Ordering "agua del grifo"

[trecile]

I much prefer ordering agua del grifo (tap water) both to save money and plastic, and everything else that goes into the production and delivery of bottled water.

The last couple of nights in Santiago I dined with a group at two different vegetarian/vegan restaurants and they didn't bat an eye at our request for agua del grifo. We also ordered wine. But tonight I dined alone at a restaurant I have been to several times in Santiago because I feel comfortable there as a solo diner. When I asked for agua del grifo I was told that it was cloudy, and that the waitress herself wouldn't drink it. I insisted that I would try it, and I also ordered a glass of wine. The water was indeed cloudy when it was brought to the table, but that didn't bother me, because I've seen perfectly good water "settle" in the glass at home. However, when I tasted it I could tell that something had been added to the water as it had a slightly acidic taste.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[Tincatinker]

@trecile as you know I don’t drink water but I have seen the “buy a bottle of water” scheme run in every class of restaurant from Manchester to Marrakesh via Miami and Moscow. In some of those I would probably go for the bottle but I would insist on testing the seal on the bottle top. That said I’ve never knowingly encountered anyone deliberately contaminating tap-water just to gain a sale. Either that waitress was on very high commission rates on bottled water or she was actually trying to do you a favour. Even by Tinker standards poisoning a client is not a good route to repeat sales.

I take comfort from the fact that while most of my liquid intake comes with a cork in the bottle it started out as pure clean rain - before the grapes did their thing

 

[witsendwv]

We always order agua del grifo, we have never been refused, but if the waitress told us that it was cloudy I think I may pass on it. On the other hand, if it rains too much here my water (from a well) will be very cloudy so I just don't know. I am comfortable with my home water perhaps not so much elsewhere!!

 

[alansykes]

I love water and am lucky that the water that comes out of my taps comes from a spring on the fellside above my house on a Cumbrian hill farm, and is delicious - soft and cool and instantly refreshing.

Some tapwater in Spain is really disgusting. Ponferrada's in particular, and even in the rural area in Madrid province it was horrifically chlorinated. Usually in rural areas it is ok, especially when you see the "non tratada" sign. A nice hospitalero on the Mozárabe quickly reassured me, when I looked nervous about drinking from a tap: "es agua de la sierra". In Casar de Cáceres, on the Vía de la Plata, a sign on the public fuente warns that you can only draw 5 litres per day - it's nice water, and you need to fill up, as people have died from dehydration on the stage on to Cañaveral.

For me, the best camino water came from a fuente near the aptly named río Dulce before Sigüenza on the Ruta de la Lana, and (directly) from the río Mera, after Sobrado dos Monxes on the Norte.

 

[trecile]

The restaurant with the cloudy water is only 300 meters from one of the restaurants where we were served good tap water.

 

[Molly Cassidy]

The restaurant with the cloudy water is only 300 meters from one of the restaurants where we were served good tap water.

That doesn't always mean the water will be the same. They may have a problem in the local plumbing. I know there are places here in Greece that used to always give tap water to customers, but now only serve bottles because the water isn't up to standard.

 

[woody66]

All the way from SJPP to Burgos and in Bilbao this time i drank tap water after asking if it was potable; wherever i was cafes, restaurant's and where i slept!
Maybe there was an issue perhaps temporary ! (it has happened twice at my home here in UK in the last 5 years because of a fault ; rare but it happens)

However when i stayed the week in Fuseta Portugal the manager of the property i was in said no; she was a local and wouldn't drink the water so i got some at supermarket!

 

[bullingtonce]

I much prefer ordering agua del grifo (tap water) both to save money and plastic, and everything else that goes into the production and delivery of bottled water.

The last couple of nights in Santiago I dined with a group at two different vegetarian/vegan restaurants and they didn't bat an eye at our request for agua del grifo. We also ordered wine. But tonight I dined alone at a restaurant I have been to several times in Santiago because I feel comfortable there as a solo diner. When I asked for agua del grifo I was told that it was cloudy, and that the waitress herself wouldn't drink it. I insisted that I would try it, and I also ordered a glass of wine. The water was indeed cloudy when it was brought to the table, but that didn't bother me, because I've seen perfectly good water "settle" in the glass at home. However, when I tasted it I could tell that something had been added to the water as it had a slightly acidic taste.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Not sure why you would ignore a helpful local's health advice and take a risk. There could actually be something wrong with the water, health-wise. Not the best thing to do as it could have put your Camino at risk. Please do not recommend people do such a thing as some will listen and actually try such a poor practice. Something I would not teach my kids or anyone else. And besides, your 'taste test' probably revealed it should not have been consumed. Also, have a slightly acidic taste could mean nothing more than that, as the restaurant staff implied, it was contaminated and the list of reasons it may have been contaminated could be endless.

 

[trecile]

Not sure why you would ignore a helpful local's health advice and take a risk. There could actually be something wrong with the water, health-wise. Not the best thing to do as it could have put your Camino at risk. Please do not recommend people do such a thing as some will listen and actually try such a poor practice. Something I would not teach my kids or anyone else. And besides, your 'taste test' probably revealed it should not have been consumed. Also, have a slightly acidic taste could mean nothing more than that, as the restaurant staff implied, it was contaminated and the list of reasons it may have been contaminated could be endless.

If their tap water is contaminated then they should not serve it at all, even if a customer insists. This wasn't some out of the way bar in the middle of the Meseta. It was a very busy restaurant in the middle of the most touristy part of Santiago. I seem to remember getting the same response at this restaurant last year too.

For the last two years all bars and restaurants have been legally required to provide free tap water. I'm assuming that it must be free potable tap water.

Free tap water must now be offered in restaurants in Spain

Free Tap Water Must Now Be Offered In Restaurants In Spain Keep up with the Latest News In English Murcia Costa Calida Spain

murciatoday.com

I did see taps in a bathroom on the Camino Aragonés warning that the water wasn't potable, and if course I didn't think of drinking it.

 

[Molly Cassidy]

If their tap water is contaminated then they should not serve it at all, even if a customer insists. This wasn't some out of the way bar in the middle of the Meseta. It was a very busy restaurant in the middle of the most touristy part of Santiago. I seem to remember getting the same response at this restaurant last year too.

For the last two years all bars and restaurants have been legally required to provide free tap water. I'm assuming that it must be free potable tap water.

Free tap water must now be offered in restaurants in Spain

Free Tap Water Must Now Be Offered In Restaurants In Spain Keep up with the Latest News In English Murcia Costa Calida Spain

murciatoday.com

I did see taps in a bathroom on the Camino Aragonés warning that the water wasn't potable, and if course I didn't think of drinking it.

Presumably if your tap water isn't potable you are not required to provide it.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Presumably if your tap water isn't potable you are not required to provide it.

But you're still going to be using it to prepare food?

 

[David Tallan]

Presumably if your tap water isn't potable you are not required to provide it.

I would presume that if your tap water is not potable you should make it potable.

 

[chinacat]

Not sure why you would ignore a helpful local's health advice and take a risk. There could actually be something wrong with the water, health-wise. Not the best thing to do as it could have put your Camino at risk. Please do not recommend people do such a thing as some will listen and actually try such a poor practice. Something I would not teach my kids or anyone else. And besides, your 'taste test' probably revealed it should not have been consumed. Also, have a slightly acidic taste could mean nothing more than that, as the restaurant staff implied, it was contaminated and the list of reasons it may have been contaminated could be endless.

@trecile was already in SdC.
Presumably she had completed her Camino.

And I second @David Tallan ’s comment.

 

[gloria lowe]

If their tap water is contaminated then they should not serve it at all, even if a customer insists. This wasn't some out of the way bar in the middle of the Meseta. It was a very busy restaurant in the middle of the most touristy part of Santiago. I seem to remember getting the same response at this restaurant last year too.

For the last two years all bars and restaurants have been legally required to provide free tap water. I'm assuming that it must be free potable tap water.

Free tap water must now be offered in restaurants in Spain

Free Tap Water Must Now Be Offered In Restaurants In Spain Keep up with the Latest News In English Murcia Costa Calida Spain

murciatoday.com

I did see taps in a bathroom on the Camino Aragonés warning that the water wasn't potable, and if course I didn't think of drinking it.

And I’m sure they are using this water for cooking.

 

[Tincatinker]

‘Slarf innit. A sizeable community in is currently under an advisory to boil the water coming from their taps because of a cryptosporidium incursion. A hell of a lot of people in Ukraine would be rather chuffed if they could get any water out of their taps. My good friends in Imgun, on the edge of the Sahel still queue every morning and evening to fill their containers from the one tap in the village. Others elsewhere have never been bothered by the mechanics of tap usage - never seen such a thing in their lives and are unlikely to ever see such a thing. Scooping the well water into your container while trying to avoid including the floating scum and the easily disturbed silt are skills learned in childhood.
Getting to the well before your camels do is another skill learnt early: camel shit tea is as good as it sounds. In colder regions follow Captain Beefheart’s excellent advice and “just beware of the yellow snow, where the Huskies go…”

And a final thought: many years ago, eating the pre-sunrise breakfast, waiting for the “go” to start that morning’s strawberry picking I complained that the cider was “ a bit rough”: “you should try the water” said another picker, that’ll kill you for sure”. They were probably right. The cadmium levels in the ground water in Shipham are so high there are companies trying to figure out how to extract it

 

[Flog]

When I asked for agua del grifo I was told that it was cloudy, and that the waitress herself wouldn't drink it. I insisted that I would try it, and I also ordered a glass of wine. The water was indeed cloudy when it was brought to the table

So.. they told you the tap water wasn't great, but you demanded to have it anyway. It seems they were right, it wasn't great. Are you suggesting they interfered with it to force you to buy a bottle, or worse, that this is their deliberate policy? If it were me, I think I would just be a happy pilgrim and move on.

In colder regions follow Captain Beefheart’s excellent advice and “just beware of the yellow snow, where the Huskies go…”

Was that not the late great Frank Zappa? "watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow"... good advice anyway

 

[henrythedog]

Most airports in the UK have non-potable water, at least according to their signage next to every tap in the lavatories. Where they find this water on a network which (recognising @Tincatinker’s current example) usually delivers drinking water throughout the kingdom is beyond me.

That one is unable to take a bottle of liquid exceeding 100ml through security and every outlet selling water thereafter is asking £2.50 or more for a bottle is probably coincidental.

 

[Tincatinker]

Was that not the late great Frank Zappa? "watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow"... good advice anyway

I think you may be right. I don’t really remember the’60’s. I was there man

 

[trecile]

So.. they told you the tap water wasn't great, but you demanded to have it anyway. It seems they were right, it wasn't great. Are you suggesting they interfered with it to force you to buy a bottle, or worse, that this is their deliberate policy?

I don't know. I just thought that it was strange. I didn't demand anything. I just said that I'd go ahead and try it, especially after having had perfectly good tap water at restaurants in the same area the previous two nights.

 

[Tincatinker]

Amiga, I agree with you. It is strange. Arguably it’s downright odd. If there really is a problem with the local water supply, local as in that place and not a place half a block up the street then one would hope that it was an aberration or that someone was doing something about it. You know I don’t like it when people post “dump” reviews on places they’ve been once and will never pass again but perhaps this is a case where naming (but not shaming) is appropriate.

Meanwhile I can recommend Benjamin Darnault’s excellent Pinot Noir available from Naked Wines to anyone who wishes to avoid the risks associated with water consumption

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I live in one of those isolated Meseta villages. Our municipal water supply comes from seven little springs; when one goes dry someone shifts a lever and taps another one. End of August/September the water often goes cloudy, but we are assured it is still perfectly potable -- it's tested with every change of source. But when it's cloudy, the locals will only use it for washing and plumbing, not for cooking and drinking. Just being careful, i guess.
(We usually just keep using it. But we have a filter system.)