The average hourly wage for Bartenders in the United States is $17.83 (excluding tips). However, Bartenders in upscale bars and fine dining establishments can make significantly more, with hourly wages often exceeding $25 per hour before tips.
Tips are a major factor in boosting a Bartender’s income. This is particularly true in high-end establishments, where generous tipping can dramatically increase their take-home pay, especially on complex cocktails or special event service.
So, if you’re looking for the answer to “What restaurants do Bartenders make the most money?” – read on. We’ll explore some of the top-paying establishments across the U.S., including specific spots in New York City and Miami.
After that, we’ll delve into how location and bar type affect a Bartender’s earnings and explore how to land a high-paying Bartending position.
Top-Paying Bars & Restaurants for Bartenders
The following brands and venues are recognized for providing excellent earning potential for Bartenders, thanks to higher base pay, generous customer tipping or both.
Here’s a list of top choices:
1. Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille
[Source: Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille]
Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille provides substantial income for its Bartenders. Its focus on premium drinks and the restaurant’s overall upscale atmosphere lead to higher tabs and significant tip earnings.
With locations in many cities across the U.S. (such as like Denver, Chicago, Miami and Nashville) Perry’s remains a top choice for diners.
2. The Capital Grille
[Source: The Capital Grille]
Known for its high-end steakhouse experience, The Capital Grille attracts patrons willing to splurge on fine dining and drinks, boosting tips for Bartenders. A large variety of premium liquors makes it a perfect opportunity to excel and create signature drinks.
3. Ruth’s Chris Steak House
[Source: Ruth’s Chris Steak House]
As a long-standing player in high-end steak, Ruth’s Chris is also an important part of any Mixologist’s arsenal. Well known and patronized, its bars tend to be consistently full, creating ample opportunity for significant tips.
4. Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse
[Source: Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse]
This steakhouse brand offers a robust, high-end menu and premium bar experience. As a part of that, the Bartenders are rewarded well for the customer service that contributes to Del Frisco’s atmosphere.
Check out available careers at Del Frisco’s.
5. Hillstone Restaurant Group
[Source: Hillstone Restaurant Group]
With brands like Hillstone, Houston’s and R+D Kitchen, the Hillstone Restaurant Group boasts consistent and well-patronized bar services. Their training programs emphasize speed, knowledge and personality. Their venues provide great financial potential for experienced Bartenders.
Best-Paying Bars & Restaurants for Bartenders in New York City
New York City, with its rich nightlife, presents many opportunities for Bartenders to substantially increase their income. A constant stream of patrons, both local and tourist, are ready to splurge. Here are the top spots to aim for:
1. The Ned NoMad
[Source: The Ned NoMad]
This popular hotel bar has multiple awards and attracts patrons seeking elevated mixology, with premium prices for drinks translating to large tips. A busy upscale location that calls for the highest level of bartending excellence.
Address: 1170 Broadway, New York, NY 10001
2. Attaboy
[Source: Attaboy Bar Instagram]
A highly rated hidden bar, well known in NYC’s cocktail scene, Attaboy attracts clients seeking sophisticated concoctions. Their custom cocktails increase tips due to complex ingredients, time-consuming crafting, and premium pricing.
For inquiries, reach out to them at [email protected]
Address: 134 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002
3. Dear Irving
[Source: Dear Irving at Hudson]
This bar with 4 different sections and specific theming gives Bartending experts plenty of room to show their talents. It also allows for the price per cocktail to be increased according to ingredient difficulty and client requests, increasing the potential take-home.
Apply for a Bartender position.
Address: 55 Irving Place New York, NY 10003
4. Bar Centrale
[Source: Bar Centrale New York]
Located in the heart of the theater district, Bar Centrale sees lots of pre-theater and post-theater traffic. As such, Bartenders here find high volumes of generous clients during their shift hours.
For more info, visit Bar Centrale’s web page.
Address: 324 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036
5. Clover Club
[Source: The Clover Club Bar]
Known for a great variety of complex cocktails, Clover Club attracts patrons looking for elevated drinks, which increases the per-drink spend, creating opportunities for significant tip-generating service.
Visit Clover Club’s website for more info or go to the bar itself on the address provided below.
Address: 210 Smith Street Brooklyn, NY 11201
Miami Bars & Restaurants Where Bartenders Can Earn a Lot
Miami’s cocktail culture and lively scene mean huge opportunities for Bartenders. With lots of tourist revenue and a lack of income tax, you are well placed to rake in some cash at these establishments.
Here are five Miami picks where Bartenders do especially well:
1. Sexy Fish Miami
[Source: Sexy Fish Miami]
Sexy Fish is great for its high-end bar and the mixology required from the Bartender, where patrons spending heavily means generous tips and high earning potential.
Address: 1001 S Miami Avenue, Miami, FL 33130
2. The Broken Shaker
[Source: The Broken Shaker]
A popular bar known for its craft cocktails. Patrons looking to get the true South Florida bar experience are happy to reward creativity with a larger tip.
To learn more, visit their website or their location listed below.
Address: 2727 Indian Creek Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33140
3. Sweet Liberty
[Source: Sweet Liberty]
Known for its “World Class Cocktails” the prices can also be high, creating ample opportunity for top mixologists and those aiming for larger compensation at their shifts.
Learn more by visiting their website or their location listed below.
Address: 237 20th Street suite b, Miami Beach, FL 33139
4. Sugar at East Hotel Miami
[Source: East Hotels Miami]
This elevated lounge on top of the EAST Hotel has spectacular city views and cocktails for high-end clients, ensuring higher-ticket sales and generous gratuities.
Address: 788 Brickell Plaza #40, Miami, FL 33131
5. Cafe La Trova
[Source: Cafe La Trova]
Known for its Cuban themed experience, complete with cigars and mojitos, it brings in a loyal crowd with an appetite for high end drinks, which is lucrative for skilled Bartenders.
For job opportunities, visit the Cafe La Trova website.
Address: 971 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33130
The Impact of Bar/Restaurant Type on Bartender Earnings
The style of establishment plays a significant role in a Bartender’s income. High-end and fine-dining establishments often yield higher wages and tips because they attract affluent clientele who are happy to spend more.
These places usually have a premium bar focus, featuring rare and higher priced ingredients, and requiring special skills from the bartending staff. All of these lead to a bigger spend and subsequent tip.
Conversely, casual bars may offer lower base pay but a large influx of clients still leads to consistent and substantial tip earnings, particularly during peak hours, which compensates for the price difference in some circumstances. Bars in tourist hot-spots often boast bigger overall customer spends.
How Location Affects Bartender Salaries
Similar to Servers, Bartenders’ earnings vary drastically by geographic location. Cities with high cost of living like New York City, Miami, and Chicago usually offer more income opportunities. Also, cities where local clientele enjoys an expensive cocktail or are close to tourism areas, offer extra potential to increase tips and overall revenue per shift.
Restaurants in smaller towns and rural areas might face less client volume and smaller overall transactions, which also affects tip amounts for Bartenders.
Here’s a map to see the state differences of Bartenders:
[Source: BLS]
This map is interactive. Hover your mouse over different parts of the map to see detailed data.
How to Find and Land Higher-Paying Bartending Positions
Here are a few suggestions for pursuing higher-paying Bartending opportunities:
- Research Your Local Scene: Start by targeting upscale cocktail bars, hotels and restaurants in high-end areas with great bar reviews. Local networking may prove an extremely valuable way of hearing about vacancies before the job is posted publicly.
- Polish Your Resume: Create an outstanding Bartender resume that focuses on key bartending skills like mixology abilities and experience with custom cocktail and luxury products. Include any advanced Bartender training or awards. Be prepared to discuss them on an interview
- Apply Strategically and Early: As high-paying opportunities can attract attention quickly, keep a close eye on job boards and go in person during a slow hour with your resume.
- Ace the Interview: During an interview, show passion for cocktail creation, great bar service techniques and emphasize your communication and team skills, in addition to detailed product knowledge. Be sure to check out common bar-related questions you might be asked to prep.
- Negotiate Compensation: Research the typical compensation for the location, discuss other compensation benefits that can lead to a higher final wage and don’t be afraid to sell the reasons you think your skill and expertise will add to the operation of that business.
Our Criteria for Selecting High-Paying Bartender Jobs
Our selection process includes information sourced across Bartender job boards, forums dedicated to bartending in high-end locations and discussions on websites such as Reddit and online platforms popular with the bartending community. We are looking to emphasize places that make full use of their mixologists’ talent to justify their compensation.
