# In a British pub, what are the "public bar," "saloon bar," etc.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 30, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109 "2009-12-30T23:44:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/21 "2010-01-03T08:21:36Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > FTR for most Americans the word “saloon” specifically brings to mind rough drinking establishments as imagined in movies about the old West. But an older meaning of the word is the same as “salon”, or a large-ish, comfortably furnished public gathering room found in a hotel or on a ship. > > “Saloon” also used to be a term in the UK for a sedan car; maybe it still is. I was aware of this, but otherwise I might have been perplexed when reading Ian Fleming’s stories where Bond’s American counterpart shows up in a “smart black saloon”. The word “saloon” is used to describe a car with a conventional boot (trunk) and to differentiator it from a hatchback. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/22 "2010-01-03T09:28:35Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > The word “saloon” is used to describe a car with a conventional boot (trunk) and to differentiator it from a hatchback. Of course I meant to say “differentiate”, (stupid spell-checker!) ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/23 "2010-01-03T10:11:33Z")
A saloon will also have 4 doors. A two door car with a boot is a coupe. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/24 "2010-01-03T22:56:23Z")
I’ve seen a number of older bars in the US that have separate rooms with separate entrances. The main door goes right into the traditional bar where the serious, manly drinking is done, but there is a side door labeled “Ladies Entrance” (or sometimes “Family Entrance”), leading into a quieter room with curtains and tables and basic food service. The separation protects the fairer sex’s tender eyes and ears from the puking and fighting in the other room while they do their own drinking in a more refined manner. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/25 "2010-01-03T23:26:04Z")
In Australia there are still pubs with a Ladies’ Bar - but typically it doesn’t mean that the bar’s any different to the other rooms. Typically it just means that they haven’t got around to giving it a “theme” name as part of a renovation. Actually, cancel that - I know of a pub up the road from me that closed a couple of years ago where the Ladies’ Bar was still home to the more befrocked, shaved-legged and made-up section of their clientele. No females in there, though. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/26 "2010-01-03T23:30:05Z")
In my local when I was growing up, the Public Bar was where people went to drink. The Lounge Bar was where Sis, the decrepit octogenarian landlady, watched TV and did her ironing. I think this was an unusual setup though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/27 "2010-01-04T01:15:34Z")
> [@BigNik](#): > > In Australia there are still pubs with a Ladies’ Bar - but typically it doesn’t mean that the bar’s any different to the other rooms. Typically it just means that they haven’t got around to giving it a “theme” name as part of a renovation. > > Actually, cancel that - I know of a pub up the road from me that closed a couple of years ago where the Ladies’ Bar was still home to the more befrocked, shaved-legged and made-up section of their clientele. No females in there, though. In Queensland it was only in 1970 that it became legal for women to enter a public bar. Prior to that they had to go to the ‘Ladies Lounge’ of the pub. So at that time a Ladies Lounge was exactly that, a place where women could go for a drink. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/28 "2010-01-05T06:15:36Z")
And then there’s the mysterious “Gastropub”… ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/29 "2010-01-05T22:34:17Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > And then there’s the mysterious “Gastropub”… It’s not that mysterious. I get gastro pretty much every time I eat at my local. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/30 "2010-01-05T23:41:52Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > There are still a few pubs that have a similar division, but they’re very rare indeed Not in Ireland. I am surprised to read that the traditional layout has become rare in Britain, because it is still quite common here. Typically there are two doors immediately inside the front door of the pub. One door leads to the lounge, the other to the ordinary bar room. Many Dublin pubs still have one or more snugs too. Edit: missed scifisam’s follow-up post where she clarified this layout still exists in Britain, without the social differentiation. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109/31 "2010-01-11T11:19:53Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > I’m afraid I don’t know the distinctions, but I can tell you they’re not in use any more. I’ve never seen a “public bar” or “saloon bar” in pubs over here … I have. At least in one place (I think it was called the Victoria, a Young’s pub in Kensington, anyway). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-british-pub-what-are-the-public-bar-saloon-bar-etc/523109.md?page=1)