Everyone needs principles and beliefs. One of my beliefs is that I can go into any...I mean ANY restaurant and request tap water with my meal and it should be free. Now, you can offer me bottled water or mineral water or even sparkling water and charge me for it, but I reserve the right to decline and request tap water and it be free.
Tonight we dined at "Aventino" over off of Camp Bowie. I have wanted to eat there for most of the 10 years I have lived in Funky Fort Worth but never remember it. Well tonight I remembered.
Up until early 2009 it was called "Aventino's Ristorante" but that was until one of the son's took over after Culinary School and working in NYC. He gave it a modern vibe, updated the menu, and altered the name.
The food is pretty good and the atmosphere is nice and the service was solid. We were offered "still" water or Sparkling water. I requested tap and was informed that was what the "still" water was. It was served in an opened glass bottle and because of that I was wondering if we would be charged for "tap" water.
We were.
They charged us the nominal fee of $1 per person.
Seriously?!? You have a menu where most of the entrees are more than 20 bucks a piece and you want to nickel and dime me with a one dollar surcharge for tap water!!
I hope that extra $2 you got from us was worth it because we will NOT be returning and will NOT be recommending this place to others. Not because of the food, the ambiance or the service, but because of PRINCIPLE.
UPDATE:
I received an email response from Aventino. Evidently they use the following "in house" filtration system.
They offered to refund the 2 bucks as well as throw in an ap or dessert if we dined with them again. I will give them the props of doing away with bottled water altogether, but for those of us that never order bottle water any way it just seems silly that we cannot order good ol' Fort Worth tap water. Oh well, lots of restaurants to choose from!
