Bottle Service – What is the difference in a cocktail and this Service?
Texas Best Food Services Training LLC
This service is the act of buying a whole bottle of liquor or champagne at a table in a swanky nightclub, bar, or lounge.
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How is this different from regular table service? This “service” implies that service is for a higher-class establishment with wealthy patrons and elite privileges. This isn’t just about buying a whole bottle of alcohol – it’s about the elevated experience and service that goes along with it.
Although this service can be traced back to Japan in the 1940s, where it was customary to buy an entire bottle of sake for the table, the modern bottle service tradition came out of a nightclub in Paris in the late 1980s. When you visited Les Bains Douches, you bought a table that came with a complimentary bottle. Similarly, at many modern clubs, you’ll see a “minimum spend” (before tax and tip) required to reserve a table.
By the early 2000s, this service gained momentum and was the standard VIP experience at high-dollar establishments worldwide. In the U.S., it’s most popular in areas such as Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles, and New York.
When there’s a market, clubs love this service because they can charge a substantial markup on the price of liquor – sometimes over 1000%. The cost of a bottle includes mixers as well. Still, more importantly, you’re seated in an exclusive area of the club with restricted access (the “VIP section”), making this service popular among celebrities.
The cost of this service and the central position provided to purchasers of this service has led some critics to complain that this service is turning night clubs into elitist dens. Preferential treatment for purchasers of this service may include stopping the regular dance music when an especially expensive bottle is purchased and, instead, playing a theme song, or removing patrons from a table to make way for another patron and their party that purchased this service.
Last updated 04/17/2023