San Francisco Restaurant Charges for Water Filtration
We are plagued by water hang-ups: bottled water obsessing, bottled water loathing, and recently, fees for filtered tap water. Eater SF reports that Millennium Restaurant in Nob Hill will soon charge guests a buck for water filtered through a nifty Natura carbon and UV filter.
In case you're wondering where that dollar is going, Millennium Restaurant explains that it's for fancy filters, visits from water filter technicians, and the UV lightbulb maintenance.
When you spend twenty bucks on beautiful restaurant scallops, only a fraction of that money actually goes to the food cost. There's labor, rent, and that classy plate on which your scallops lie. Not to mention last week's emergency dishwasher repair, the air conditioning, and the linen service that delivers napkins to the restaurant. (But you don't need to hear all that; the bill will suffice.)
This charge applies the same philosophy; but is it fair for water? Should Millennium Restaurant just eat the cost? Er, drink.
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16 Comments:
Just unfiltered tap water for me, please. Shall I bring my own, or will they find a way to charge corkage?
Likeswords at 8:57PM on 07/23/08
Just unfiltered tap water for me, please. Shall I bring my own, or will they find a way to charge corkage?
Likeswords at 10:09PM on 07/23/08
There are several reasons to charge for tap water: 1) filters and filtering supplies cost money 2)water softeners are expensive if you have to have them 3)the same amount of manpower is needed to serve a glass of water as to serve a glass of soda 4)increasing utility bills. It's just that cost of business has increased and it gets passed on to the customer. If you choose to dine at a restaurant that charges for tap water, then pay for the water, and thank the server.
beth1 at 10:14PM on 07/23/08
There are at least two couples that I can think of who we dine out with once in a while, and to keep their restaurant bill down, they just have water. My feeling is that if I'm dining out, I want to enjoy the whole experience, and it's pretty likely I'll have more than just water.
In the end, when we dine with these people, our part of the bill is always higher, and even though the waitperson spends as much time with them as with us, their tip is always less because they tip based on their part of the bill. If they were dining without us, the waitperson wouldn't be getting much of a tip at all.
It's a tough call. I think I'd understand if a restaurant charged for water, and if it was all I ordered to drink, it wouldn't bother me. But if I ordered a couple drinks and then asked for water later, I might be a bit annoyed particularly if the rest of the table was still ordering drinks and I was done for the night.
Maybe the way around it is to surcharge $1 per person (add it to the entrees or whatever) then offer $1 off the first beverage. They order water, they don't get their dollar back.
dbcurrie at 11:29PM on 07/23/08
I'd pay for a filtered glass of water... at some places in Austin, I'd GLADLY pay if the water tasted good (Our water here is not so good - lots of limestone).
ronzoni at 11:36PM on 07/23/08
This practice seems strange for a nice restaurant - it feels like the customer is being nickel and dimed for water of all things. As a customer, I'd rather just pay a little bit more for everything on the menu, than to be charged for a glass of water. I appreciate that it costs money to maintain the filter, but it also costs money to wash dishes and linens as the original post mentions. And we pay for those things - we just don't see it broken out on the bill. Why should a humble glass of water be any different?
mmmargie at 12:30AM on 07/24/08
@mmmargie, maybe this is in response to too many people who are cutting back on the dining budget by ordering "just water" and the restaurants counted too much on the markup from beverages, so they're scrambling to figure out how to get that revenue back. Maybe it's not so much that they want you to pay for the water, but that they want you to think that if you're paying anyway, you might as well get the wine or the cocktail.
If it's presented in the right way, it might be fine...if it's presented as an alternative to bottled water that you'd have to pay for, the charge doesn't seem out of line. They could say that this is their way to cut down on the waste from all those bottles of water, and that this is as good/better than bottled stuff. Present it in a pretty carafe with 2 glasses worth of water and t seems like a better bargain than bottled water. Then it makes sense. But if it's the only water available (no regular tap water) and they want a dollar a glass, that might be a little harder to swallow.
dbcurrie at 1:18AM on 07/24/08
Most places that install this type of filter will gladly give you tap for free. The filtered water, and its cost, is a replacement for bottled water.
himynameischuck at 1:40AM on 07/24/08
I agree I'd rather pay for the water through food, then to be charged for the water itself. I find it somewhat ridiculous they speak of "fancy filters" when I'd ask what's wrong with Brita or Pur?
I also can't stand the places who charge to NOT have ice in your drink. I understand the need to run a restaurant but I agree I don't want to be nickel and dimed at a fine dining place.
bobcatsteph3 at 6:46AM on 07/24/08
I actually would be psyched if more restaurants installed "fancy filtration systems" and charged a bit for water. I don't drink alcohol, don't drink soda, and generally don't buy bottled water at restaurants because it's wasteful - I usually have a glass of water because that's what I prefer, not to save money (if I wanted to save money I would be eating at home).
Unfortunately, I've often had the experience that when I order only water to drink, I can tell I've been labeled as cheap and my subsequent service reflects it (though otherwise I actually tip quite generously). This has happened so many times that it's dissuaded me from trying a lot of new restaurants, because I just don't want to deal with waiter scorn at my drink order. I would rather pay for the water and mitigate this attitude by not ordering the cheapest beverage option on the menu.
Or, of course, restaurants could come up with non-alcoholic drink alternatives that aren't sugar-water and actually complement their food. But that seems a lot less likely, as demand would undoubtedly be low...and I'm not sure what they could make, other than fruit juice concoctions. Honestly, I just like drinking water!
producestories at 9:21AM on 07/24/08
Why don't they just increase the food prices by a few cents? Surely it doesn't cost anywhere near $1.00 per diner to serve water, no matter how "fancy" those filters may be. Are they really just offsetting their cost, or are they trying to steer diners to order a drink? It's fine if they are; it's no worse than other psychological ploys restaurants are accused of, but to make up some ridiculous story about imaginary filter technicians....sheesh.
juliec at 9:36AM on 07/24/08
Very bad PR. What is the surcharge on lemonade? Or are they making that with the bad tap water? Dare I order pasta, not knowing if it's cooked in good or bad water? That could be a pretty expensive dish if they charge $1 per glass full in the pasta (or potato, etc.) pot. Ridiculous! I say, raise your prices to absorb your costs. I never thought I'd live to see the day when I'd have to BYOW to a fine dining establishment.
PerkyMac at 9:40AM on 07/24/08
I think the type of restaurant Millennium seeks to be needs to be considered, I have never been there but I people I know in the area that talk about their favorite vegetarian food coming from Greens and Millennium, places known for their enviromentally conscious approach to food service and fine dining. It is not unreasonable for them to charge for water from this type of special filtration system as that is the kind of experience diners at Millennium expect.
I wouldn't buy it but I bet it tastes pretty good. I guess I am cheap like the other couple because me and my girlfriend only order free tap water when we go out and I still feel like we enjoy the whole experience.
Oh and here is the Millennium mission statement from their website:
"Millennium Restaurant is dedicated to supporting the essential earthly concepts of organic food production, small farms, sustainable agriculture, recycling and composting. We cook with fresh produce delivered every day, and choose organic whenever possible. We believe that a gourmet dining experience can be created out of vegetarian, healthy, and environmentally friendly foods. We are proud to state that our restaurant is completely free of genetically modified foods."
intheyearofthepig at 9:54AM on 07/24/08
People are accustomed to a restaurant's profit margins built into the prices of food and alcoholic beverages, with tap water always free. Millennium is providing an extra service by filtering the water. The guest's perception of the value of that water, however, is much greater if it's still technically free--even if its price is then built into the food or alcoholic beverages. A guest may not oppose an increase of $25 to $26 on a menu item, but they'll certainly notice a $1 charge for tap water.
malibuisburning at 11:20AM on 07/24/08
If they are pointing out that filtered water is available for a fee, wouldn't that make you wonder WHY they feel a need to filter, especially "for fancy filters, visits from water filter technicians, and the UV lightbulb maintenance." Sure would make me squeamish about drinking straight from the tap if they need to do all that to make it.....what?..........palatable......safe? Yikes, I'd better pay or skip the water.
PerkyMac at 12:12PM on 07/24/08
Oh, I didn't realize this was at Millenium. This makes more sense...I ate their years and years ago, and maybe things have changed, but they're very into verbiage on their menus. (And maybe that's where they explain the water charge)
NYminknit at 1:47PM on 07/24/08