Pub lovers tell Americans why they can never replicate 'vibe' of British boozer

A debate has erupted online with Brits boasting of our when compared to our cousins across the pond.

In the UK, for many the is as important as their own home - somewhere people come together to meet and enjoy a few pints, with some even finding life-long friendships with fellow revellers from the The pub as we know them today has taken hundreds of years to develop into its current form, with expderts saying that the original boozer was found in Ancient Rome. Anglo-Saxon alehouses also had several features that are still seen today.

In small towns and villages, the pub is often the community's focal point and so highly regarded in British culture that English diarist Samuel Pepys hailed them as the "heart of England". In the R/AskUK subreddit, an American user lamented as she asked: "Why is the pub scene in the UK so much better than in the US?" What followed was a flurry of nearly 1,000 comments, with the question receiving 676 upvotes.

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Countless Brits and Americans jumped on the thread, offering up their thoughts on why. One user, Accurate_Prompt_8800, summed up how to Brits, the pub is our "third space", meaning we see it as an "extension of a person's home".

They continued: "I would say pubs in the UK are essentially an extension of a person’s home, a ‘third space’ so to speak. People bring their parents, friends, children (with things like beer gardens), colleagues, dates, acquaintances, etc to the pub. Not just for having drinks, but you might even get a pool table, karaoke or a quiz night if you’re lucky!

It’s a place to celebrate, reminisce and commiserate (and watch England in the Euros / WC of course). It’s a social hub in many communities, with many regulars knowing each other exclusively from the pub; and a place of genuine comfort for many. People are almost always friendly and welcoming after a few, and it’s a great equaliser when it comes to class differences."

Pubs are so important to us that when they're shuttered, it can have a negative impact on mental health and exacerbate loneliness. During Covid, the closure of hospitality venues lead almost 62 per cent of UK adults to say they felt the social and mental wellbeing of the popualtion had declined.

In contrast, the US doesn't have a "pub scene" as such a powerful "cultural establishment, the commenter added. "Therefore as a cultural establishment, the ‘pub scene’ just doesn’t exist in the US in the same way. The closet thing to it would probably be a gastropub but even then it’s a toned down version of what exists here, and more like a sports bar. I’d say the closest you get from a features and overall ‘vibe’ perspective in the US is a dive bar - more accessible, local, familiar," they said.

It's not much of a surprise that the UK pub scene is more entrenched than the one seen in the US, they added, as we've had "a massive start in designing pubs and the whole pub culture".

"They’ve been around for 100s of years. It’s as ingrained into our culture and one of the defining features of the UK." With their final comment, the user added that the fact that our pints are bigger, "20oz v 16oz" and the fact we "aren't expected to tip the bartender for each drink" could also have an impact.