I've heard people saying that it's not possible to meet "quality" ladies in bars. Not been my experience at all. I met my SO in a nightclub in Japan. I've met a previous girlfriend in a bar in New York and my first girlfriend in a nightclub in Spain. All of them are highly educated with two of them having Phds.
And, my experience doesn't seem to indicate that meeting interesting people in bars only happens in certain countries.
That said, I didn't necessarily go to the bars or nightclubs purely with the objective of dating. I went there to have fun, dance and meet people (men and women).