What makes good bartender

Nothing makes me more hesitant to sit at a bar than seeing debris from previous guests and a bartender that is in no rush to clean it up. How well their stations and mise en place are kept. How clean and exact their pours are. Their attention to detail. And their demeanor under pressure. They are constantly cleaning and wiping… Their language to guests differs from their everyday language. They know how to put bar jargon into layman terms.

Developing your leadership skills and interpersonal skills, by getting to know your coworkers and creating a strong team spirit, is important. Regardless of whether you want to develop your skills, train new staff or work towards a managerial role, leadership and interpersonal skills will provide you with essential techniques which you can apply throughout your career. In bar work, customers are the number one priority. So as well as looking smart and stylish , you should be friendly, approachable and confident.

The more you learn, the quicker you may be able to enter bigger, more senior roles. Keep practising bartending techniques and observe and learn from your coworkers. These are just five of the many crucial qualities which will help you find success as an excellent bartender. Ready to find out what else you can do to further your career? Can you make a great cocktail? Can you make that same great cocktail 60 times a night, four to five shifts a week? They are the lifeblood. Barbacks keep the bartenders stocked on syrups and glasses and they make sure everything is right where it needs to be when we reach for it.

Not only does it mean turning your back to the guest, but it also hides what you are doing. Everything we do should be open for the guest to see. It creates trust. Leaning is also a no-no for me, but that mostly applies to my staff. I used to be frequently guilty of that and it is a very hard habit to break. Photo: Antonio Diaz. These bartenders are birds and they can fly away. Cleanliness [is key]. Keeping your workspace and your bar top clean demonstrates power, capability, organization, and care.

This continues to boggle my mind beyond belief. Say we were in a restaurant setting and you ordered spaghetti. This is never okay. Photo courtesy Rae Huo. When I first started bartending, and for many years afterwards, I had a really hard time with this: I had so much on my plate just trying to remember recipes and where things were stored at the different bars I was working at.

Even if the bar is slammed, when you are prepared to the best of your ability, you can create a tone that shows you are confident and care. On days that someone calls in sick at the last minute and I have to unexpectedly jump behind the bar, I know my service is not at its best until I settle into the shift.

When I am mentally prepared, which I tend to do while I am setting up the bar, particularly when I am cutting fruit, I get in the mindset of a bartender.