Do you think beverages at restaurants are over-priced?

debodun

debodun

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Location
way upstate in New York, USA
Hey, $6 for an 8 oz. glass of beer? A six-pack could be obtained for that price! Even soft drinks seem pricey.

One time I bought my own soda (liter of diet birch beer) into a restaurant and was asked to leave by the waitress. I refused. She disappeared and I thought that was the end of it. About 5 minutes later, the manager came out and repeated the request. "What is the big deal about this?" I asked. He said that it is not customary for patrons to bring their own comestibles to a restaurant and it was their policy to only have "on premises" food and drinks served.

I informed him that with the limited beverages available on the menu (I am not a big coffee, alcohol, or dairy drinker) I prefer my own beverage. I drink so much tea at home, I don't want it again and a restaurant usually only has orange pekoe tea - I like Earl Grey. If they have soda, it not diet and if it's diet, it's usually cola which I do not like).
Then he added, "The next time are you going to bring your own food and ask us to cook it for you if you don't like what we have on the menu?"

I saw it was a losing battle, so I left. It wasn't a fancy schmansy place, either. Snobs! I won't be going back there!
 

They have risen in price just like anything else Deb. You can't just bring your own beverages into a place of business that that that supplies their own drinks, just like in the movies if they catch you sneaking in a bottle of Coke.

A long time ago we ate at a tiny Italian Restaurant with another couple, the food was excellent, but they didn't have a liquor license. In that case they did allow people to bring in a bottle of wine or something and they provided the glasses.

Their regulations are commonplace as far as I've seen over the years, if I don't like what an eatery is serving to drink, I'll just order a glass of water, have done that many times before.
 
I don't know why most restaurants can't make a decent iced tea. It's the easiest thing in the world to do, but it seems that I'm usually paying $2 for a glass of slightly tea-flavored water, something that tastes like powdered tea mix or tea that has been boiled until it's bitter. Either that, or it has sat in the urn for most of the day and tastes stale. A good glass of iced tea doesn't cost more than a couple cents to make.

When I get a good glass of iced tea, I want to get up and kiss the manager. Usually, these days, I just order water with lemon. They haven't figured out how to mess that up yet.

I've never had a bad glass of iced tea at a Thai restaurant, though. They know how to make it.
 

jujube said:
Usually, these days, I just order water with lemon. They haven't figured out how to mess that up yet.
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I once ordered a glass of iced water. I also requested a few lemon slices. I squeezed the lemons into the water, then added some sugar from packets that were already on the table. When I was given the bill, they had added $2 for lemonade. LOL.

Once, while vacationing in Maine, I stopped at a small restaurant. They actually charged 50¢ for a glass of water. Refills were 25¢. That was a while ago, so 50¢ was a piece of change.
 
The markup on wine is outrageous. We had a function for my wife's birthday earlier this year. The wine I chose had a per bottle price of either $40 or $45, and that was one of the less expensive reds on the menu. I bought the same bottle recently for $15 at Trader Joe's.
 
Yes, the prices of beverages in restaurants is outrageous. Just last night the hubby and I went to IHop for a quick dinner. We had a 10% off coupon on our dinner. When the bill came the 10% was only for dinner and did not include the beverage. This has happened quit often in recent years and not only at IHop. A few years back the beverage was always included in the dinner. Lately, it is not unusual to be charged $2.00 for a glass of ice tea or soda.
 
I think with some places it's the size of the drink. Alcohol or not, places like Red Lobster and TGI Fridays serve drinks that are fish bowl sized. It might be six bucks but you probably won't need a refill.
 
No. I love to pay $35 for a $12 bottle of wine.

Yes, they are very overpriced especially compared to the food. Or maybe the food is under priced and they get it back on the beverages?

Either way, if one wants to drink a six-pack at home, there is one price. If one wants a Guinness at a restaurant there is another price. We really can't expect a restaurant owner to provide is with table service, clean-up, etc for the same price as taking home a bottle or can.

I think Italians have the right idea. One price (cheaper) if you stand at the bar and drink the coffee, wine, etc. while you munch on a pastry. Another price if you want to sit at a table and enjoy the food/beverage. Maybe that would be fair.
 
I dunno, our regular place here charges $6 for a glass of wine and around the same for a pint of beer, maybe $3-$4 for a soft drink and around $2.00 for coffee. That doesn't seem too bad. But some of the fancier and more expensive places up the road charge big bucks for a whole bottle of wine and god knows what for dinner, out of my budget range, for sure.
 

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