Bar attendant vs dining room server

The differences between bar attendants and dining room servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a dining room server has an average salary of $29,540, which is higher than the $24,295 average annual salary of a bar attendant.

The top three skills for a bar attendant include cleanliness, front desk and quality standards. The most important skills for a dining room server are fine dining, food service, and cleanliness.

Bar attendant vs dining room server overview

	Bar Attendant	Dining Room Server
Yearly salary	$24,295	$29,540
Hourly rate	$11.68	$14.20
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	101,930	99,079
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	-	-

Bar attendant vs dining room server salary

Bar attendants and dining room servers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Bar Attendant	Dining Room Server
Average salary	$24,295	$29,540
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $31,000	Between $23,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City	Urban Honolulu, HI	Marysville, WA
Highest paying state	Maine	Washington
Best paying company	HEI Hotels & Resorts	Eastmont School District
Best paying industry	Retail	Hospitality

Differences between bar attendant and dining room server education

There are a few differences between a bar attendant and a dining room server in terms of educational background:

	Bar Attendant	Dining Room Server
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Bar attendant vs dining room server demographics

Here are the differences between bar attendants' and dining room servers' demographics:

	Bar Attendant	Dining Room Server
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%	Male, 35.1% Female, 64.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 13.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between bar attendant and dining room server duties and responsibilities

Bar attendant example responsibilities.

Maintain cleanliness and organization of designate work areas.
Maintain cleanliness, sanitation and organize assigned work areas.
Keep records on individual pet, including daily observations and information activities perform, meals sever, and medication administer.
Set up the VIP area.
Check IDs.Security.Make judgment calls.handle bar responsibilities.greet guest in a professional respectable manner.handle and count money.

Dining room server example responsibilities.

Schedule all reservations and plan seating arrangements with management prior to dinner service.
Contribute wine and food pairing knowledge to allow for guarantee customer satisfaction during dining experience.
Clean and polish glass shelves and doors of service bars and equipment.
Used a POS to charge members and their guests for monthly billing.
Assist in overseeing the day-to-day operations and performance of the VIP service team.
Coordinate VIP services including; greet and check in VIP's as they arrive at the hotel.

Bar attendant vs dining room server skills

Common bar attendant skills

Cleanliness, 25%
Front Desk, 16%
Quality Standards, 14%
Guest Satisfaction, 12%
Clean Tables, 6%
Cash Handling, 4%

Common dining room server skills

Fine Dining, 13%
Food Service, 12%
Cleanliness, 10%
Wine, 7%
Beverage Orders, 7%
Food Handling, 5%

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Bar Attendant vs Dining Room Server

Updated January 8, 2025

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