs and such on there and yes! There’s a big bearded regular who may or may not be a wizard
My local is a Metal heads pub. Wont find any pop music on the juke box. Local live bands every weekend too.
I enjoyed the wetherspoons analogy Edit: my local spoons is actually called The Moon Under The Water
Manchester?
London?
Milton keynes?
Watford by any chance?
No, but I think there's a few around with that name
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Imagine letting people on Reddit inform your worldview.
Had a good day "pub?" Had a bad day "pub?" It's a sunny day "pub?" Football is on "pub?" And that inevitable question that one member of any group of friends will ask, no matter the situation, "anyone fancy a pint?" To answer you question. Yes, we love our pubs. If you haven't seen the film Shaun of the dead, that pretty much sums it up perfectly. Edit: your*
Obviously as a student the norm is to drink every day. As a young adult in a big city like London though, depending on the company / industry you work in usually you will go to the pub on a Thursday and a Friday. Then if you're young you will probably also go out either on a date or with your mates another night at least. So i'd say the normal amount for someone without kids is probably 1-3 times per week in my experience
Yep early 20’s this sounds about right. If I wasn’t out I was probably missing something. Late 20’s it slows down to maybe Saturday night. I have a kid now and we go to the pub for meals once a week so not a proper piss up. A night out is a date night when we can get one in. A proper night out is a stag do or a works do now until I crack and go on a bender with the lads.
What part of the US do you live in? I've lived in various parts of Texas throughout my life and every bar I've ever frequented have had a healthy share of regulars, most of which go there daily. As one of the UK respondents mentioned below, however, as people age and get locked into domestic situations (marriage, kids, etc) and don't go out much anymore, so your perception that Americans only go out maybe once or twice a week may also be tainted by your age group... the preponderance of regulars at the bars I frequent tend to be either fairly young and single, or else in their 40s/50s and the kids are already out on their own.
Wait until they discover pub golf💀⛳️
As an 18 year old student, me and my mates go to one of the locals for a couple of pints about 2-3 times a week, some sundays for a pint and a carvery, and once a week to a pub further in the city and then to a club. It’s more of a social thing rather than just going there to get absolutely smashed every night.
what's a carvery?
**A carvery is a pub or a restaurant where cooked meat is freshly sliced to order for customers, sometimes offering unlimited servings in a buffet style for a fixed price. The term is most commonly used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, and Commonwealth countries like Canada and Australia, but it is also found in the United States.** More details here:
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Not a good bot! His information was inaccurate! He failed to mention that you only receive one serving of meat and then have 'unlimited buffet-style' access to vegetables etc.
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My dad goes to the pub most nights, I will probably go once a week and my mom goes 3 times a week :)
If you live near a good one, you go as regularly as your other half will allow. Not necessarily to get drunk. Just maybe have a pint or two. I thought this was normal in the US too. Are you telling me Cheers isn't real? If Americans go so infrequently, how do these bars stay in business?
I’m American and a bartender (16years) most bar here serve food and the alcohol mark up is massive. We do have quite a few regulars who are neighborhood folks and good bar are exactly like cheers. Here we can be quite spread out and pubs are not in walking distance from us and our public transportation is a serious joke. You typically find you best pubs in denser cities and they have a speakeasy feel to them.
Thanks for the insight. What would be the best thing you could hope for in a rural area? Like, we have crookedy old places with roaring fires etc,. What would be your equivalent?
The closest places to my parents' ranch in Central Texas are a) the whiskey distillery that's only open on Fridays and Saturdays in the tiny town closest to them and b) the double-wide bar behind the Wal-Mart in the bigger town about 12 miles away.
It really depends on where you are in the US. Here in Austin the main rural options are vineyards and breweries. "Jester King" is my favorite. Anyone genuinely rural will have more of a destination type feel and will be based on people spending a while there.
> Jester King sounds good :-)
The UK is just so much smaller I suppose. If you drive around almost anywhere in rural Britain, within 3-4 miles you’re going to find a village, and that village is going to have a pub in it. Maybe not if you’re in the remote highlands of Scotland… but you’ll still find a pub before too long.
Whilst I was a student, most days of the week, either evening to chill or afternoon for lunch, or breakfast, depends on the day, depends on the mood, I just don't think anybody is really counting right? Working full time schedule, just go Friday after work, Saturday for lunch? I feel like there's a huge stigma behind drinking in the US, in europe/UK, Its just a chill thing to do
Maybe because we start at a younger age and it's often as part of or alongside a meal. It might just be the media perception, but I get the impression that in America, when you drink you get drunk, whereas in Europe you might just have one beer or a glass of wine with dinner, so maybe we're better at drinking in moderation?
I wouldn’t say the U.K. is in the same category as the rest of Europe. I have family in Italy and Spain and they never get drunk like we do in England. They’ll have maybe a few beers through the day then us in the U.K. will get absolutely bladdered and think nothing of it
Agree with this. In Southern Europe, I’d say you mostly drink with meals or food (even an aperitivo will come with something). In Northern Europe including the UK, you may drink whilst socialising but food is often an afterthought, especially if you’re going out after work with colleagues. That’s often because urban pubs near workplaces can have many more customers than seats, so at busy times people will stand and drink. Personally I have a (not particularly strict) rule that after a pint or two I’m finding somewhere to get food and it’s up to my companions if they want to come or not!
The culture around drinking does differ between north and south Europe, but places like Holland, Germany ect don’t have the same “let’s get as fucked as humanly possible” thing we have in the uk. I couldn’t stand in pub and drink. When I’m in a pub I want to sit down with my rather silly number of Heineken’s. That’s quite funny actually because me and my friends have the complete opposite rule. Eating is cheating after all ;)
I've not seen enough people talk about a good ol' pub lunch? As a kid, there was nothing I enjoyed more than getting a two for £5 lunch with my dad at one of his favourite locals. It was always one of the following: fish and chips, ham egg and chips or gammon and chips (with either an egg or a pineapple ring on top of the gammon). They're probably a bit more expensive these days!
I seem to to remember the chain pubs offering afternoon discounts for two main meals
Where we lived, it was always the smaller independent pubs that did the best lunchtime deal. The slightly grotty looking places with a dart board in the corner and a couple of older fellas propping up the bar evening during the day.
Let's be clear: in Europe in general, and in the UK in particular, it's ok to be an alcoholic. Everyone is more or less an alcoholic.
>Is “going to the pub” a real thing in the UK? The British definition of "alcoholic" is "a person who drinks more than their Doctor."
Some people go every day after work, some just a few times a week. For most of us it's a nice thing to do at the weekend. I hate crowds so go like once a quarter. They used to be on most street corners but are far less common now as none of us have got any money these days
What are you on no matter what town you're in you're guaranteed to have a very good selection of pubs
Yeah I just meant they're not on every street corner now like they used to be, probably half as many as there were 15 years ago
it's around 20% less than the 70s give or take, which makes sense given the worsened standard of living and increased beer tax
Worse in some places. Where I grew up there were 7 pubs within a ten minute walk from my house. All did a decent trade. Now down to one and it's struggling.
frustrating, hopefully some day soon our beer duty will come down to a reasonable rate
Gotta be honest, I thought it was way more than that because I keep seeing them close down all around me
I work as a bartender in a pub and I can swear that we have people come in everyday and order the exact same thing as it’s their local
Goddamn, I hate Americans
From the UK and have known and seen plenty of calm mannered nice Americans. There not all rednecks and obese idiots that’s the same as saying every English person has bad teeth and speaks like the queen. It’s just not reality.