Author: Admin

Asking for hot water with lemon is a collossal waste of a server’s time. If you are doing it because you brought your own tea bag, then you should be banned from restaurants. If you ordered it because you are cold or not feeling well and need a soothing beverage, try one of our delicious hot teas or coffee drinks. Also, please do not call the drink a “Canarino” and then start telling a story about how you drank hot water with lemon everywhere you dined on a recent trip to Italy.  We don’t care. In the United States, waiters work on strict commission and it’s unreasonable to expect us to run errands if you aren’t paying for them. If you want to stay in your server’s good graces, here or abroad, we suggest you spare us the unbilled services.

Don’t abuse the privilege.

Asking for a taste of a wine if you’re having trouble deciding is perfectly acceptable, but don’t abuse the privilege. Detaining a server to stage a private wine tasting for your table can be a nuisance, especially if you exhibit a sense of entitlement.

If a waiter makes several different recommendations for wine by the glass, don’t automatically ask him to sample you on all of them. Pick the one that sounds most suitable for you and ask if it’s ok to taste it first. Even if you are picky about wine, be respectful of your server’s time. If he offers to taste you on whatever wines you’d like to try, then follow his lead. But don’t just assume he has nothing better to do than stand there watching you evaluate a $9 glass of Pinot Grigio while his station goes down in flames.