As a general rule, water is free at restaurants. All you have to do is ask for a glass of cold water.
But in some restaurants, the options can be a bit more complicated. A New Yorker is sounding the alarm to explain how to make sure you order the right kind of water at certain restaurants.
“If you’re visiting New York and go to a restaurant with table service, the server will ask if you want still or sparkling water,” begins Leni (@hello_len), a TikTok user, in her video. “They won’t reveal the third, secret option.”
Here’s the magic phrase she strongly recommends her viewers use to avoid unwanted charges on their bill.
“It’s very important to say ‘tap,’” she explains. “Don’t assume that ‘still’ is free. They’ll bring you a glass bottle of water—and charge you for it.”
“They pulled that trick on me in Austin, Texas.”
Leni’s video has been viewed more than 372,000 times.
In the comments section, many users noted that her public service announcement came a little too late, as they had already made that mistake and ended up with a hefty bill. Several also pointed out that this is standard practice in restaurants in other parts of the United States and around the world.
“Once, I watched in horror as a table of friends each ordered their own bottle of still water. Half the bill was just for their [expletive] bottles of water,” recalled one user.
“I got ripped off like that: I paid about $20 for water. I was broke, I was 19, and it almost killed me. I’d only been in New York for about 30 hours, and I’d already paid $20 for a bottle of water after barely three hours,” another user recounted.
“Yeah, that happened to me too, but we specifically asked for ‘bottled’ water, and it was $18 a bottle—and we bought three, lol,” recalled a third person.
“This PMO is really terrible in Miami,” said another.
On the other hand, those who hadn’t fallen into the trap revealed how they avoided it.
“If they ask you for water, just think of ‘$till’ or ‘$parkling’—I always explicitly say ‘tap water,’” said one commenter.
“I’m not ashamed to ask what the free option is,” noted a second.
Some shared another way to order tap water at a restaurant: saying “house water.”
Is free water a right at a restaurant?
The practice of restaurants charging for water has drawn sharp criticism. In 2022, Esquire published a lengthy article explaining that offering only sparkling or still water “aims to confuse, provoke, and mislead the customer into paying for what should naturally be free,” thereby highlighting the “fundamental transactional nature of a restaurant.”
Although some establishments offer free sparkling water through a filtration system, this is not the norm. Nevertheless, most consistently offer free tap water.
So, if your server offers you only two options—still or sparkling—don’t hesitate to ask for tap water. If you prefer sparkling water, ask about the price in advance.
Subplot News contacted Leni via email and private message on TikTok. We’ll update this article if she responds.
@hello_leni
The article “A New Yorker goes to a restaurant. The server asks her if she wants still or sparkling water—they don’t know she knows the secret third option: ‘house water’” was first published on Subplot News.
A New Yorker at a restaurant. The waiter asks if she wants still or sparkling water: “The house special.”
