A restaurant in London is facing criticism for its surprising approach towards customers who order tap water.
The restaurant owner has included a note on the menu, requesting customers to make a donation of $1.24 to the Red Cross, a charitable organization, when ordering tap water.
“You can have just tap water but please remember we’re running a restaurant, not a charity — wink, wink, we need to make money,” the Danish restaurant menu read.
"You know who is running a charity, though? Red Cross is! If you want to have just tap water, we encourage you to donate $1.24 to the Red Cross. Everybody wins.”
The customer argued that pressuring customers to contribute to a charity simply because they prefer tap water is not appropriate.
On November 12, Jane Breeds, 27, and her boyfriend had dinner at Köd London, a Danish Steakhouse in East London, for an all-you-can-eat roast dinner. The couple was willing to pay $37 per person for the main course, but they weren't expecting to see a "cheeky" note on the menu.
Breeds and her boyfriend were turned off by the "wild" requirement, so they declined to order drinks and instead demanded a jug of tap water.
"When I first saw the menu, I laughed and told my boyfriend that we’re not ordering any drinks,” Breeds told Kennedy News and Media.
The couple appreciated the prompt service and left a 15% tip on their $74 bill, despite the "wild" menu message, but Breeds left them another tip on X about proper restaurant etiquette.
“Made a point of not ordering drinks at Köd Steakhouse by Liverpool Street after seeing this on the menu. Wild behavior lol,” she tweeted with an attached photo of the restaurant menu rule.
Köd's supervisor, Morten P. Ortwed, 38, reacted angrily to the customer's message, saying it was "too much Danish humor" for her taste.
In response, the restaurant owner defended their decision, stating that they had no intention of changing the menu advice based on one customer's opinion.
"Thanks for the attention,” Ortwed tweeted. “Tap water is still free, Red Cross donation is optional!”
Breeds asserted that the restaurant's snarky messaging is causing more people to hesitate to order drinks than promoting more purchases.
“I guarantee that you are turning more people off ordering drinks with your snarky messaging than you are encouraging people to order more drinks,” she said.
“You are the first we have heard a negative comment from. But we will take it into consideration in our evaluation. Thank you for the feedback,” Ortwed, the restaurant owner said.
“I understand they find it cheek] but to come to a restaurant and have tap water I think it would be nice to also donate something,” he revealed to Kennedy News and Media. “That shouldn’t be a bad thing.”
Breeds recognized Ortwed's charity request was made with good intentions, but she thought it was done in an unsavory manner.
This incident has sparked a debate about the ethics of encouraging donations in exchange for basic services and raises questions about customer service and transparency in the restaurant industry.
The restaurant's actions have received mixed reactions, with some supporting the notion of supporting charitable causes while others believe it is an unfair practice.
