バー

A バー is a Western-style drinking place built around a counter: cocktails and spirits, a quiet room, and no set meal. Japanese has several words for places you drink, and they are chosen by the kind of place, not by formality.

Similar places

• 居酒屋(いざかや): food and drink together, groups at tables, lively and cheap. The default for a night out with colleagues.
• バー: drinks come first, usually at the counter, and the room is quiet enough to talk.
• スナック: a small counter bar run by a ママ who talks with the customers; normally a set charge rather than per-drink pricing.
• 酒場(さかば): the general cover term, now old-fashioned. It appears on signs and in song titles more than in conversation.

Common collocations

• バーに行(い)く: go to a bar
• バーで飲(の)む: drink at a bar
• 行(い)きつけのバー: one's regular bar
• バーテンダー: bartender (also shortened to バーテン)