Restaurant ordering - tap water
 

Later this week I'll be going to: Netherlands, Belgium, France and Portugal (maybe Germany too).

Is it frowned up to ask for 'tap water' in restaurants? I generally don't even like wine/beer as my tolerance for alcohol is not that high. Since I'll be eating out 2-3 x per day, I want to save some money from buying fancy bottled water if possible. Besides, I drink from tap as soon as I'm back at the hotel anyway.

What's the correct way / phrases to ask for tap water in French and Portuguese?

TIA

It's perfectly appropriate to order tap water. But do realize that it won;t come with ice and will be cold tap temperature. Also you will need to ask each time you want the glass refilleed. As for taste, a in the US that varies widely based on the minerals in the local water. It's perfectly safe but my not be very saitsfying.

We always order bottled water since we like fizze and prefer that the water be chilled. At lunch we will usually fo a large bottle of water and have a small beer or share ahalf of wine. At dinner we do a large bottle of water and usually a bottle of wine.

Any menu reader can provide the correct local term for tap water.

Thanks. Strangely I actually prefer water at room temp/ not ice cold and don't use ice. Even at home in US, I ask for no ice (which is unusual to most wait-staff).

Definitely not a problem requesting tapwater in France.

To ask for a carafe of water (which in my experience is always tapwater):

Une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plait. (Oon carafe doh, si voo play)

Yep, what FemmeFrancophile said...you'll have no problem in France ans save money on the bottled water that can add to your tab!

FemmeFrancophile hit the nail on the head.

in Portugal ask for "agua da torneira". (pronounced like tornado but with a duh sound at the end instead) Also refuse the couvert unless you want to pay for it. (cheese and olives)It won't be free... simply wave it off or say "no obrigado"

<i>Une carafe d´eau</i> will indeed get you tab water but occasionally I have received it chilled. If there is any confusion about tap water, the term in French is <i>de l´eau du robinet</i> which will completely clarify your intentions.

Thanks guys, Got these in my cheap sheet!!

I meant Cheat sheet, but cheap sheet is probably appropriate too here.

In Germany ask for 'Leitungswasser' (tap water).

Lavandula

I guess it's a bit unusual to ask for tap water in Germany. Few people drink it even at home for lunch or dinner if you were invited to a private home, your hosts would probably rather drive to the next supermarket to buy you a bottle of Evian than "let you" have water from the tap.
Even though it's perfectly drinkable. There is no real rational explanation for it.

..and the only place we have gotten continuous grief, bad looks and at one point a loud lecture in German refusal to give us tap water was in Germany.

LOL.. I can imagine.. it has the image of cheapskating if you do it in a restaurant. Like sneaking in to use the toilets.
Just as a reminder for those folks who want to "blend in" desperately and pay a fortune for "European clothes and shoes" just to throw a fit in a restaurant when they don't get their gallon of tap water for free.
NOT thinking about lin in this context, obviously :-)

But even in the most upscale restaurants it is perfectly acceptable and common to ask for a big bottle of water to share it with others in your party.

Actually, the upscale restaurants brought water with no problem, didn't bat an eye and even were peasant, bringing ,in fact, a very nice jug of it.

But at a small place in the guy really let us have it and it was quite embarrassing. Wish Id'd never asked for it. It ruined the entire meal. (We did order bottled water then but it just wasn't nice to be there).

We were even charged for tap water in France at a ski resort on the hill, ( purchasing a sandwich to go along) add also somewhere else, but I can't recall.

The German thing is odd, I've stayed posh and had tap water. Still one thing a German likes is a good shout.

My in-laws are German and I've watched them listen to a good piece on nonsense from the German waitering staff "this beef is a better cut than you have ordered why is this a problem?".

They then slowly stood and went from a steady roll of thunder "I want the cut I ordered because that is what i like and I don't need a stupid man to tell me which cut is which and to bring it to the table before it is cooked, I don't care what it costs" to a very firm "Idiot" before leaving the retaurant (without paying). It seems to satisfy them all.

It does.

We don't see restaurant owners, chefs or waitstaff as heaven-sent deities that have to be pampered so in their allmighty grace they will allow us to donate a few hundred euro bills in return for a plate of food. No one forced them at gun point to run a restaurant, and if they can't get things right you are very welcome to let them know. Competition is usually stiff, and besides the Michelin-starred restaurants most can't rely on customers unless they keep up a certain quality of service level. Though the locals don't put too much emphasis on the all smiles hello I am Debby and I have the privilege to get on your nerves by reciting the 52 specials we have tonite stuff. Most prefer to have moderately friendly waitstaff and to get the food they ordered in reasonable time. But otherwise not be bothered unless they need a refill on their beer.

But I would only try the aforementioned "idiot stunt" and shouting after decades of practice! That variation of complaining is not exactly the norm!

I have never been to Germany or Portugal, so the above posters know better than I.

In Netherlands, Belgium, France, there has never ever been a problem with our getting tap water.

For some reason, we drink gallons of water in Europe, perhaps because we have been walking all day touring, so we do have to ask the waiter for refills. Easy-peasy for Belgium and France--just point to the carafe and say, "Encore une autre, monsieur (or madame, mademoiselle), s'il vous plait."

Sidenote: I am always amazed that people will order pricey bottled water in New York when their tap water is so darn good.

In France it is perfectly acceptable to order tap water, and frankly , many locals do.

It does vary by country, my limited experience with Italy and Germany is that it is not really acceptable there.

You are never expected to order alcohol if you don't want to, so don't feel bad about that.

Thanks guys, very helpful info from everyone.

On previous trips to Europe, I remember getting tap was not easy. I was in Vienna and vicinity and remember a good # of restaurants that we encountered charged for tap or didn't provide it when asked.

Also in Prague many yrs ago, I remember the waitress really got rude and refused to provide it as well. I think in general she was rude anyway... kind of the norm in the fresh out of Communism type of society, I guess.

Well in Switzerland it's the opposite... People think you a bit unusual if you buy bottled un-fizzy water, because they all drink it clear, clean, and cold out of the fountains. So if you get a half-choked smile upon buying bottled water in Switzerland, you will know why...

Apparently EVERYONE just fills their bottles with the water from the local street fountains. I learnt this on a walking tour around Lucerne's old town area:)

Same in Sweden as in Switzerland. In a restaurant, if you just ask for "water" you will be given tap water. If you want bottled water you have to specifically ask for "mineral water" and then it will be fizzy. If you ask for bottled still water they will stare at you unless it is not a very expensive restaurant. I have seen Evian in some shops but I would recommend to check the best before date as I have never seen anyone buying it.

"Strangely I actually prefer water at room temp/ not ice cold and don't use ice."

That's exactly how my daughter prefers water -- and all beverages in fact, her beloved Diet Coke included. :-)

"If you ask for bottled still water they will stare at you unless it is not a very expensive restaurant."

Another intriguing cultural difference between the U.S. and France -- or any other given country. I love those.

It's perfectly appropriate to order tap water. But do realize that it won;t come with ice and will be cold tap temperature. Also you will need to ask each time you want the glass refilled>>

this, as the above posts suggest, is far from universal. on our recent trip to Holland we asked for a jug of water everywhere we went and were universally served with just that, and no problems about refills. I can't speak for your other proposed destinations, but in holland, you should be fine.

Another vote for water at room temperature and no ice. Ice cold water makes my teeth ache (and very cold food lacks taste). I'm hoping to be able to get tap water in Italy in October.

Totally off topic, but every time I pass through the city of Evian on Lake Geneva (Lac Leman), I wonder who orders bottled water in the restaurants or buys it in the stores.

Gailw, I hope that you know that dental sensitivity to extreme temperatures is a serious disease that requires treatment. If cold water makes your teeth ache, you need to see your dentist immediately.

annhig--I actually had the same reaction you did to the refilling the glass comment. I had been trying to think when I was last served one glass of water in France, Belgium or the Netherlands. I couldn't remember a single instance.

But then again, I was never traveling alone, so perhaps that's something that could happen.

As other posters have indicated...

I hate ice in water.

And while we're on the topic of "cold", my husband and I, both big IPA beer drinkers, have to fight, fight, fight in the US to make sure our beers are not poured into frosted mugs. We keep explaining: "That's for BAD beers."

AZ - we do the same thing, and often get strange looks from bartenders (depending on how experienced they are). Beers (well, good beers/ales, etc.) in this country are generally served WAY too cold. It's hard to taste anything when it's that cold!

FYI, do note if a tap is convenient for the waitperson. If not, order the bottled or fill your own.

We ate at an outside bar one time and asked for tap water. It meant the waiter had to make a special trip inside. He wasn't pleased with us.

But I bet he took the tip/service charge quite happily.

I just remembered something daughter told me. She said that according to a French law of 1967, a restaurant is obligated to provide condiments, tap water and bread with any meal. And I did find references to that.

However, I've done a search, and the law was amended in 1987.
http://www.paris-bistro.com/conso/dr...so/carafe.html

If I'm reading correctly, the restaurant is NO longer obligated as long as it posts that on its outside and inside menus.

Clicked send before I added a repeated emphasis:

I just can't recall ever having a problem getting water. But I repeat: I have never been by myself.

In addition, we have also always ordered additional beverages--coffee, beer, wine. In other words, we're not using tap water as our substitute drink, nor are we using bread a substitute meal.

I just can't recall ever having a problem getting water. But I repeat: I have never been by myself.>>

I have eaten in Italy by myself and was treated just the same as when I'd eaten with a partner or family. i have no reason to believe France is any different. you're not going to endear yourself to the establishment however many of you there are if you just drink tap water and fill up on the bread.

but you wouldn't do that at home, would you?

<<I just can't recall ever having a problem getting water. But I repeat: I have never been by myself.>>

Annhig--I was multi-tasking at the time of my most recent "two-fer" unclear replies and my references to an earlier reply of mine was even more unclear. I should have just come back to reply at a different time when the phone and my husband weren't calling me! Hazy.

Here's what I meant...
In an earlier reply to this post, I indicated that we always were brought a carafe in France without any problem and also never had a problem getting refills of the carafe. When one poster remarked about getting his/her glass refilled, I remarked that I had never remembered being served just one glass of tap water--but then again, it would have made perfect sense to give us a carafe rather than just a glass full per person if there were two or more persons at the table. And I'm always with two or more.

The "endearing to the establishment" was not my point at all about gorging on bread and drinking water. The operative term in the 1967 French law was "with a meal," and I can't imagine anyone except the most tiring individual having a problem with that limitation.

Yes, I remember getting a glass of water with just an ice cream sundae in the States at the local pharmacy when I was a child (does that date me or what?), but I hardly expect to see that policy applied worldwide :)

I referred to this webpage: http://www.paris-bistro.com/conso/dr...so/carafe.html
And I THINK it says that the 1987 change in French law now ALLOWS the restaurant NOT to give tap water and bread with a meal AS LONG AS they post their policy outside and inside.

I am intrigued by this fact. I have gone to Paris at least once a year since Dec 1998, and I don't ever recall seeing that policy outside or on a menu. I'm sure there must be Paris places that do so--I just don't know where. I'm gonna look next time!

allessandre - i agree that the second part of the article about the changes is not as clear as the first part, but so far as i can tell, you've got it right. and i don't remember seeing those conditions written on a menu either, but then i wasn't looking for them.

I was interested to see that at the brasserie we ate at outside the cathedral of St. Denis, glasses of water were being served with coffee, in the arab fashion.

"But I bet he took the tip/service charge quite happily." -----DH wasn't pleased either so tip wasn't much.

<i>We ate at an outside bar one time and asked for tap water. It meant the waiter had to make a special trip inside. He wasn't pleased with us.<i/>

Where was this? I've never had a problem asking for tap water when dining outside in France. It wouldn't even occur to me not to order tap just because I'm sitting outside since they have to go inside to get the food/wine/etc. Or am I not understanding the bar setup correctly?