“A guy walks into a bar...” is a typical form of what has been called the “bar joke.” One of the oldest and most popular of bar jokes is:

“Ham sandwich walks into a bar and orders a drink. Bartender refuses: ‘Sorry, we don’t serve food here.’”

The joke has been cited in print since at least 1989. Other foods have been used in the joke besides the ham sandwich, such as a hamburger and a hot dog.

There is also an extended form of the food joke. After the bartender says, “We don’t serve ham sandwiches,” the ham sandwich replies, “That’s OK. I just wanted a beer.”


6 November 1989, Syracuse (NY) Herald-Journal, pg. F3, col. 5:
Very dumb food jokes
Here are two food jokes that are too dumb not to be repeated.
. Ham sandwich walks into a bar and orders a drink. Bartender refuses: “Sorry, we don’t serve food here.”

Google Groups: rec.humor
Newsgroups: rec.humor
From: (BIGMAC)
Date: 22 Feb 91 15:34:25 GMT
Local: Fri, Feb 22 1991 9:34 am
Subject: PURITY TESTS

A man hamburger walks into a bar and says ‘Ill have a pint of larger please’

to which the barman replies

‘im sorry sir we dont serve food’

18 January 1992, The Times (Trenton, NJ), “Good Humor,” pg. B1, col. 1:
Here’s one from Bruce Lovett, St. Petersburg, Fla.:

A ham sandwich walks into a bar and says “Give me a whiskey.” The bartender replies “We don’t serve food here.”

Google Books
Beer Is the Answer… I Don’t Remember the Question:
And Over 1,000 Other Bar Jokes, QUotes and Cartoons
By Ray Foley
Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc.
2007
Pg. 84:
A hamburger walks into a bar, and the bartender says, “I’m sorry, but we don’t serve food here...”

Google Books
The Mammoth Book of Really Silly Jokes
Edited by Geoff Tibballs
Philadelphia, PA: Running Press
2011
Pg. 120:
A hot dog walked into a bar and ordered a bottle of beer. The bartender said, “Sorry, we don’t serve food here.”