Why don’t other countries have pubs? I’ve never been to a proper pub anywhere outside the UK or Ireland. Scotty Gascoigne, Haggerston
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Readers reply
Give it another decade and we won’t have any either. Massive duties on beer, high rents and people’s infatuation with overpriced coffee and cake will kill them off. Jon Hillman
It’s related to the climate of the British islands, allowing its inhabitants to skip heating their mouldy houses. They find it’s a much better idea to crowd in a cosy pub, enjoying the heat from the fireplace as well as from the gin. Other, less fortunate nations prefer their constantly heated living rooms. Rolf Ericsson
One of the main reasons for pubs not existing outside our northern European corner is the climate. Much of the alcohol-consuming globe has a more reliable climate, which gives rise to pavement-based cafe culture. Coupled with our unhealthy relationship with alcohol caused primarily from escaping from our longer working weeks (poor work-life balance), it has led to our pub culture. Paul Merry
It’s just one of those cultural traditions that evolved in a certain part of the world due to the uniqueness of a particular society, history, climate, cuisine etc. You could ask why Italy is the only country with “proper” trattorias, or France the only country with “proper” bistros, or the US the only country with “proper” diners. In all those cases the type of establishment evolved in line with the unique cultural and societal characteristics of those countries. The concept of a “social gathering place with food and drink for local residents” is not unique to the British Isles, but the specific characteristics of those establishments are obviously going to reflect the local conditions (pubs with large fireplaces for the cold climate, for example, or bars designed to cater to industrial workers who wanted some social interaction at the end of their long shifts). pipspeak
I’m Dutch and I might as well ask why there aren’t any proper bruine kroegen (brown cafes) anywhere else in the world. With Persian rugs on the tables. johan1974
Pubs are what the sociologist Ray Oldenburg calls “third places”, “hangouts at the heart of a community”. They generate a sense of place and provide a “neutral ground”, which is characterised by intimacy and cosiness, but which could be attributed neither entirely to the sphere of the state nor to the sphere of the economy, neither to private life nor to the public, but which mediated between the respective spheres and thus has a socially balancing effect. Understood in this way, third places can be found in many societies – in my home town of Vienna, the coffee house would be one such place. So it seems to me that the initial thesis that what characterises a decent pub only exists in the UK and Ireland might not quite correct – at least if we look at it through sociological glasses. thmswtz
Plenty of local Kneipen (singular Kneipe) to be found in Germany There’s even a word for your local on the corner, Eckkneipe. Bekaha010
Estonia’s village landscapes certainly used to have a thing similar to pubs: known as kõrts, a place where men went to drink and socialise, with a reputation of excessive alcohol consumption, fights and other unpleasantness. Compared with a century ago, the few kõrtsid that are left now cater to tourists and are far more food-centric, and locals with drinking problems congregate near village grocery stores. If anyone’s visiting, I recommend Altja kõrts in Lahemaa national park, great food. Viitna kõrts is more famous but less authentic, and the food is so-so. missnegative
I feel sad for the questioner who claims only the UK and Ireland have proper pubs. He has clearly never been to the blessed shores of Canada where await pubs of a most congenial nature. In my home province of Nova Scotia, pub culture is particularly strong, with the classic pub menu items of fish and chips (oh, the fresh fish they offer) and other delicious if less-than-healthy offerings. Live music in the evenings is central to the culture as well. And while I extol the virtue of Nova Scotia public houses, be assured a warm welcome awaits you all across this broad and be-pubbed land. Come for a pint, my friend. You won’t regret it. Tim Gauthier, Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada
I’m speaking for Germany. Germans are too daft to understand the concept of ordering at the bar and paying directly, and then moving away with your drink, and food getting taken to your table. Germans insist on sitting down, then having to wait until a waiter arrives. Then they order, wait for the drinks and food, and after they are finished wave to and wait for a waiter to pay. Lots of waiting. Ever since I got introduced to the concept of a pub I regularly start tearing my hair, but that’s how it is here in Germany.
There was one very popular students’ place in Erlangen, called the Pleitegeier, where ordering and serving worked like in a pub. Well, guess what – they made a survey among their customers whether they should switch to the German model and, lo and behold, the customers wanted it. So now there’s the usual atmosphere: everyone sits at a table of their own, waiting for the, er, waiter. Marion Dickten
Thinking about it, in order to have pubs or pub-like spaces, there are some cultural prerequisites. A strong drinking culture, obviously, but also a culture that values a sort of communal cosiness centered around alcohol consumption. There’s no word in English for this kind of boozy group hygge, but I think it definitely exists. fantod
I read this headline in the Guardian and thought “let me think, surely this isn’t quite correct” but the more I thought about it the more I tended to agree! Patrick Cusack
It seems that you have not been fortunate enough to visit the Czech Republic, and not just Prague: Plzeň, Hradec Králové, České Budějovice, Brno all have pubs which have great atmosphere, excellent beer and wholesome, modestly priced food, especially in the winter. Mike O’Connell
I’ve done a fair bit of international travel in my lifetime and I believe that it comes down to two main factors. First, the weather: in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England it is unpredictable at best and often quite shite. So having a nice, dry, warm place (with a roof) to skull pints and meet your cronies is a must. Second, the banter. In this part of the world we love to talk shite especially about the weather. So having a nice, dry, warm place (with a roof) to skull pints and meet your cronies is a must. Liam
I’ve been to real pubs in Toronto and Cambridge in Ontario. Great pubs in Montreal and plenty of what I would call pubs in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Maybe I don’t know what a pub is. J Barbour, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
You need to get out more. Been to proper pubs in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Canada, US, Australia. Tim Sale
I must take issue with the statement about real pubs not existing outside the UK and Ireland. Please accept my invitation to visit The Tavern in the Old Town Marbella as part of your research. Bob Evans
I think perhaps that you need to broaden your understanding of “pub”. We, here in the high mountains of northern New Mexico USA, have a brewery co-op with 1) a fireplace, 2) barkeeps that know your name, 3) doggos are welcome everywhere. The beer’s pretty OK too. Sure, it’s in a “strip mall” storefront, but they are good people and a great addition to our town. Not all “pubs” come with thatched roofs – but they do come with a sense of community and openness. Michael Johnson, Los Alamos
Oh, oh, why is Latvia the only country that have a proper krogi?! mikkamobile
A proper pub is where you can go for a drink, not make arrangements and be confident that you will know people there to sit down with. Only had that in two places in my life – one was in California. PeteTheBeat
Well, here I am in New Jersey smoking a cigar in a pub, comfy leather chairs, food, draught beer but no open fire. Everywhere I’ve worked and lived outside the UK – from South Africa, Hong Kong, Denmark, Turkey to the US – has pubs, maybe you call them bars but honestly everywhere has pubs … Cleveland had a great pub/bar culture, that was no different to the pubs I drank in back in the UK. USLanky34
Years ago I was travelling from Belfast to Dublin well after closing time when my companion (who was driving) said: “Fancy a drink?” He knocked on a door in a row of terrace houses round by the Dundalk docks – there was nothing to indicate a licensed premises. Inside there was a small bar not much bigger than a sitting room, and fire in the grate. No draft beer, just bottled Guinness. It was warm and you could stay as long as you liked. Now that’s what I call a proper pub. Garloch
