We've all seen scenes in movies where a handsome character buys a stunning stranger a drink in the bar. In films, it's usually a surefire path to flirty chit-chat — but what does that look like with ordinary people, in real life?
Well, recently a post in r/AskReddit asked just that question — "People who have bought a stranger a drink at the bar. How did it go?" it reads. Here are some of the most-upvoted responses:
1. "My wife and I were at a happy hour at a local Mexican restaurant. It was pre-COVID, and they would lay out an impressive spread of buffet food for free. Drinks were $2 off. We would drop our sons off nearby for basketball practice and sometimes go for happy hour. So one Friday night, just after we arrived, an older couple in their late 60s or early 70s arrived and ordered their drinks. We shared the same waiter, and told him we wanted to pay for their drink."
"Great! Until they proceeded to absolutely pound margaritas, three drinks to our one. After about 90 minutes, we were finishing our second and last margaritas… and they were finishing their sixth margarita each.
So we waved down our now-busy waiter and clarified we would pay for their first drinks and not the five subsequent rounds. The waiter laughed and said he hadn’t even told them of our offer yet. Phew."
2. "I was bored sh*tless at a bar after a f*cked-up breakup and sent a few beers over to a girl who also looked bored. We had a kid a few years later."
"That was some expensive beer."
3. "I'm a guy. A man bought me a drink once. I was f*ckin stoked! I thought he wanted to talk sports, there was a lot of 'bro' talk. I bought him the next round to pay him back, and then I continued on with my night with my buddies. The next day I realised what was going on and gave myself a little high-five."
4. "I bought a scary dude at a bar a drink once just to see what he’d do. No other reason. I’m just dumb like that. It went fine, he was a bit confused. Nothing else happened."
"Username absolutely checks out."
5. "I was once bored at my table with friends and witnessed two people exchange glances further at the bar. Neither took any initiative. So I bought two drinks and asked the bartender to give them to them separately, saying the other bought it. That was a very fun scene to witness from afar. They ended up chatting all night and leaving together."
6. "An older lady who was deep in a conversation with her friend quietly had the bartender get me a drink. She never looked at or said anything to me. She had her back to me talking to a friend. I thought it was nice, and said 'buy her one back.' The bartender then said 'she isn't trying to have anything happen. She's just being nice.'"
"Uhh yeah. Of course. She's literally had her back to me all night? I didn't even pay her any mind. So I said, 'I know, I'm just being nice too.' And the bartender acted like I was trying to get with her. But she got the other girl a drink and we went back to not interacting whatsoever."
7. "I do it all the time when the bar line is really long. I walk up to a solo or couple and ask if I can buy them a drink so I can skip the line. Works every time. I get a drink within five minutes instead of 25, and they get a free drink. We go our separate ways after that."
8. "I bought a drink for a woman one time. We hadn’t made eye contact; I had no proof she was aware I existed. My biggest problem was that my friend who was with me hadn’t had enough liquid courage to get up and talk to her himself. I pulled the waitress aside and asked her to buy this woman whatever drink she wanted on my tab, but tell her it was from my friend."
"I received a text message at 3 am from my friend that same morning that said, 'If I marry her, you’re going to be the best man at my wedding.'
The best part is that I have probably one of the greatest photos of me in a tux on their wedding day."
9. "I remember seeing a cute girl at a bar in the early evening. One guy bought her a drink, which the bartender delivered. A different guy did the same. She smiled and waved thanks to them. I flagged the bartender down and ordered her a water. She laughed and we chatted a bit. That was the end of it though."
10. "I bought one dude a drink and he decided he needed to draw me a picture. It was literally directionless scribbles on a napkin. Then he started to tell me how the secrets of the universe were explained by it. Maybe they were. I don't think so. I excused myself and bounced."
11. "Early in the evening, we saw a group of cute girls and tipped the bartender $5 to get them shots of water. When they arrived, the girls looked over at us. We tipped our glasses to them. They cheered back, clinked glasses, and drank the shots. Oh, the look on their faces. My bros did not know how to follow up with banter and ran away as soon as they came over to chat us up."
12. "Not me but my dad. He bought a random guy in a bar a drink in the past, ended up talking all night and he became my dad's best friend, LOL."
13. "She splashed it on my face and told me to f*ck off."
14. "I always buy a shot for the bride-to-be and maid of honour when I see hen parties. Not trying to get anywhere, just giving them a 'congrats and have fun' shot. Sometimes it ends there, sometimes I end up being dragged around with their party all night. I’ve ended up attending a few weddings because of that habit, too."
15. "I got pregnant."
16. "We got married. She is currently snoring next to me in bed."
17. "She leaned on the bar, grabbed the shot, and literally emptied it on her face. I could not stop laughing."
18. I know nobody asked, but I have one to add from the other side of this: I was at a pretty empty pub early in the evening. This guy came in and ordered shots "for everyone," which he said was because he was celebrating his divorce. He kept loudly commenting how much he hated his ex-wife and what a terrible person she was (she didn't sound bad; he sounded mean). Nobody drank any of them because we didn't want to endorse what he was saying, so he shot all of them back one after another (about nine shots). Everyone left out of embarrassment. I hope his liver's okay.
H/T to r/AskReddit for these!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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