The earliest traces of alcohol that researchers have found are in China, on the inside of vases that are roughly 9,000 years old. The oldest known beer recipe, from a Sumerian poem, is about 4,000 years old. Clearly, for nearly as long as there have been people on this earth, they have looked for a way to gather, unwind, and raise a glass together.
So once the recipes were perfected, where did people go to enjoy them? Possibly at some of these places: the oldest bars in the world. Each one carries a story that stretches back centuries, and several of them still pour a drink today.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the oldest pub on the planet is Sean’s Bar, located in Athlone, Ireland. This Irish pub dates back to around the year 900 AD and has been serving travelers and locals alike ever since. During a renovation in the 1970s, workers uncovered original walls built from wattle and wicker, along with old coins minted by past landlords. Those artifacts were considered so significant that they are now on display in the National Museum of Ireland, while one section of the ancient wall remains in the pub for visitors to see.
Long before St. Patrick’s Day turned the Irish pub into a worldwide tradition, Sean’s was already welcoming pilgrims along the banks of the River Shannon. For roughly its first 200 years, kings and clan leaders were among its lodgers. With that kind of documented history behind it, the pub comfortably claims to be the oldest bar still standing anywhere in the world.
The Bingley Arms is the oldest pub in Britain, established around 953 AD, just shortly after its Irish counterpart. Formerly called The Priests Inn, it was founded as a resting stop for monks travelling across the English countryside. Over its history, it has also served as a courthouse and as a refuge for priests who feared persecution during the reign of King Henry VIII. Some people even believe it is haunted.
Germany boasts the oldest continually operating brewery on the planet, which was begun by Benedictine monks in 1040 AD. One of its oldest bars, Brauhaus Sion, opened a little later, in 1318. It is famous for Kölsch, a kind of beer that must be made in the region of Cologne in order to earn the name.
If you journey southward from these first spots, you can find Al Brindisi, the oldest wine bar in Italy. It has been operating since the Renaissance, though its original name was Hostaria del Chiucchiolino, which comes from an old northern Italian word for drunk. It is located in Ferrara, the beloved city of Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto, who even mentioned it in one of his works in 1528.
Across the Atlantic, the United States has several taverns that each claim to be the oldest in one way or another, and each one is stitched into a chapter of American history.
The oldest tavern still operating is often said to be the White Horse Tavern in Newport, Rhode Island. The name comes from the tradition of keeping a white horse outside buildings that served food and beer, a signal for people who could not read. The tavern also served as a meeting place for Rhode Island colony officials until the official Colony House was built.
New York’s contribution is Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan, widely considered the oldest surviving building in the borough and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is best remembered as the room where George Washington gave an emotional farewell to his Continental Army officers on December 4, 1783, days after the British evacuated the city.
Up in Boston, the original Green Dragon Tavern earned the nickname “Headquarters of the Revolution.” It was a gathering spot for Paul Revere and the Sons of Liberty, who are said to have planned some of their boldest moves within its walls.
Down in New Orleans, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop on Bourbon Street is reputed to be the oldest structure used as a bar in the United States. Built in the 1770s, the former blacksmith shop is tied by legend to the privateer Jean Lafitte, whose mystique endured for more than 200 years after his death. The building was named a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, which helps explain why it still proudly claims to be the oldest bar in the country.
Hospitality That Stands the Test of Time
Great hospitality has always been about more than the drink. It is about the people who make guests feel genuinely welcome, whether that was a landlord along the Shannon a thousand years ago or a bartender in a candlelit French Quarter cottage. That is a tradition HMG+ has carried for more than 30 years, staffing events across New York and Chicago with servers, bartenders, and captains who bring that same sense of occasion to every gathering.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the oldest bar in the world? Sean’s Bar in Athlone, Ireland, is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest pub in Ireland, with roots dating to around 900 AD. Because no older bar has been verified, this Irish pub also claims to be the oldest bar in the world.
What is the oldest bar in the United States? Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop in New Orleans claims to be the oldest structure used as a bar in the country. Built in the 1770s and linked by legend to Jean Lafitte, it is a National Historic Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other historic contenders include the White Horse Tavern in Rhode Island and Fraunces Tavern in New York, where George Washington bade farewell to his officers.
How do we know Sean’s Bar is really that old? When the pub was renovated in the 1970s, builders found sections of original wattle-and-wicker wall and old coins that were later dated and preserved. Many of those artifacts are held by the National Museum of Ireland, with one portion of the wall still on display inside the pub.
Which historic American tavern is tied to Paul Revere? The original Green Dragon Tavern in Boston, remembered as the “Headquarters of the Revolution,” was a meeting place for Paul Revere and the Sons of Liberty in the years leading up to the American Revolution.
