The price of the carafe
After the overpriced chocolate éclair, readers wonder: can Geneva restaurants charge for the carafe of water? Answer.
Posted today at 10:56 a.m.
Image d’illustration.
Georges Cabrera
After the article on the chocolate éclair sold for 13 francs at the Kiosque des Bastions, several comments regarding the jugs of water charged at the restaurant have reached the editorial staff. In particular the anecdote of a large table with an order for paid drinks for each guest, who were nevertheless made to pay 5 francs for a carafe of apparently “filtered” water… According to our reader, Geneva would have prohibited the sale of tap water , making this questionable practice downright illegal.
What regarding? Let’s dampen our hopes right away, the practice is completely legal. “We can sell everything at the price we want, as long as it is indicated on the menu”, assures us Laurent Terlinchamp, president of the Society of Geneva cafetiers-restaurateurs. But in the specific case of a carafe of water, which it is customary to be offered free of charge, can we expect the waiter to tell us orally that it will be invoiced when we order it? “No, indicating it on the map is enough.” For him, the fact that a restaurateur “must” charge for his carafe of water is a “serious sign” indicating that the economic situation is not healthy. “At one time, charging for tap water did not exist. It is unfortunate to come to this today. That merchants, who do a hospitality job, fail to cover their costs by selling the food they make and have to resolve to charge for the carafe, it’s sad.
What is left for us customers (whose economic situation has not magically improved since the days of free jugs of water) is to systematically check the price of the food we regarding to order. From the pitcher of water to the chocolate éclair on display under the dessert bell.
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