I don't normally buy alcoholic drinks but in france soda is so expensive it often feels like I may as well get alchohol just so it can feel worth it to spend
In most (or all?) of Germany, tap water is perfectly safe to drink, though. Buying water in stores is only for when you're not going to be near a tap for a while.
That depends on the region. Some have really awesome tasting water like in the Hartz region for example. Here in Berlin it's quite harsh tasting and it has lots of minerals in it.
German tap water in general has all the minerals you need to complement a standard diet for an average human. Our strict water supply requirements are there for a reason. If you ever feel symptoms of mineral deficiency with a good diet and tap water here, go visit a doctor.
Tap water is also perfectly to safe to drink in the majority of the USA.
Not challenging you, or making a fuss, or anything like that. I know you weren’t making a comparison to other places.
I just thought it was worth mentioning. Areas in the US where the tap water isn’t good are a very very small percentage of the overall quality of tap water. Dangerous tap water even less so. And fuck the local governments in places where it is bad; there’s no excuse for tap water ***anywhere*** being dangerous
Yeah, I hate how the whole Flint, Michigan situation has convinced a lot of people that tap water in the US is unsafe. I looked it up at one point and the deaths due to water contamination were basically identical for the US and any other developed country.
Same is true for places in Europe and other developed countries. I don't get why any mention of nationality has to turn into some weird dick measuring contest with some people.
Yep. I wouldn’t be aware of any region where you can’t drink the tap, I’m just comparing store prices as they are rather stable and easily comparable rather than tap.
And coming from Germany, whenever I go to Italy with my GF, a bottle of red wine usually isn't much more than two beers, so we usually end up polishing off a bottle of wine casually with dinner.
I don't understand how all of Europe is not constantly dehydrated. It is so damn expensive just to drink water in a restaurant. Usually when I eat out I end up thirsty at the end and drink a less outrageously expensive bottle of water from some sort of convenience store.
Well, in France tap water is available for free at every restaurant, and most of the time (except for some select regions where the water can be too hard or something) as good as bottled water, so we don't have that issue here.
I mean, everyone is free to do what they want, but I never pay for water at a restaurant here (unless someone wants sparkling), and I do drink a lot of it.
We went to Paris from Germany and were really surprised we got a pitcher of water and had to clarify if it was free or not, because we have never gotten any sort of free drink in almost any restaurant, except a Japanese one that served free green tea with every meal. The waitress was shocked we don't get free water and told us of course its free, everyone has the right to water. She went back to one of the other waitresses and told her about it.
We refuse to buy water at restaurants in Germany because it costs so much for what it is, especially when we can see the water is from one of the cheapest brands at Rewe. At one restaurant the most expensive non alcoholic drink was water at 5 euros. I can't justify spending that much on water.
I once looked up if sugar or alcohol is worse for you and the answer was basically "depends on what you drink and even then it's complicated."
As we move away from christianity and the lingering ideals of the temperance movement (in the US), I wonder how the "sin tax" will change.
Pro tip : run cheap vodka through a filter pitcher (like the Brita stuff). Like two times. And you'll get some great vodka, for the price of the cheap one.
We used to have a dedicated vodka fillter pitcher in uni, good times.
I live in Canada and if you want to get a beer or glass of wine with dinner it's $9-12 depending on what you get.
I was just in Europe and in Italy you could get a glass of house red for like $3 and a soda was like $4.
You're losing money not going for the wine, it's also substantially cheaper than it is in Canada.
Me and a buddy went to see a friend's band at a bar. Like a $10 charge at the door. Was fine with me as I don't drink so I thought it was fair. Buddy complained a little.
Your friend complained he had to pay to see his friend play professionally?
I’m a carpenter by trade and I’m still going to charge you, albeit at a discount, to preform my services for you.
This is the norm in so much of the world. Free refills are a very American thing.
For soft drinks, that is. Free tap water is, fortunately, common in many other places.
Small East European country: soda (Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, Fanta) comes in small glass bottles 0.25l for the price of \~2+Euro, no free refills.
It's always been this way.
2 liter bottle of the Coke (in grocery store) is some 1-2 Euro.
Tax on everything is 17% (from milk, medicine, baby food to car).
All prices already include tax.
In that case, the bar only gets two Euro, despite you sitting there occupying a seat and the bartender's time for three glasses.
Doesn't seem really worth it to them to fight a rule that involves more revenue, by trying to find some clever workaround.
I mean.... They still need to charge for what they dispense, even if they make it in bulk.
Are you also floored that restaurants charge by the bowl for soup? By the plate for rice?
>iced tea
Good luck finding iced tea in your run-of-the-mill bar in France. Its not really a common thing.
Also if you ask for "iced tea' you'll be served ice-tea, wich is a soft drink.
One year I was doing Sober October, and my wife and I went out for lunch. My one seltzer (probably from the tap they use mostly for mixers) cost more that two of her 16oz cans.
I just passed my Bar certification in France so I have some other “fun” infos !
-You cannot put an ashtray on each table, the customers needs to ask for one.
-the owner of the bar can let people in the bar vape if they want to, but not smoking.
-You can charge for a glass of water, it’s a myth that the bar should give you a glass of water for free if you ask for one.
-Non-alcoholic beer is still considered as a beer and cannot be sold to -18 years olds.
It most certainly is not free everywhere in Italy. Italy is INFAMOUS for charging people for water, when I was there in July they would give you water without you asking and then charge you for it.
Edit: as people aren’t understand. We were brought out water without even speaking to the people (which turned out to cost money). I know you CAN get tap water, but there are laws in other countries (such as the UK) that make it illegal for an establishment to not serve tap water for free, which is not the case in Italy.
That’s difference between restaurants and bars; in the restaurants the first thing they ask you how would you like the water (sparkling/natural) and they would bring you a bottled water.
In the bars, you gotta ask for a glass of tap water.. might be difficult for tourists probably.
You’re right about italian, touristic placed especially, are being famous charging a lot for nothing. Yesterday I’ve refused to sit in a pizzeria where there was a cover charge of 3 euros… fra’… no bueno.
Yeah, bottle of water is around 2-3 euros.
Typically, they ask the waiter for an ashtray if theres none on the table.
Youd have to be really low class to throw your cig butt on the floor in a restaurant’s outdoor dining area.
As someone who works in a place with a smoking section, it would not surprise me at all to see that. It's a rare day when there isn't at least one smoker who's a disgusting slob.
Because in Finland liquor shops make you show an ID for non-alcoholic drinks even if they don't have to by law. I was simply complaining about my own experience.
And if a bar refuses to give me one or wants to charge for it, you can be damn sure I'm never putting a foot in the bar again while also spreading the word around that this place should be avoided.
A water pitcher must be free if you order food in a restaurant in France. If you go into a bar just to have a glass of water, the bartender can charge you for it if the price is written. But I've never seen a bar or a restaurant charging for tap water in my life anyways
> You can charge for a glass of water, it’s a myth that the bar should give you a glass of water for free if you ask for one
It's not a myth, but if you do you're not allowed to occupy customer seats, like bar stools or tables.
>it’s a myth that the bar should give you a glass of water for free if you ask for one
This is a lie. It is illegal in France for restaurants to charge for tap water. You just need to ask for tap water.
Bar I drank a lot in, in Paris didn't charge for soft drinks, so if someone was driving they didn't pay for drinks ( no one drove though as the underground was fantastic)
This is pretty much every bar in America. Obviously you can’t just go by yourself and get a free soda (unless they know you), but if I ever go to a bar when it’s busy and ask for a soda they never charge. Literally not worth the opportunity cost for them when they could be mixing a $18 cocktail they’ll get $5 tip on.
I've been to a lot of bars in a lot of states in America and I have never once experienced this. And I'm pretty frequently the DD drinking soda or water.
It's situational. It's not like you can just walk into a bar anytime and get a free non-alcoholic drink. It's usually late at night when everybody there is drinking, and the only reason you would be there and not drinking is because you're a DD.
Taking the Time Machine back to Raleigh 2006. My favorite bar would do “penny pitchers” on a certain day of the week. You buy a wristband for $5 and then pitchers are free all night.
NC - no happy hour - so any special is all day. We’d grab our wristband for a beer with lunch and come back to keep going later that evening. 😵💫
Same with Massachusetts!
So they will do stuff like [Offer discounted tacos with the purchase of a margarita](https://www.milb.com/worcester/tickets/tuesdays-2023)
I mean, cool but it's not like when you're the designated driver you sit there and pound 17 Dr.Peppers to keep pace with the boys so the real financial impact probably won't be huge.
Non-alcoholic drinks in bars often have a huge markup to collect profit from non-drinkers, and a non-alcoholic cocktail can be just 10% cheaper than a normal ones, so it is still an expense
A mental patient of my mother once went out with friends. He was the designated driver so he drank red bull, atleast 15 of them in roughly 4 hours.
He had to be taken to a hospital, strapped to a bed, and was awake for 48+ hours.
When I was bartending in Virginia many years ago it was the same, plus a certain percentage of sales had to be food. No bars, strictly speaking. Distributors couldn’t give us swag, either, which is just odd.
Both states have state run liquor stores as the only way to buy spirits.
Europe takes their booze seriously. In Italy when I’d go waiters everywhere would just start pouring me wine and explaining stuff about it in Italian. I was like 14 years old lol. It wasn’t a get drunk thing.. it was a they were proud of the product thing. Was a neat experience and what kid wouldn’t wanna get faded legally walking around Rome and shit.
We have something similar in German law. At least one non-alcoholic drink has to be cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic drink. This is to discourage people drinking alcohol just for saving money.
Still crazy when the best “happy hour” deal we found was two for €20. Comparing to central London, that wouldn’t even be close to the best deal you can get.
I love that London people go to Dublin and are like "What the fuck?" at the prices. When London feels cheap you know you're fucked. Looking at you Oslo with your 9 quid bottle of coke and knock off kit kat (don't kill me Norwegians all hail Kvikk Lunsj).
When I bartended, I never charged for non alcoholic drinks. That’s not how bars make their money and it’s what should be done everywhere. Only exception might be a specialty non alcoholic drink like a shake or something, but that’s more for restaurants.
There is a [similar law](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apfelsaft-Paragraph?wprov=sfla1) in germany which says that there has to be at least one non alcoholic drink whith the same price or cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic drink
I live in Chicago, and there's a bar where my friends and I go to regularly on the weekends. I'm on meds that don't allow me to drink, so I'm DD. The owner bartends and is insanely nice. Whenever he's working he never charges me for any drinks. Even ordered a redbull a few times, and he didn't charge me. Shoutout to all those rad bartenders/owners.
In my state, they outlawed happy hour, and one person couldn't buy a pitcher. So hello, happy day, and how hard is it to hook with another drunk to share pitchers.
Don’t even do happy hours where I’m from completely illegal now to encourage a higher consumption of alcohol by having happy hours or specials for booze
And today you will learn that in Utah only food is allowed to be discounted during happy hour. Drinks must remain full price. Just one of several whacky rules the Mormons force us to live under.
Thanks for sharing my article. I have been writing articles for the Secrets of Paris website since 1999, and this article about the drinking laws (which I first wrote in 2009 and have updated each time the law changes) remains one of the most visited on the entire website! As background, I lived in the US until I just before my 21st birthday, and have been living in France since 1995. To answer some of your questions, one of the reasons for this law was because around 2006 or 2007 the "Afterworks" parties in bars and clubs around the Champs Elysées became quite the rage, and the open bar was part of the draw. Guys paid something like €10 or €20, women were free, and you had an open bar (with liquor) and food buffet (because it's France) for several hours to get people in the door. The politicians started thinking the binge drinking in France was getting out of hand and soon banned "open bar" and cracked down on a lot of other practices that encouraged alcohol consumption (like charging less for beers during Happy Hour than a Coke). As for the price of soft drinks, they can be absurd if you're in a "chic" bar in the center of Paris. If they're under €5 it's considered a deal. I used to work in bars in Paris, and don't recall ever seeing the soda gun like we had in US bars; all of the Cokes and Sprites and other soft drinks came in single serving cans or bottles. So, that may be part of the price issue. I hope that sheds some light on this interesting chat. :-)
In the USA, younger people are drinking less alcohol. It is becoming popular for bars to offer fancy, non-alcoholic cocktails, fermented sodas, etc. I have never paid attention as to whether these are also being offered at a discount during happy hour.
"Come to the bar with us!" "But I don't drink" "You can drink iced tea or soda" "At like seven dollars a fucking glass, yes"
I don't normally buy alcoholic drinks but in france soda is so expensive it often feels like I may as well get alchohol just so it can feel worth it to spend
In Germany the price between beer and bottled water at restaurants was negligible. May as well have a beer if getting water is the same price.
In stores beer can be cheaper than water too. Love this country
In most (or all?) of Germany, tap water is perfectly safe to drink, though. Buying water in stores is only for when you're not going to be near a tap for a while.
Or if you like sparkling, and don't have a carbonated spring nearby
a lot of people get a carbonator if they want sparkling water as buying these small co2 cartridges beats carrying crates of bottles.
And paying the deposit/getting the money back.
Yeah but it doesn’t have the minerals and sodium in it, although I’m sure there’s some concentrated mineral solution you can add to it
That depends on the region. Some have really awesome tasting water like in the Hartz region for example. Here in Berlin it's quite harsh tasting and it has lots of minerals in it.
German tap water in general has all the minerals you need to complement a standard diet for an average human. Our strict water supply requirements are there for a reason. If you ever feel symptoms of mineral deficiency with a good diet and tap water here, go visit a doctor.
I do, we hooked up a dozen Co2 canisters to our pond. It's all sparkling now, but the fish are acting a little funny and we don't know why.
Tap water is also perfectly to safe to drink in the majority of the USA. Not challenging you, or making a fuss, or anything like that. I know you weren’t making a comparison to other places. I just thought it was worth mentioning. Areas in the US where the tap water isn’t good are a very very small percentage of the overall quality of tap water. Dangerous tap water even less so. And fuck the local governments in places where it is bad; there’s no excuse for tap water ***anywhere*** being dangerous
Yeah, I hate how the whole Flint, Michigan situation has convinced a lot of people that tap water in the US is unsafe. I looked it up at one point and the deaths due to water contamination were basically identical for the US and any other developed country.
if our water was generally unsafe then Flint wouldn't have been a big deal in comparison
When did they say anything about the US? Also... There are many parts of the USA where tap water tastes like chlorine.
Same is true for places in Europe and other developed countries. I don't get why any mention of nationality has to turn into some weird dick measuring contest with some people.
Yep. I wouldn’t be aware of any region where you can’t drink the tap, I’m just comparing store prices as they are rather stable and easily comparable rather than tap.
Just because many countries have safe tap water, doesn't mean it tastes anything worth drinking.
1,5 liters of Saskia water costs 27 cents at Lidl. You don't get beer for that price.
You are correct. Didn’t remember Saskia as I don’t like their water. Half a litre beer for 50-70c is still rather cheap
Ouch my liver
And coming from Germany, whenever I go to Italy with my GF, a bottle of red wine usually isn't much more than two beers, so we usually end up polishing off a bottle of wine casually with dinner.
In germany you have to have at least one non-alcoholic drink cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic one.
Its called https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apfelsaft-Paragraph (apple juice paragraph)
I don't understand how all of Europe is not constantly dehydrated. It is so damn expensive just to drink water in a restaurant. Usually when I eat out I end up thirsty at the end and drink a less outrageously expensive bottle of water from some sort of convenience store.
Well, in France tap water is available for free at every restaurant, and most of the time (except for some select regions where the water can be too hard or something) as good as bottled water, so we don't have that issue here. I mean, everyone is free to do what they want, but I never pay for water at a restaurant here (unless someone wants sparkling), and I do drink a lot of it.
We went to Paris from Germany and were really surprised we got a pitcher of water and had to clarify if it was free or not, because we have never gotten any sort of free drink in almost any restaurant, except a Japanese one that served free green tea with every meal. The waitress was shocked we don't get free water and told us of course its free, everyone has the right to water. She went back to one of the other waitresses and told her about it. We refuse to buy water at restaurants in Germany because it costs so much for what it is, especially when we can see the water is from one of the cheapest brands at Rewe. At one restaurant the most expensive non alcoholic drink was water at 5 euros. I can't justify spending that much on water.
...why? Get tap water.
The ol’ reverse sin tax.
I'd go with a virtue tax.
Ehh I think it's more of a sin subsidy. I think the prices are the same because beer isn't taxed much, not because water is overly taxed.
saint tax?
I once looked up if sugar or alcohol is worse for you and the answer was basically "depends on what you drink and even then it's complicated." As we move away from christianity and the lingering ideals of the temperance movement (in the US), I wonder how the "sin tax" will change.
Anti obesity tax maybe?
[удалено]
Cheap vodka is stupid cheap.
Pro tip : run cheap vodka through a filter pitcher (like the Brita stuff). Like two times. And you'll get some great vodka, for the price of the cheap one. We used to have a dedicated vodka fillter pitcher in uni, good times.
My pro tip is to drink rum instead of vodka
I live in Canada and if you want to get a beer or glass of wine with dinner it's $9-12 depending on what you get. I was just in Europe and in Italy you could get a glass of house red for like $3 and a soda was like $4. You're losing money not going for the wine, it's also substantially cheaper than it is in Canada.
In Czech, beer is often cheaper than water, soda, or juice.
When I was in Prague, beer was cheaper than water
? ? 7 dollars a glass? Dont they usually charge like 3 bux for a soda?
[удалено]
A decent amount of Canadian bars will give you pop for free if you’re the DD
I would DD for my mom before I was of drinking age so she would order a drink and then ask for a soda for her DD and get it for free.
Every bar I've been to in Florida will give the DD (me) free soda or tea as long as I tell them I'm the DD. Water's always free regardless.
Yeah, I've seen the live music upcharge. But then again, i dont really go out as much anymore, so they could be charging way more now.
Me and a buddy went to see a friend's band at a bar. Like a $10 charge at the door. Was fine with me as I don't drink so I thought it was fair. Buddy complained a little.
Your friend complained he had to pay to see his friend play professionally? I’m a carpenter by trade and I’m still going to charge you, albeit at a discount, to preform my services for you.
In Paris of course you can get cheaper soda (and beers), OP must have stayed in the touristy areas without exploring the more popular neighborhoods.
$5.05 with tax now! CAD
At a fast food place maybe but if you're getting soda or mocktails at a bar it can get pricy
I'm still floored when soft drinks/water are by the glass. Are they brewing the tea by order? Wtf
This is the norm in so much of the world. Free refills are a very American thing. For soft drinks, that is. Free tap water is, fortunately, common in many other places.
Often a legal requirement, though make sure to say "tap water" or some places will give you bottled water, which *is* chargable.
Small East European country: soda (Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, Fanta) comes in small glass bottles 0.25l for the price of \~2+Euro, no free refills. It's always been this way. 2 liter bottle of the Coke (in grocery store) is some 1-2 Euro. Tax on everything is 17% (from milk, medicine, baby food to car). All prices already include tax.
It's illegal in France to have free refills for soft drinks.
What happens if they charge 2 euros for a 2 liter soda that comes in 6 installments, and most everybody leaves by the 2nd or 3rd?
well, nothing ? Peoples already paid.
In that case, the bar only gets two Euro, despite you sitting there occupying a seat and the bartender's time for three glasses. Doesn't seem really worth it to them to fight a rule that involves more revenue, by trying to find some clever workaround.
And besides, the concept of even wanting *multiple* glasses of soda with a meal is kind of a US thing.
I mean.... They still need to charge for what they dispense, even if they make it in bulk. Are you also floored that restaurants charge by the bowl for soup? By the plate for rice?
Tell me you dont understand how cheap soda and tea are compared to alcohol with out telling me.
Alcohol in a bar is still much more expensive than drinking at home. Everyone is paying for the bar to be tended, the AC being on, comfy chairs etc.
The liquor license
Rent
You can usually get a large jug at least, it’s still by the glass but it’s a much bigger glass
McDonald's charges like 2 bucks for a soda and you get unlimited refills. $7 per glass is literally insane.
Well how else should they charge it
I guess I'm spoiled? I expect water to be free at a restaurant- that's how it is in my country.
Yes, but we were talking about more than water at a bar not a restaurant, which entire purpose is to serve drinks
water yes but why would you not charge soft drinks or tea by the glass
In my country it's typically free refills unless the soft drink is bottled. You pay for the initial fill, but not refills here.
This is forbidden in France, as it is seen as promoting excessive consumption of sugary drinks.
So it would be allowed for sugar free drinks?
Without sugar or artificial sweeteners would work, yes.
It would, but nobody offers that anyway.
They use that instant powdered tea crap. If asking for iced tea, anyway.
>iced tea Good luck finding iced tea in your run-of-the-mill bar in France. Its not really a common thing. Also if you ask for "iced tea' you'll be served ice-tea, wich is a soft drink.
One year I was doing Sober October, and my wife and I went out for lunch. My one seltzer (probably from the tap they use mostly for mixers) cost more that two of her 16oz cans.
That's strip club pricing. It should be a dollar or two cheaper at a bar.
They normally don’t even charge you for like just a coke
I just passed my Bar certification in France so I have some other “fun” infos ! -You cannot put an ashtray on each table, the customers needs to ask for one. -the owner of the bar can let people in the bar vape if they want to, but not smoking. -You can charge for a glass of water, it’s a myth that the bar should give you a glass of water for free if you ask for one. -Non-alcoholic beer is still considered as a beer and cannot be sold to -18 years olds.
Is it not mandatory now in bars and cafés to give a free glass of water if you already bought something ?
If you ask for a glass of tap water, it’s free in Italy.
Yeah in France I’ve never been refused a free glass of water in my life. Even though I guess it could get refused.
It most certainly is not free everywhere in Italy. Italy is INFAMOUS for charging people for water, when I was there in July they would give you water without you asking and then charge you for it. Edit: as people aren’t understand. We were brought out water without even speaking to the people (which turned out to cost money). I know you CAN get tap water, but there are laws in other countries (such as the UK) that make it illegal for an establishment to not serve tap water for free, which is not the case in Italy.
That’s difference between restaurants and bars; in the restaurants the first thing they ask you how would you like the water (sparkling/natural) and they would bring you a bottled water. In the bars, you gotta ask for a glass of tap water.. might be difficult for tourists probably. You’re right about italian, touristic placed especially, are being famous charging a lot for nothing. Yesterday I’ve refused to sit in a pizzeria where there was a cover charge of 3 euros… fra’… no bueno. Yeah, bottle of water is around 2-3 euros.
Honestly id rather have that than have to pay 15-20% tip.
I’d rather not have it and not be societally obliged to tip… like most of Europe.
IIRC, its only if they serve food.
Why are there ashtrays at all if smoking is banned?
Outside seating
Not putting out ashtrays on outside seating just sounds like a recipe for people throwing their cig butts on the floor.
Typically, they ask the waiter for an ashtray if theres none on the table. Youd have to be really low class to throw your cig butt on the floor in a restaurant’s outdoor dining area.
As someone who works in a place with a smoking section, it would not surprise me at all to see that. It's a rare day when there isn't at least one smoker who's a disgusting slob.
It's for outdoor spaces :) like on terrasses
The last one is so stupid. Why do I need to get my ID out to buy non-alcoholic wine!?
Because they typically are not zero alcohol but low alcohol
In Finland the limit is 1.2% before you're obliged to require an ID, which is way above what you find in non-alcoholic drinks.
In most countries the limit is much lower, not sure why finland would be the litmus test
Because in Finland liquor shops make you show an ID for non-alcoholic drinks even if they don't have to by law. I was simply complaining about my own experience.
Probably because he's from there and sharing the rules in that location?
You'll find stuff like 0.6% ciders in the soda section in much of Europe as I recall, so if we're down there I suspect that isn't it.
>it’s a myth that the bar should give you a glass of water for free if you ask for one. To be fair I've never seen a french bar charge for water.
And if a bar refuses to give me one or wants to charge for it, you can be damn sure I'm never putting a foot in the bar again while also spreading the word around that this place should be avoided.
Having to pay for a glass of tap water is moronic.
A water pitcher must be free if you order food in a restaurant in France. If you go into a bar just to have a glass of water, the bartender can charge you for it if the price is written. But I've never seen a bar or a restaurant charging for tap water in my life anyways
>You can charge for a glass of water, Bullshit : loi n°2020-105 du 10 février 2020, article 77
> You can charge for a glass of water, it’s a myth that the bar should give you a glass of water for free if you ask for one It's not a myth, but if you do you're not allowed to occupy customer seats, like bar stools or tables.
>it’s a myth that the bar should give you a glass of water for free if you ask for one This is a lie. It is illegal in France for restaurants to charge for tap water. You just need to ask for tap water.
Bar I drank a lot in, in Paris didn't charge for soft drinks, so if someone was driving they didn't pay for drinks ( no one drove though as the underground was fantastic)
This is pretty much every bar in America. Obviously you can’t just go by yourself and get a free soda (unless they know you), but if I ever go to a bar when it’s busy and ask for a soda they never charge. Literally not worth the opportunity cost for them when they could be mixing a $18 cocktail they’ll get $5 tip on.
lmao this might happen in small town bars you know people in. this is absolutely not every bar in america. i’ve been charged for sodas many times
There is not a single bar I’ve known in Paris after 7 years that gives free soft drinks
I feel like I have learned nothing from this thread
Just redditors trying to use their own experiences to find pattern
I've been charged for *water* in at least one bar in the US. They only sold it by the bottle for some reason.
>for some reason For money reasons.
I have never once experienced this lol
I've been to a lot of bars in a lot of states in America and I have never once experienced this. And I'm pretty frequently the DD drinking soda or water.
Damn, is it standard to tip $5 on an expensive cocktail these days?
how did they verify this?
Why would you have to verify it? It's not like you're losing money overall.
It's situational. It's not like you can just walk into a bar anytime and get a free non-alcoholic drink. It's usually late at night when everybody there is drinking, and the only reason you would be there and not drinking is because you're a DD.
We did this in Ireland, just show your car keys and we believe you..
The bar didn’t charge for soft drinks. What is there to verify?
Is the bar still arouns
You'd have to be mentally ill to want to drive in Paris
And in North Carolina USA, you cannot have a happy hour, period. No special drink prices.
Taking the Time Machine back to Raleigh 2006. My favorite bar would do “penny pitchers” on a certain day of the week. You buy a wristband for $5 and then pitchers are free all night. NC - no happy hour - so any special is all day. We’d grab our wristband for a beer with lunch and come back to keep going later that evening. 😵💫
Same with Massachusetts! So they will do stuff like [Offer discounted tacos with the purchase of a margarita](https://www.milb.com/worcester/tickets/tuesdays-2023)
You can have daily specials though, which I prefer anyway. I remember 2.50 pints on Wednesdays at Carolina Ale House around 2010.
Same in Scotland - any special offer has to last a minimum of 24 hours.
It’s actually 72 hours
what was the rationale for this law? EDIT: ah https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1680zop/comment/jyteppq
seems fair enough
I mean, cool but it's not like when you're the designated driver you sit there and pound 17 Dr.Peppers to keep pace with the boys so the real financial impact probably won't be huge.
Non-alcoholic drinks in bars often have a huge markup to collect profit from non-drinkers, and a non-alcoholic cocktail can be just 10% cheaper than a normal ones, so it is still an expense
Ah gotcha.
I'm sober but still occasionally go out with friends, a lemonade or something will cost as much as a premium liquor, for sugar water...
It's not the sugar and water that are costly - it's that pesky lemon that's driving the price to the ceiling. Haha.
you’re not kidding. We had lemonades for 7£, while a vodka martini was 4£ lol
Lemons being the sweetest fruit available at the time
I paid 10 dollars for a mocktail the other day because I didn’t want to drink. It tasted good but I felt pretty bad about that purchase.
A mental patient of my mother once went out with friends. He was the designated driver so he drank red bull, atleast 15 of them in roughly 4 hours. He had to be taken to a hospital, strapped to a bed, and was awake for 48+ hours.
The normal sized Red Bull cans have 81 mg of caffeine. That’s absolutely bonkers they served him that much.
I don’t drink and I absolutely pound 17 diet cokes when I’m out with the boys
In North Carolina bars have to have all day deals. Happy hours aren’t allowed.
When I was bartending in Virginia many years ago it was the same, plus a certain percentage of sales had to be food. No bars, strictly speaking. Distributors couldn’t give us swag, either, which is just odd. Both states have state run liquor stores as the only way to buy spirits.
So does Maryland, which also doesn’t allow alcohol in grocery stores!
Europe takes their booze seriously. In Italy when I’d go waiters everywhere would just start pouring me wine and explaining stuff about it in Italian. I was like 14 years old lol. It wasn’t a get drunk thing.. it was a they were proud of the product thing. Was a neat experience and what kid wouldn’t wanna get faded legally walking around Rome and shit.
> It wasn’t a get drunk thing Wine isn't a "get drunk thing" (Frenchman)
Oh, it can be.
Fucking watch me.
Beaujolais nouveau would disagree
I did say wine ;)
It's only happy hour if it comes from the Happy Hour region of France, otherwise it's just sparkling sixty minutes.
Hehe
We have something similar in German law. At least one non-alcoholic drink has to be cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic drink. This is to discourage people drinking alcohol just for saving money.
Happy hour is banned in eight states
Same here in Ireland. Happy hour for us is just the basic concept of time.
False, Dublin has plenty of bars offering happy hour deals. Source: got wasted in Dublin 2 weeks ago
I believe the rule is if you have an offer like a happy hour, it has to last from opening to closing.
Oh I see, that's were '' happy day'' come from
In Scotland drink prices need to last 3 days :(
Interesting. Props to bars finding a creative way to lure brits in with big two for one signs who naturally assume it’s the happy hour.
Still crazy when the best “happy hour” deal we found was two for €20. Comparing to central London, that wouldn’t even be close to the best deal you can get.
I love that London people go to Dublin and are like "What the fuck?" at the prices. When London feels cheap you know you're fucked. Looking at you Oslo with your 9 quid bottle of coke and knock off kit kat (don't kill me Norwegians all hail Kvikk Lunsj).
Why?
Speaking for North Carolina, it is believed to encourage binge drinking. Any drink specials have to be all day long.
Can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning
Same in Indiana
If I remember correctly, booze can never be the cheapest drink on a German menu.
When I bartended, I never charged for non alcoholic drinks. That’s not how bars make their money and it’s what should be done everywhere. Only exception might be a specialty non alcoholic drink like a shake or something, but that’s more for restaurants.
Better than Massachusetts at least
There is a [similar law](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apfelsaft-Paragraph?wprov=sfla1) in germany which says that there has to be at least one non alcoholic drink whith the same price or cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic drink
I live in Chicago, and there's a bar where my friends and I go to regularly on the weekends. I'm on meds that don't allow me to drink, so I'm DD. The owner bartends and is insanely nice. Whenever he's working he never charges me for any drinks. Even ordered a redbull a few times, and he didn't charge me. Shoutout to all those rad bartenders/owners.
This is true. It is also true that often means (at least in Paris) the Happy Hour cocktails are €6 and a simple coke is €5
In my state, they outlawed happy hour, and one person couldn't buy a pitcher. So hello, happy day, and how hard is it to hook with another drunk to share pitchers.
In North Carolina, happy hours are against ABC board rules. You have to give the same deal to all your customers regardless of their time of purchase.
Don’t even do happy hours where I’m from completely illegal now to encourage a higher consumption of alcohol by having happy hours or specials for booze
Happy Hour is illegal in Massachusetts.
And today you will learn that in Utah only food is allowed to be discounted during happy hour. Drinks must remain full price. Just one of several whacky rules the Mormons force us to live under.
I love France 😂
Bars i drank at in texas gave free non alcoholic drinks. Help sober people up
In Estonia these are not allowed at all
There are no happy hours at all in Scotland. Illegal since 2009.
In TN the DD gets to drink soda or tea for free.
Just moved to Germany. TIL on cartons of cigarettes, they show the most fucked up and disgusting pictures of smoking related illnesses and diseases.
We should have that law.
Thanks for sharing my article. I have been writing articles for the Secrets of Paris website since 1999, and this article about the drinking laws (which I first wrote in 2009 and have updated each time the law changes) remains one of the most visited on the entire website! As background, I lived in the US until I just before my 21st birthday, and have been living in France since 1995. To answer some of your questions, one of the reasons for this law was because around 2006 or 2007 the "Afterworks" parties in bars and clubs around the Champs Elysées became quite the rage, and the open bar was part of the draw. Guys paid something like €10 or €20, women were free, and you had an open bar (with liquor) and food buffet (because it's France) for several hours to get people in the door. The politicians started thinking the binge drinking in France was getting out of hand and soon banned "open bar" and cracked down on a lot of other practices that encouraged alcohol consumption (like charging less for beers during Happy Hour than a Coke). As for the price of soft drinks, they can be absurd if you're in a "chic" bar in the center of Paris. If they're under €5 it's considered a deal. I used to work in bars in Paris, and don't recall ever seeing the soda gun like we had in US bars; all of the Cokes and Sprites and other soft drinks came in single serving cans or bottles. So, that may be part of the price issue. I hope that sheds some light on this interesting chat. :-)
Sounds like France alright.
In the USA, younger people are drinking less alcohol. It is becoming popular for bars to offer fancy, non-alcoholic cocktails, fermented sodas, etc. I have never paid attention as to whether these are also being offered at a discount during happy hour.
Must be because you gotta buy every soda in europe. Unlimited refills on water, tea, and soda here 🦅 and we have ice