One element I didn’t dive further into last week during our discussion of the $52.95 pasta & water meal, was the San Pellegrino of it all. Most of us were in agreement that although $52.95 was awfully steep for a bowl of pasta and bottle of sparkling water, there were several mitigating factors that undercut the diner’s incredulity: she was in Las Vegas, she was eating at an Eataly, and she chose the second most expensive pasta dish on the menu. What I failed to mention last week was my firm belief that any amount of money is too much to pay for San Pellegrino sparkling water. There, I said it! San Pellegrino has a nerve calling their beverage “sparkling,” because it’s got to be one of the weakest fizzy waters I’ve ever imbibed — and as my father’s daughter, a self-appointed Seltzer Scientist, I’ve tried ‘em all.
But you had more measured responses in the comments, noting that she could have paid less for an SP bottle at a drug store, or, the most obvious solution, asked for free tap water. Which brings us to this breaking news: an Italian court just ruled that restaurants have the right to refuse patrons free water. Here are the facts of the case:
Italy’s highest court has ruled a five-star Dolomites hotel was acting lawfully when it refused to provide tap water to a tourist.
The woman from Rome unsuccessfully argued that “water is a natural resource and a universal human right” after a waiter only offered her €7 (£6) bottled mineral water at the restaurant of the five-star Hotel Sassongher in Corvara during the 2019 ski season.
The Italian Supreme Court denied her request for €2,700 to compensate for her emotional distress and economic damage, Italian media reports.
Silvio Belardi, the lawyer representing the hotel, told the Corriere Alto Adige newspaper that the court held that “there is no obligation to supply tap water”.
The lawyer later told the BBC the case had been rejected first by a court in Rome, then by an appeals court and now the Court of Cassation, where the judges ruled in the hotel’s favour.
The woman had claimed her consumer rights were violated when staff refused her request for tap water, saying it was a key part of the hotel’s service and likened it to “finding a bed with sheets” and “soap in the bathroom”.
However, Silvio Belardi said he had his colleagues had argued [sic] that “company policy is, like in many high-end establishments, to serve only bottled water at the table — which is sealed”.
“The woman claimed she had suffered damage, including financial and moral harm. This was rejected for lack of evidence.”
Supreme Court judges dismissed her claim, ruling that Italian laws and regulations did not mandate venues to provide tap water to guests and that the decision to serve it was up to individual venues.
“We also argued that if a person wanted running water, they could easily get that in the hotel — just not at the restaurant,” Belardi said.
Oh Italy, I expect so much more from you. Like… water! Not that I’m cosigning this defendant’s claims of “emotional distress and economic damage” to the tune of €2,700. Taking it that far is a little delulu. Nor do I entirely fault the Italian Supreme Court; they have to follow the law, and if there are no laws on the books requiring restaurants provide free tap water, then the judges must rule accordingly. I guess I just find it disheartening that A) a restaurant (that was part of a hotel, remember) would refuse tap water to a paying guest, and that B) a law has to be written to compel certain restaurants to do so. The only instance I can think of where restaurants were not automatically providing free water, was back when I was living in California and we were in a drought. But even then, most restaurants had cards on the table letting us know that water would be served upon request.
And regarding the restaurant being connected to the hotel, I found this part of the lawyer’s reasoning more than a bit wonky: “We also argued that if a person wanted running water, they could easily get that in the hotel — just not at the restaurant.” But the restaurant and the hotel are partners! They stand as a unified resort, in the — gulp — HOSPITALITY business. Instead of telling a paying customer to go back to the hotel for free tap water, here’s a crazy idea: send a waiter or bus boy to the hotel to bring back the water! This shouldn’t be so hard. Would I have sued over bottled vs. tap water? No. But this woman isn’t wrong, either, no matter how dramatic the lawsuit language sounds.
Photos credit: Виктор Соломоник, Aylin Elif Gökçe and Jude Mitchell-Hedges on Pexels
San Pellegrino is my favourite bottled water. I order a pack of the glass bottled ones in nearly every month’s grocery shopping, when it’s on sale. And I am not usually a fan of sparkling water, but this one always hits the spot. I can’t stand Perrier, for example. Can barely manage a sip before I put it down, so I never buy it. And if the supermarket substitutes it despite my checking “No substitutions”, I send it right back. But San Pellegrino? I’ll drink an entire bottle at one go, whether it’s cold or not.
I remember when I was a child that restaurants in a certain country were obligated to provide plain water to customers instead of charging outrageous sums for bottled water, so I thought that this was standard the world over, but I guess not. Indeed, there are magazines back in the day which used to tell readers that they *could* do this, because it was their right, so I guess that’s where this customer was coming from. But to sue for distress? I’d just leave and never visit that restaurant again if I weren’t happy with the service, and tell everyone I knew to do the same. 😀
Same. If I placed my order & asked for tap water and they said no, sorry, if you want water it’s going to be bottled and cost this much, I would then get up and leave (IF water were that important to me; but it’s not, so I’d go for iced tea instead).
Totally disagree with this take. Sending a bus boy running has hard costs. Fancy restaurants are not the Olive Garden. It’s a different experience with different expectations and obligations. You want free bread and water, head to the OG (or jail!)
The thing with lawsuits and damages is that they shoot for the moon and then usually negotiate down. This is pretty extreme tho.
To borrow a phrase from reddit, ESH. Everyone sucks here.
The restaurant is in the wrong. If that’s really the Italian law, that’s in the wrong too. Tap water!
And! It was also a ridiculous amount of damages to go for.
There were cases in the UK back in the 1990s where nightclubs turned off the water to the bathroom sinks to attempt to juice sales of plastic bottles of water from the bar.
Unfortunately, people died of heatstroke because of this, and they eventually made a law that you can’t turn the taps off.
I’m not fancy. I carry a water bottle everywhere. And refill it. Really cool places even give me ice! You can get pretty small, convenient ones that fit in a purse.
The plaintiff is not wrong that people need water. It should be a basic human right.
Unfortunately the dramatic aspects of all of this will overshadow that point.
Yeah, a restaurant should provide tap water, unless there’s something unhealthful with the tap water. But they have sinks in the kitchen, so it really shouldn’t be a problem.
That’s really harsh and inhospitable. These people who refuse to give free tap water are the types who complain about American tourists going around with their big Stanley cups. I’d bring that, with lots of ice clinking, to the table at any restaurant that charged for water and didn’t serve tap. That’s just ridiculous and wasteful.
You’d be turned away at the door at many restaurants I know for trying to bring your own drink
Especially since it is HOT in Italy during much of the year. We were just there and our first day in Florence was broiling. You’re walking around a lot as a tourist. Bringing water is sensible.
I don’t even care about the damages (this is peanuts compared to some of the dumb lawsuits I’ve seen as a lawyer). The fact is that this woman who claims to have been irreparably damaged by not being served tap water upon request, could afford THREE separate lawsuits (the original plus two appeals) to argue about not being served free tap water. I assume the lawyer was floating it as a test case in order to get rich suing every other fancy restaurant, but yeesh! I can see the judge side-eyeing the whole thing just for that.
San Pellegrino should not be able to market itself as “sparkling” water with such pathetic bubbles, I agree, Kismet, and they are not the only offenders in this regard. I would love to read an entire post about the merits of truly bubbly sparkling waters, with ratings, please!
Agreed. It should be called “pffffft water.”
All of the joy leaves when the cap is first opened.
I think there is a European American disconnect here. Not in all countries in Europe, but in most, restaurants earn their money with food and drinks (combined). So in the restaurants‘ calculations of what they charge for the food it is priced in that people also will order drinks (including water). In the US the non-alcoholic drinks are very low cost with free refills and water is free, but then you charge 15-20 percent for „tips“ (which are not really tips because it is not really voluntary). In most European countries, Italy included, such high tips are not at all expected. Staff receive a more or often less decent salary (paid for by profits from selling food and drinks) which is then of course complemented by tips. It would be as rude if you to come to a restaurant in Italy with a Stanley cup in protest of being denied free water, as it would be for me to just leave a 5percent tip in the US, because I find your practice of leaving a 15-20 percent crazy.
These are good points.
Last summer while in Europe I remember getting a restraunt bill with tap water being more expensive than beer.
Yeah that’s how it is, free tap water isn’t always the norm.
So weird all these people expecting things for free or bringing their own food(the cake)
A restaurant needs to make money. When you bring your own cake you wont by desert.
And I’m used to paying for water. I don’t even drink tap water in other countries. I’m sure its safe, but my stomach is not used to it(such as the chlorine taste in France) so bottled for me
I remember a few California restaurants not serving tap so they can charge for bottled. It didn’t go over very well. This was in the 80’s/early 90’s in San Francisco. One time my parents were visiting and we were doing all of the tourist things and by the time it came to dinner we were tired, hungry and thirsty. I had to make a deal with the server that if they brought out some tap water while we looked at the menu then I’d order bottled to go with my food.
For Gods sake, if you’re somewhere where tap water is potable just go to the toilet and drink it for free. Ideally carry your own tumbler or bottle and refill it in the toilet, but even if you don’t have one, drink from the tap while there, it’s the same water they’d give you anyway. Work smart not hard, and screw their insane consumer capitalist policies.
Abbie, surely you jest!!! I can see both sides. On a really hot day, if I’m walking and not carrying my pocketbook and got really thirsty, I would stop by a local coffee shop or deli to ask for a cup of tap water. It’s cruel not to do so, IMO. Also, I’m a patron of my local coffee shop and deli, so they know me. The deli has even given my dog free tap water in a cup on a really hot day. It wouldn’t occur to me to go to a fancy restaurant for it, but whatever. So I kinda hate both the refusal and the lawsuit.
As an American, I read Abbie’s comment with the same ‘wha–????’ thought; then I realized, they meant ‘toilet’ as in the restroom & drink from the taps in the sinks. (Abbie, please chime in if I’ve got that wrong). Thing is, last time I was in the UK for an extended period of time, most bathrooms had ‘do not drink the water’ signs at the sinks. Maybe other countries have figured out how to keep their water & sewer lines separate.
Hmm. I’ve been in restaurants where there’s always someone with a pitcher of water filling & re-filling glasses. I’ve also been in restaurants where water is brought to the table in a glass bottle as soon as you’re seated. I’ve never been charged extra for that. At the same time, every restaurant that does charge you for bottled water will state that clearly on the menu, so this was no surprise. Interesting issue.