Would You Pay $5 For A Glass Of Water?

Would you pay five dollars for a glass of water if the water came from a $6000 Italian-made system that filtrates, chills and carbonates tap water? If you're a diner at Marque restaurant in Surry Hill, Australia, you don't have much of a choice.

Chef/owner Mark Best explains that customers can drink as much water as they want, and that the water is "absolutely beautiful." By installing the filtration system, he has done away with bottled water, which was causing a negative environmental impact that he became increasingly uncomfortable with.

Best was inspired to make the switch after visiting the U.S. and dining at Blue Hill, Per Se and Coi. Over five years ago, restaurants Incanto and Del Posto led the charge on nixing bottled water. Del Posto called in a master water brewer who "tinkered with the recipe for months."

Unlike Marque, restaurants like Incanto provide the water free of charge. However, only a handful of customers have complained about Marque's water policy. For those that have, the charge is immediately removed from the bill.

Comments

[LifeWitness]

02:58 AM on 06/23/2011

Americans are paying more for bottled water then they do for gasoline so, it wouldn't surprise me.

[GerryS]

12:38 AM on 06/23/2011

no,

I live 20 miles from the glacier------------

[Love2Run83]

06:56 PM on 06/22/2011

Yes, if I was inches away from death and THAT glass of water was the only one available to save me.

[sillyblueness]

08:34 AM on 06/22/2011

I ordered water with my sushi lunch a few months back. I was charged $10 because the water was from Norway. I was shocked when I got my bill and asked about the water (this was the only way I found out it was from Norway). Yes, I paid $10 for water, and never went back to that restaurant. Across the street is another sushi restaurant.

[GerryS]

12:39 AM on 06/23/2011

fool-

[fishnetdiver]

06:27 AM on 06/22/2011

WOULD I pay $5 for a glass of water?
No.
But unless we quit dumping filth into our lakes, streams and oceans then we may not have any choice.
It'll be chaos!
Water companies will roam the land hunting down hoarders while Malcolm McDowell laughs maniaclly in his Fortress of Watertude!

[douttfire]

11:21 PM on 06/21/2011

$5 for a glass of water? They charge that in Walt Disney World already! And NO you can't bring in your own bottled water! And there's no chef tinkering with anything...they've got a plumber tinkering and hooking the water fountains to the sulfur-smelling wells so you HAVE to buy water.

[taddles]

10:47 PM on 06/21/2011

"Del Posto called in a master water brewer who "tinkered with the recipe for months."

....is this an Onion article? Master water brewer?!?! Tinkered with the recipe?!?!?

[burton163]

12:29 AM on 06/22/2011

I know, right?

One of the greatest scams of all time is bottled water.

I lived in Lake Tahoe and you could literally drink straight from the snow capped mountain streams that fed the lake and idiots would still pay for bottled rather than drink the superior quality, local tap water.

I realize there can be issues with regional tap water....and filtering and quality bottled product has it's place.

Anyone that pays for low-end bottled water (tap water in a plastic bottle) is an idiot.

As for the "master water brewer" high-end restaurant water, well, I guess those who have the financial resources might just as well pay $5 for their water and feel that there is a difference, if that is what they are effectively "sold".

I'm sure there is a perceptible difference....and if you have the resources, then there is comfort and validation in that perceived quality enhancement.

It really drives home the ever widening gap between the haves and haves not's. We can pay $5 for water because we deserve the best, regardless of the perception of value.

Oh, and we probably should buy the expensive filtered water, seeing as how we are actively stripping the EPA of it's ability to regulate the safety and quality of our tap water. I mean, we can afford it..let the great unwashed drink the tap water. If it happens to be unsafe, that's their problem...

[taddles]

03:33 PM on 06/22/2011

Very well put.

It should also be noted that there are no regulations on the quality of bottled water where there are federal regulations on the purity requirements for tap water.

One bottled water manufacturer in my area was found a few years back to simply be bottling water straight from the municipal supply and calling it well deep water because the local water authority had stated on their website that the source of the cities water was from deep water wells. Nothing like filling a 2 cent plastic bottle with 1 cent of water from the municipal tap and selling it for $1.25 a bottle.

[livhosaere]

09:59 PM on 06/21/2011

darn right I would,If I was stranded in the middle of the gobi desert and have wads of cash in my pocket and by the way:when I'm done with the first one just keep backing them up. LOL

[crom14]

09:10 PM on 06/21/2011

Only if it is 90-100 degrees outside.

[deepintheheartoftejas]

09:02 PM on 06/21/2011

That hardly sounds expensive at all, compared to the gourmet ice cube businesses that have sprung up around the hoity-toity, fashionable cocktails in the last couple years.

[Mr Crabs]

08:58 PM on 06/21/2011

Penn and Teller already proved you can have a "water sommelier" serve up a variety of "exotic" waters from around the world. People will believe in the superior quality and will swear each "brand" tastes different, even though in reality they all came straight from the tap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfPAjUvvnIc

[Epilef2000]

08:48 PM on 06/21/2011

i boil my tap water with my tea-pot...freeze..and drink it..the US has some of the worlds best municipal filtration systems for water..i mean we pay more for a gallon of water than oil..its ridiculous

[Tony Rubino]

07:07 PM on 06/21/2011

Many people complain about this being crazy - but they don't charge for refills, and a soda probably cost the same ($5 / glass). Also, when you compare the bill to the price of the beverage, $5 would be nominal.

If the water offers something unique that a basic filtered tap water wouldn't, I'd try it. I'm adventurous. But would I routinely pay that if I couldn't afford it? Hell no! Besides, some cavier fetches over $100/ounce easily. You're paying for fish eggs...

If I saw this trend (paying for water) at a casual diner or chain restaurant, I'd be outraged. At a specialized high-end restaurant? Not so much. I don't ride the high horse though.

[mrdpavo]

06:47 PM on 06/21/2011

He is correct that bottled water is causing a huge environmental impact...but a $6000 filtration system? A Brita filter or something is more than enough to do the job, most municipalities have cleaner tap water than bottled water to begin with.

[HyacinthGirl]

05:34 PM on 06/21/2011

No thanks. I've got a Brita pitcher in my refrigerator at home. Perhaps I should start charging my friends when they drink my deluxe filtered water?