Bottled or Tap Water?
 

When in Europe do you only order bottled water in restaurants, or do you go with the tap water?

We're going to Paris and Barcelona and it would definitely be more economical to be able to just go with tap water.

I normally drink bottled mineral water at restaurants, as a matter of taste and dining preference, not out of any health concern.

I've traveled widely across the continent and have always used tap water for filling water bottles during the day.

It's sometimes difficult to get the waiter to bring you tap water. But there's nothing wrong with the tap water.

>When in Europe do you only order bottled water in restaurants

Where in Europe?
Tap water is commonly served in restaurants in France but not in germany. Othe rcountries have other customs. There is hardly anything the same "in Europe"

Hi K,

Sometimes we get bottled water when we are in the mood for something slightly fizzy, but we have no concerns about tap water in Paris.

altamiro is exactly right, customs vary by country. I always drink tap water when I can. I don't believe in bottled water when it isn't a matter of health for a lot of reasons, and not just for money (although paying for water does bother me when I don't want it). They make you do it in Germany, it's a scam, but that's the way it is.

We do bottled since:

1) tap water in a lot of places doesn;t taste that great

2) we prefer carbonated water

And I must admit we never noticed water costs a lot - it's not nearly as much as either ottled soft drinks or mixed alcoholic drinks. Only the local table wine or beer is similar or less.

Bottled water is expensive in restaurants. If they serve tap water then go for that - it is perfectly drinkable and rarely has a funny taste. You will have to ask for tap water - normally they will bring a bottle - that's where the profit is after all.

I am sure most of you know this, but there is a difference between bottled water and bottled mineral water..all mineral water served in a restaurant is bottled, but not all bottled water is mineral water!

I never had tap water in Spain, but cannot say if it would not have been served if I had asked for it.
Many restaurants I've been to in Spain had water in half liter or liter bottles, and the price was not really high.

As others pointed out, in some countries it is simply not common to drink tap water in a restaurant.

Maybe some Spaniards will also comment here if that is also true for Spain...

No, it's not common to ask for tap water here in Spain at restaurants. It's regarded as "cheap" but there's no "bottled water" here..it is always mineral water the one which is bottled. There's no health issue involved, just in some places like here where I live (and most of the Med coast) somedays it tastes awful. Madrid water is quite good and it's more common to drink tap water there...but still not in restaurants.
Anyway, here is cheap, cheaper than any other drink , wine included.

Tap water is potable all over Europe. Bottled water should be ordered on airplanes, and make sure the top seal is not broken.

Bottled

How would you ask for tap water in French?

un carafe d'eau, s'il vous plait?

In Paris, restaurants are required to provide tap water on request (along with bread) if you are ordering a meal. The tap water is completely safe.

In barcelona I've asked for just a normal glass of water and have been given out of the large bottle of mineral water (typically for staff) that they keep behind the bar.
I think this is more common than actually pouring it out of the tap, because I've only ever had bad tasting water a *couple of times in cafes or restaurants.
*Tap water in ciutat vella (old quarter) is not nice.
Save your Euro and ask for the vaso de agua.

A lot of bottled water is just treated tap water, anyway. I object to it not only for reasons of being "cheap" (which I'm not really, but I do object to paying for something I don't want and that is priced much too high for what it is) but for ecological reasons. That is the real reason I object to so many people drinking bottled water and why I won't do it unnecessarily.

I know a lot of bottled water in the US is just treated tap water, and I think various brands I've had in Europe are, also. I'm thinking of some I've had in Poland, Czech Republic, around there, and in Switzerland. In France, I drink Evian or Vittel, or Badoit, and those are not just tap water, as far as I know. It's funny but I was dining in a place on Lake Geneva and was in view of Evian, and yet they would only serve one cheap brand of Swiss bottled water, not Evian, and it was basically tap water, I think.

I guess it's true that in Spain, I drank bottled water as that was the custom, and I think most of it is more than tap water. There are tap water brands there, also, just as in the US, and some of the same brands -- Aqua Fina, BonAqua are just treated tap water, I think, just like Dasani is. I would only drink Spanish bottled water, not those generic multinational companies' bottled water (both CocaCola and Pepsi are involved in those tap water brands).

Actually, drinking too much of a certain kind of mineral isn't necessarily good, either, but I don't think most people worry about that just for a vacation. I don't, but a lot of it is high in sodium.

It is perfectly fine to ask for a carafe of tap water in Paris restaurants. The french do it!

>It's funny but I was dining in a place on Lake Geneva and was in view of Evian, and yet they would only serve one cheap brand of Swiss bottled water, not Evian, and it was basically tap water, I think.

Evian is basically Lake Geneva water.