Originally Posted by JayhawkCO

Well, again, I'm a manager at a higher end restaurant, so a) there's no music blaring in my bar (any more so than in the main dining room) and b) it's not a "four deep at the bar"situation like when you were in college. My bar top has 17 seats, all with backs. The bar top is positioned so it is not set higher than a typical dinner table. Especially in the mid-week (when I assume most of the business travelers in this thread tend to eat alone in a restaurant), no one really orders drinks over the bar top so you're not likely to get elbowed. All the drinks for people not physically sitting at the bar top are coming through cocktail servers (from the bar area tables) and the servers from the main dinning room.

I actually take your last question a little bit insultingly. I actually think the exact opposite. As for the service concern, keep in mind most bartenders at nicer restaurants make more money than the servers, so therefore it is a promotion to get behind the bar. All of my bartenders were among the best at their job when they were servers, so in all likelihood, you will get better service at the bar than elsewhere. (Hence why I sit at the bar with my fiance when I go out to eat). Just my two cents.

Chris