If Your Bartender Makes This Mistake It's Time To Find Another Bar

Keeping an eye out for red flags when entering a new bar could save you from having an unsatisfactory and potentially even dangerous experience. Among the most notable of these red flags has to do with how a bartender handles your glass; if you notice that your server is holding the glass by the rim rather than the base or the stem, you should be wary of consuming whatever drinks they're serving. This practice is widely considered to be unhygienic.

We discussed this bartender blunder with Brian Callahan, co-owner and beverage director of Darling in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He stressed how alarming a bartender carrying a glass by the rim truly is. "It's unsanitary and a sign of poor training and low standards," he warned before adding, "It's an easy way to spread foodborne illness and shows a lack of attention to basic hygiene practices." This boils down to the simple fact that hands are home to germs you wouldn't want interacting directly with your drink, making it inappropriate when the glass is clean and being served to a customer.

How a bartender holds glasses is an obvious indicator of the bar staff's priorities, but it's far from the only one. If glasses have chips, cracks, detergent spots, lipstick stains, or bits of leftover pulp, it is clear that the bartender isn't paying enough attention to cleanliness. Spot-free glassware should always be dried and polished with a clean cloth, not a rag that has clearly been used for other purposes. Similarly, it's a red flag if a bartender touches ice with their hands instead of using a scoop or tongs.

Beyond that, however, some of the biggest red flags you'll find at a bar are more environmental. If you see fruit flies lingering around, garbage or food that hasn't been promptly cleared, or sticky bar tops, you might be better off leaving the bar you're at or, at the very least, approaching it with caution. Even seemingly small things, like fruits still having stickers on them, can be a sign of a fundamental lack of care among the bar staff. This might be indicative that the produce was not washed properly. If you find that the bartenders don't get along with each other, are rude to customers, or avoid waiting on guests, it could similarly be a display of apathy among the staff.