History Main / TheBartender

{{Discussed}} and {{Subverted}} in ''WebAnimation/{{Lackadaisy}}.'' Former tough Viktor's manning the bar at the Lackadaisy [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub speakeasy]], but his dour, grim demeanor doesn't help much with that. He patently refuses to play the role of confidante despite his boss Mitzi's pleas, scowling and growling so the patrons are spooked, and even his attempt at ObsessiveCompulsiveBarkeeping results in shattered glass.

-->'''Barkeep:''' [[CatchPhrase I don't want no trouble in my place!]]

* ''Manga/{{Bartender}}'', predictably, is an anime centered around a Bartender, his bar and the stories of its patrons.

* ''Literature/TheShipWhoSearched'' by Creator/MercedesLackey has a scene where the male lead pours out his woes to a bartender and receives some good advice -- along with a LampshadeHanging, as it's revealed that a lot of bartenders in this future setting have received formal training in psychological and relationship counseling because of how often they're in scenes like this.

* A ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' example is Memah, one of the POV characters in ''Literature/DeathStar''.

* [[spoiler:Justin]] Callahan of the ''Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon'' stories by Spider Robinson.

* ''Literature/CalLeandros'': While Cal is frequently a bartender, he's far too involved and ornery to fit this trope. His boss ''Ishiah'', however, runs a bar for supernatural types in New York City and he and his peri fellows stay resolutely neutral on al kinds of things and focuses on keeping the peace in his bar unless ''really'' pushed to deal with Heaven-related issues.

* In ''{{Fanfic/Nosflutteratu}}'', when Twilight goes to Sugarcube Corner for advice, she discover's Pinkie has adopted "Sympathetic Bartender" as a persona.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has a G-rated version in the episode "The Forest Teacher", an Oranguru that lives up to the species' name of "Sage Pokémon", somehow dispensing advice to humans despite the PokemonSpeak (well, it ''is'' a Psychic-type, so maybe it's somehow making its meaning known without actually speaking), treating their wounds if needed, and serving up Pinap Juice.

* Andrew Gilbert "Agil" Mills from ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' runs a bar in Tokyo. His wife runs the place during his absence, and after the titular game is cleared other players frequently visit the bar, especially the main characters.

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. The episode "Suns and Lovers" opens with a drunk John Crichton at a commerce station, pouring out his recent troubles to a Russian-accented barkeep called Moordil, who's a massive, many-armed creature like a cross between a spider, walrus and human. That should tell you something about this particular series--plus the fact that Crichton's troubles are so bizarre he quickly realises that Moordil has no idea what he's rambling on about.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': [[spoiler:Aberforth Dumbledore]], the barkeep and innkeeper of the Hog's Head introduced in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]''. Theres also Tom of the Leaky Cauldron introduced in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Philosophers Stone]]'' and Madam Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks introduced in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]''.

* Moe Szyslak from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is a comically scummy bartender, being a highly unscrupulous character who tends to give awful advise.

* The Bartender of ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' is a close confidant of Kotaro Tatsumi who is informed of the Zombie Land Saga project. [[spoiler:He's actually ''Jofuku'', the legendary alchemist who sought a means for immortality for the Qin emperor. He eventually settled in Saga and has been protecting the land from a deadly curse for centuries. Kotaro's idol project is their latest attempt to keep Saga alive, and Jofuku is ultimately the one responsible for ressurectijg the titular zombies.]]

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* Podley from ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' fills this role quite nicely, being the bartender in the appropriately named Rogueport. He's essential to recruiting one of the members to your party much later in the game.

* ''VideoGame/{{Tapper}}''

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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saloon-keeper-valerian-ruppert_copy_2048.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"What can I do you for?"]]

* Whenever he's not out on a mission, [[Main/TheDragon Kurogiri]] from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' runs the small bar that serves as a base for the [[Main/LegionOfDoom League Of Villains]].

* ''FanFic/TheInfiniteLoops'': In the MLP loops, once Big Macintosh starts Looping, he takes to building a bar for other Loopers, giving them a place to help [[INeedAFreakingDrink cope after harsh loops]], as well as just giving them a place to hang out and share stories. Other Loopers have since followed his example and set up bars in other Loops.
* In ''{{FanFic/Nosflutteratu}}'', when Twilight goes to Sugarcube Corner for advice, she discover's Pinkie has adopted "Sympathetic Bartender" as a persona.
* Kurt Bright in ''FanFic/StormsOverhead'', who goes undercover as Kurtis, acts as one in the Charming Faeries Inn. It helps him with information gathering, as he exploits the fact that bartenders might be able to get [[LooseLips people talking once they've gotten drunk.]]

* ''Series/TheMuppets'' reinvents Rowlf as the proprietor and bartender of Rowlf's Tavern. As one of the more down-to-earth Muppets, he's sometimes used as a source of advice.

* The protagonist of ''VisualNovel/VA11HALLA'' is a bartender of a tavern set in a Cyberpunk dystopia. Her job is to not only keep her clients properly liquored up, but also converse with them and give them advice.

** A Turian bartender in the Dark Star lounge [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the advice-giving portion of the Bartender trope; if Shepard attempts to milk him for gossip, he suggests you ask around before commenting that he doesn't get "why humans always ask him that."
** Another lampshade is hung by Aethyta, the Asari bartender on Ilium, who turns out to be a Matriarch. When the character asks what she's doing tending bars, when Matriarchs are supposed to be councilors and figures of wisdom, her reply is, basically, "that's why Matriarchs make the perfect bartender." The third game reveals that [[spoiler: she's Liara's father (no, not her "other mother", her father) and was keeping an eye on Liara's intel-broker activities for the other matriarchs. She moves to a bar on the Citadel once the Reaper war starts.]]
** In [[WretchedHive Omega]], a Batarian bartender tries to poison Shepard, but since this is Shepard, he fails. Shepard can then either force the bartender to drink his own poison, get a paranoid turian to shoot him or tell him to scram. He's promptly replaced by a salarian.

* At the center of the ''ComicBook/{{Criminal}}'' universe is Gnarly, the ex-boxer who runs The Undertow, a dive bar frequented by crooks, con-men and people who just plain run out of luck. Like most bartenders, he has seen and knows a lot more than he lets on, and is extremely judicious in applying it.