Interesting Shares

If you run a restaurant, the way you serve water matters.

It’s a bilateral issue that affects both customers and staff, and as the first thing to hit the table, the water glass is central to the customer experience. Sometimes the glass can act as a roadblock; if it’s too small it needs to be refilled often, and if a server doesn’t come around enough, a diner can be left feeling unsatisfied, parched, and maybe even a tad anxious. Meanwhile, a giant, hulking water glass is surely functional, but for many restaurant owners, these lack elegance and can be hard for patrons to maneuver. Self-serve water stations are an option for counter service restaurants that don’t employ a traditional waitstaff, but keeping a water jug full during peak hours can be its own nightmare.

So, is there some tried-and-true glass that every restaurant should adopt? How do restaurants go about choosing the ideal drinking vessel?

Bob Broskey, chef and partner at Lettuce Entertain You and overseer of RPM Restaurants in Chicago, has lots of insight on water glasses.

“It all depends on the restaurant,” he says. “Usually [we’re] looking for something in the ballpark of 12 ounces. Always chilled water, no ice. If it’s a huge restaurant, we’re going with a glass double the size so the staff doesn’t have to refill every three minutes.”

Size is a key consideration here, since servers can’t be spending their whole shift refilling water glasses (though I love it when they can leave a carafe or a pitcher of water at the table). Not every restaurant employs the same thinking that Bob does, though. Here’s a rundown of some popular water glasses you’ll often see at restaurants, with an examination of why each one works, and why they sometimes don’t.

read more (with pictures of the different glasses): https://thetakeout.com/restaurant-water-drinking-glass-plastic-cup-types-guide-1850933640

archive link: https://archive.ph/DiWRv