Can a restaurant refuse to serve you free tap water?

[saturnfan]

I feel like the answer is probably yes, but that isn’t going to stop me from ranting about it and being livid. Basically a friend and I went out to a pub to get some beer and wings, in which after purchasing food and two drinks, I asked for water. To my surprise and confusion, I was handed a bottle of water. When I inquired as to why this was given to me and whether or not I could just have tap water, I was told no because there not making any money off the wings and need to make some profit somewhere (However, let’s not forget I purchased two beers at $4.50).

Finding this entirely ridiculous I asked to speak to a manger about this asinine policy, but the waitress said she was the manager and that I wasn’t getting any free water. So I left and now I will never return. I found that entirely intolerable and exactly how not to run a restaurant. It just seems like such a bad policy, and certainly cost them a customer.

[AznKhmerBoi]

personally i think its dickish for a restarant not able to give free water, for peep sake even Mcdonal give free water.

[winds]

Not making any money off the wings? What are they pricing them at, 5 cents a wing?

[gtmtnbiker]

So I left and now I will never return.

I would have done the same thing. Restaurants get their biggest markups on drinks. I usually buy one drink with my meal but I always want tap water to go with it.

[Hobie-wan]

Restaurants are free to refuse service as long as it isn't based on race. You're free to tell them to DIAF and never return. If a place is that much of a bastard over a cup of water, they're probably jerks on other things too and I'd expect them to lose more business.

[o.pwuaioc]

Restaurants are free to refuse service as long as it isn't based on race.

Or any other of the protected categories like age (so long as you're over 21) or gender.

You're free to tell them to DIAF and never return. If a place is that much of a bastard over a cup of water, they're probably jerks on other things too and I'd expect them to lose more business.

This. Just don't go to crappy places. My girlfriend and I have a nice list of places we boycott for various reasons, from consistently terrible service to moral qualms. Being a bitch about free water is definitely one of those, especially since you had two beers.

[KDub]

I've had venues refuse to give me a cup of water after I've got done performing "Nothing is free". Forget that I just got off a hot stage, under stage lights, played a full set and that I'm extremely dehydrated...I brought a bunch of people to your venue for $10 a ticket...You can't squirt me some water into a cup?

[Bikeage]

Weird, I was thinking a similar question today while waiting in line at a Five Guys. I was debating on shelling out for a soda or asking for water, when I saw very prominently on the menu board 'bottled water-$1.99', and there was a large tub of iced bottled water sitting right on the counter. I decided not to hassle the counter jockey and simply ordered a soda, but was a bit peeved that I could theoretically spend well over $7 just for food and then be expected to pay for water.

[J T]

I remember going to raves where they would shut off the drinking water fountains at the venue so they could force you to buy overpriced bottled water. That always seemed criminal to me. Kids were always getting messed up on e and getting at risk of dehydration and assholes wouldn't give them water. Crazy days those were.

[emwearz]

All restaurants should have free chilled water, even if I buy win or beer with my meal, still want a bottle of water on the table.