“Bar” is one of those words that covers a lot of ground. It can mean a hushed cocktail lounge, a roaring sports venue, a late-night club, or the kind of warm local where the staff already know your order. They all serve drinks, but the experience each one offers could not be more different. In this guide, we walk through the main types of bars and bar styles you will come across, what sets each one apart, and, because we cannot help ourselves, a few honest notes on where our own little waterfront local on Claisebrook Cove fits into it all.
Finding Your Ideal Watering Hole
There is a particular kind of afternoon in East Perth when the light comes off Claisebrook Cove just right, the deck starts to fill up, and someone’s dog settles under a high table like it owns the place. Long before we were the ones behind the taps, we were sitting on the customer side of the bar after a long day on Royal Street, so we know that choosing where to drink is really about choosing how you want to feel.
That is the thing most people miss about drinking establishments: they are not all trying to do the same job. A hushed cocktail lounge and a raucous sports bar are both, technically, “bars”, yet they offer completely different nights out. The world of bar styles is hugely varied, but what separates one from another usually comes down to a few things: the atmosphere, the drinks they specialise in, and the sort of welcome you receive at the door.
As former regulars turned custodians of The Claisey, we have a soft spot for every corner of pub culture. Consider what follows a friendly, plain-spoken tour of each style, with the odd nod to how we do things back on the cove.
12 Popular Types of Bars and What Makes Them Unique
1. Traditional Neighbourhood Pubs and Public Houses
The pub, short for “public house”, is the original community anchor. These are warm, unfussy rooms built around conversation, hearty comfort food, and a properly poured beer rather than novelty. You walk in without a booking, someone knows your name by the second visit, and one drink has a habit of turning into “just one more”.
This is home turf for us. Our Scottish and Irish roots show up on the plate and in the glass: think a Haggis Spring Roll with whisky sauce, golden chips you can smother in our signature curry sauce, and Perth’s best-poured pint of Guinness, served the way it should be: rich, creamy and worth the wait. Add the chatter drifting across the deck, and you have the neighbourhood pub in its truest form.
2. Craft Beer Bars and Brewpubs
Craft beer bars live and breathe the pour. Expect specialised draught systems, rotating taps, a real love of independent breweries, and staff who can actually tell you what is in the glass. Brewpubs go one step further and brew on-site, so the beer travels just metres from tank to tap.
We are proud of our own house-brewed Claisey Lager and Claisey Ale, both served ice-cold and made to go down easy after work or on a slow Sunday. They sit happily alongside Tennent’s on tap for anyone chasing that authentic UK pub pour.
3. Classic Cocktail Bars and Speakeasies
Cocktail bars are temples of mixology. The focus is on craft, from classic martinis and negronis to house creations, usually wrapped in a more sophisticated ambience with lower lighting and carefully chosen decor. Speakeasies lean into the theatre of it all, borrowing the hidden-entrance mystique of the Prohibition era and often tucking themselves behind an unmarked door.
These are destinations for a proper drinks night out, where the drink itself is the main event rather than the backdrop.
4. Unpretentious Dive Bars
The dive bar is the honest workhorse of the drinking world: no frills, low-cost drinks, sticky-but-loved charm, and a crowd of loyal regulars who have been perched on the same stools for years. Style is not the priority here; a relaxed, come-as-you-are welcome is. Many double as karaoke or darts spots once the night gets going.
There is real character in a good dive bar, and a lot of its warmth comes from the same place a great neighbourhood pub does: people who want to see you back again.
5. Waterfront and Rooftop Bars
Some bars are made by their view. Waterfront and rooftop venues trade on panoramic outlooks, open-air seating, and that unmistakable holiday feeling of a drink in the sun. The setting does a lot of the work, drawing people together for long, unhurried afternoons.
Our dog-friendly deck overlooking Claisebrook Cove is one of East Perth’s favourite waterfront spots, and we’ll happily argue the case. Settle in as the light drops over the water, order a cold one, and let the afternoon stretch out. This is a waterfront bar with the heart of a local pub.
6. Wine Bars
Wine bars are for lingering. The draw is an extensive list, plenty of options by the glass so you can explore without committing to a bottle, and a quieter, more refined atmosphere. Thoughtful food pairings are part of the appeal, and knowledgeable staff will happily steer you from a crisp white to something bigger and bolder.
7. Sports Bars
Sports bars are built for the roar of the crowd: big screens, high energy on game day, and a menu of proper crowd-pleasers like wings, burgers, and nachos to soak up the excitement (and the pints).
There is an electric pre-match surge in this pocket of East Perth on AFL game days, and the deck comes alive with it. Time your visit for a Wednesday, and you will also catch Wingsday, with half a kilo of wings in BBQ, Buffalo, or hot spicy sauce. Big match, cold beer, hot wings: some formulas do not need reinventing.
8. Hotel Bars
Hotel bars are the convenient all-rounders. Set inside a hotel, they cater to travellers and locals alike, and their vibe shifts with the building: a casual lounge in one, a polished, high-end bar in another. The best of them manage to feel welcoming to a road-weary guest and a neighbourhood regular alike.
9. Specialty Spirit Bars
Specialty spirit bars go deep rather than wide, building their whole identity around one category, such as whisky, tequila, gin or rum. Expect curated tasting options and staff who treat the back bar like a library.
Given our Scottish leanings, we have a natural fondness for a good whisky, and there is no better match for it than a Haggis Spring Roll with whisky sauce. It is a small, delicious nod to the origins of our comfort heritage.
10. Live Music and Entertainment Venues
Live music venues put a stage at the centre of everything. Whether it is a full band, a solo act, a piano singalong, or a karaoke setup, the experience is built around performance and the buzz of a shared crowd. The bar keeps everyone watered while the music does the heavy lifting.
11. High Energy Nightclubs
Nightclubs are the late-night specialists: booming sound systems, live DJs, packed dance floors, and a night that runs into the early hours. Bottle service and VIP tables are part of the package, but the real product is energy: a big, loud, celebratory release that keeps going long after the pubs have called last drinks.
12. Concept and Themed Bars
Themed bars build an entire world around a single idea: a specific era, a pop-culture obsession, a region, or an activity like board games or arcade classics. The decor, the drinks list, and sometimes even the staff outfits all reinforce the concept, so the atmosphere is as much the point as the beverages themselves.
Key Factors That Define Different Bar Styles
Look closely, and almost every difference between bar styles comes down to three things.
Price point and value. Where you drink shapes what you pay. Dive bars and casual neighbourhood pubs lean towards accessible, down-to-earth pricing, while cocktail lounges and specialty bars sit at the premium end for the craft and curation involved. Location matters too, with city-centre venues typically costing more than a suburban local.
Atmosphere and decor. Lighting, music, and seating quietly set the entire mood. Pitchers on timber tables and a dog asleep on the deck create one feeling; velvet booths and a mixologist shaking something intricate create another. Neither is “better”; they are simply built for different nights.
Service style and hospitality. This is the one closest to our heart. Some venues run on fast counter service, others on formal table service, but the best drinking establishments run on genuine local hospitality, where staff know your name and you never feel like a stranger for long. That, more than any fit-out, is what turns a bar into a regular haunt.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bar Styles
What is the main difference between a pub and a bar?
A pub (public house) is built around community, comfort food, and beer, with a relaxed, family-friendly, conversational atmosphere. “Bar” is the broader umbrella term covering everything from cocktail lounges to sports bars to nightclubs, which often prioritise a specific drink, theme, or form of entertainment over that all-day community role.
What makes a dive bar different from a local neighbourhood pub?
The difference is mostly about food and focus. A dive bar is deliberately no-frills and drink-led, often skipping a proper kitchen in favour of cheap rounds and a laid-back crowd. A neighbourhood pub keeps that same friendly warmth but adds hearty meals, full service, and a broader welcome for families, matchday crowds, and solo afternoon regulars alike.
Why are drinking establishments called bars?
The name comes from the physical counter, the “bar”, that historically separated customers from the staff and the stock behind it. Over time, the word stretched from meaning just that barrier to describing the whole venue, until “bar” became shorthand for any place dedicated to serving drinks.
Pull Up a Chair at The Claisey
If there is one thing all these types of bars taught us as regulars, it is that the label matters far less than the feeling. At The Claisebrook Bar on Eastbrook Terrace, we have quietly borrowed the best bits of a few styles: the lively social energy of a waterfront bar and the warmth and comfort of a proper neighbourhood pub. We have kept it independent, walk-in friendly, and unmistakably East Perth.
So whether you are after a solo afternoon pint of Claisey Lager on the deck, a hearty Sunday Roast with mates, or a spot to ride out the pre-match nerves on game day, the door is open Wednesday to Sunday. Pull up a chair. At The Claisey, you belong.