Anyone else been refused tap water in restaurant 13 September 2012 at 9:51PM edited 2 July 2013 at 7:35PM in N. Ireland 322 replies 100.5K views

willow29

Hi guys, just wondering if this is a common phenomenon now. I was in La Cuisine on the Antrim Rd a few weeks ago and when we were placing our order I asked a glass of water but was refused one. When we asked why we were told that it was due to the cost of having to wash the glasses. To put things in context it was one of those hot (for here) days, we had had to stand for at least 15 mins waiting on a table and I was carrying a wriggly and heavy 6mth old baby as the place was too small for pushchair. I hope the money they saved will outweigh the cost of the lost custom as I certainly won't be back. They defended their policy by saying loads of other places were now doing this, just wondering if anyone else has come across this policy?


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McKneff

Shame on them, I just hope they lose a few customers because of it, especially if there were other people with you and you were all ordering food and drink.

Did you mention it to the manager. I would write to them and express your anger.

We go out for Sunday lunch every week and I get a glass of water with ice and lemon in it for free. We eat and my OH has a J2O. If I was ever refused then I would never go back. The other place we go to there is an automatic jug of water with ice and lemon brought to the table.

McKneff

Me again, they have a website where you can leave reviews,

Go for it, give them some stick, I wouldnt hesitate to be honest.

willow29

I will thanks! I probably should have raised it with the manger at the time but was just a bit too gobsmacked and concerned about settling the baby at the time to challenging them. I've been out to other restaurants and have asked just to see if it is an issue and it's always been delivered with a smile. Their policy doesn't seem to be hurting them unfortunately, when we were there it was queued out the door but definitely not worth the wait.

cte1111

They're not actually allowed to refuse water like this. A restaurant in Manchester was fined in court for it last year, read about it in the local paper at the time. Here you go:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1266177/Diners-fury-refused-glass-water-posh-restaurant.html

McKneff

cte1111 wrote: »

They're not actually allowed to refuse water like this. A restaurant in Manchester was fined in court for it last year, read about it in the local paper at the time. Here you go:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1266177/Diners-fury-refused-glass-water-posh-restaurant.html

Youre right, I forgot about that.

I'll have a look at the reviews tomorrow lol.

I might just add a sneaky one of my own lol

edit - does the law cover Ireland.

nathanielle_jones

The Other Place on Botanic as well, just flat out refuse you a glass of regular water from the tap. Won't be back.

Mistral001

cte1111 wrote: »

They're not actually allowed to refuse water like this. A restaurant in Manchester was fined in court for it last year, read about it in the local paper at the time. Here you go:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1266177/Diners-fury-refused-glass-water-posh-restaurant.html

This only applies to licensed premises and the "new law" is to do with cutting down on alcohol abuse.

Also not sure if it has been introduced here in NI yet.

dmxdave

I won't mention the name as I heard this secondhand but a restaurant in Carryduff charge £1 for tap water!

motorguy

nathanielle_jones wrote: »

The Other Place on Botanic as well, just flat out refuse you a glass of regular water from the tap. Won't be back.

Because they make a fortune on bottled water / drinks...

saverbuyer

Why don't you people post some reviews on Tripadvisor?