Alright folks, grabbed my notebook this week and dove headfirst into checking out local restaurant drink menus. Gotta say, it was… eye-opening. Here’s the mess I saw:
The Plan & Starting Point
Decided to hit up five local spots over three days – two mid-range dinner joints, one fancy-ish place, a casual pub, and a family brunch spot. Just wanted to see how they presented their drinks and did some quick math based on what I saw and what customers ordered. Took notes like a weirdo scribbling at the bar.
Mistake #1: Making Customers Guess the Prices
Walked into this cool little pub downtown. Liked the vibe immediately. Grabbed the fancy laminated menu. Food prices? Clear as day. Drinks? Not a damn dollar sign anywhere. Flipped it over, checked the margins, nope. Had to ASK the server how much a pint of their local craft IPA was. Felt awkward. Turns out? It was $13! For ONE beer! Overheard the couple next to me whispering, “We’re sticking with water.” Lesson learned fast: Hiding prices scares people off. Nobody likes feeling tricked or getting bill shock later.
Mistake #2: Hiding How Much Wine You Really Get
Dinner at that nice Italian place. Wine list looked solid, lots of choices. Saw a Chianti listed as “$15”. Perfect, right? Nope. Server pours it… barely filled half a standard wine glass. Took another look. Tiny print at the bottom: “Glass = 4 oz”. Four ounces?! That’s about half a regular glass! So basically, they were charging $15 for half a pour. Watched two tables order one glass each, look disappointed at the pour, and never get a second one. Missed sales opportunity big time. Lesson: Always, ALWAYS state the size. Clear glass pours sell more refills.
Mistake #3: Forget the Free Water? Seriously?
This one baffled me. Hit a popular brunch spot on Sunday. Packed. Looked for the drink menu. Juice, soda, coffee, cocktails… but no mention of water anywhere. Tables around me were clearly thirsty. Some folks flagged down the busy server asking about water. Had to specifically request it, sometimes tap, sometimes bottled. Saw multiple tables waiting way too long just for water while waiting for food. Felt like chaos. When water isn’t obvious, people either get annoyed or skip drinks altogether while they wait. Lesson: Make damn sure water options (tap or bottled) are crystal clear right on the menu. Thirsty customers aren’t happy customers.
Putting It Together & Seeing Smart Moves
Three places later, finally saw a good one. Casual pub had:
- Prices clearly shown ($) next to EVERY drink
- Beer sizes: Pint, Schooner etc. listed plainly
- Wine glass sizes: (6 oz, 9 oz) right there in bold
- Big section at the top: “Thirst Quenchers – Water Options (Complimentary Tap Water, Sparkling $4, Bottled Spring $5)”
Saw way more drinks moving. Tables were ordering second beers, glasses of wine, even sodas without hesitation. Why? Because they knew what they were getting into, no nasty surprises.
Wrapping Up
So yeah, walking around with my little notebook showed me the obvious stuff we miss. Biggest takeaways?
- Show your damn prices. People spend more when they feel safe.
- Spell out drink sizes, especially wine. Small pours look stingy and kill re-orders.
- Water isn’t optional. List it loud and proud. Keeps people happy while they decide.
It ain’t rocket science. Seeing menu fails firsthand? Really drills it in. Simple fixes, big difference on the bottom line. On to the next spot!
