Water, water everywhere...

[Opinion. This may seem like a non-issue for many but, over the past seven years or so, I demand that restaurants serve me with a glass of filtered water with ice…if they want my custom. I’ve walked out of a few. My regulars serve me ice ewater.

Every restaurant kitchen uses filtered water, it’s not Switzerland.

There are ~23 million people in greater Bangkok and every single one of them buys a plastic bottle of water every day. So where do all those plastic bottles get thrown away?

There is no away. Convince places to patronise to give you a glass of water. In many countries, there’s a carafe on every table. Let’s make it happen here.]

Italy’s top court rules against tourist refused tap water in Dolomites hotel

Woman argued water was a universal human right but court ruled no law obliged hoteliers to serve it from tap

Angela Giuffrida in Rome

The Guardian: 26 May 2026

A tourist’s simple request for a glass of tap water at a hotel restaurant in the Italian Dolomites has culminated in Italy’s top court ruling that being served water from the tap is not a consumer right, after a lengthy and costly legal saga.

According to Italian press reports, the woman repeatedly asked for tap water with her meal, even offering to pay for it. This was refused and instead she arrived at dinner each night to find a 0.75-litre bottle of mineral water, costing €7, on the table.

The woman then pursued legal action, arguing water was “a natural resource and a universal human right” and that “the free provision of a minimum vital quantity is necessary to meet essential needs and must be guaranteed”, Corriere wrote.

The woman considered tap water to be an integral part of the service at a restaurant or hotel, “much like finding a bed with sheets, a warm room and soap in the bathroom”.

Asking for free tap water at a restaurant in Italy is generally considered a breach of etiquette, especially if the server has already offered the choice of a bottle of natural or sparkling water.

But customers are becoming bolder, with many seeking to avoid using plastic, and more restaurants now offer filtered water.