Would you pay $95 for water? Fine-dining restaurants are betting you will, as some high-end eateries are treating water like wine, offering tasting notes, pairing suggestions, and “no ice” rules. Hotspots in Los Angeles and Spain are now providing elaborate “water menus” and sommeliers to guide diners through the mineral content, acidity, and “mouthfeel” of each bottle, which range in price from $11 to nearly $100, according to The Wall Street Journal.
About 10 U.S. eateries now offer full water menus, including bottles like the $12 Georgian sparkling water Borjomi, the $11 East Coast Saratoga, and the French Evian, which is a popular dessert choice due to its slightly sweet aftertaste. The dining room at Virginia’s Inn at Little Washington features Berg, water sourced from a 15,000-year-old iceberg off Newfoundland, Canada, priced at $95 a bottle and described as tasting like “ancient packed snow and air.” At Gwen in Los Angeles, expert water sommelier Martin Riese reported that the restaurant generates up to $100,000 a year from water sales, instructing servers not to add ice or lemon, which he claims can dull the flavor.
Riese and fellow H2O expert Michael Mascha, founder of the FineWaters connoisseur platform, have trained hundreds of water sommeliers worldwide since 2006 as part of a growing trend that includes extensive menus abroad, including one in Spain that offers more than 150 selections from 33 countries. Industry data suggests the global premium bottled water market is worth over $36 billion and growing roughly 7% each year. Riese, who appeared in a 2014 episode of Bravo’s “Top Chef” as an expert water source, remarked, “No one would think it’s strange if you served different types of vodka at a bar, so why should it be any different for water?”
Anastasia Chovan, a certified water sommelier at Seattle-based Vivreau, a premium water filtration company, attributed the growing interest in the “fine water” trend to an increased focus on healthier drink options and a greater awareness of consumption habits. While health-conscious Gen Z, who studies show are drinking less, have especially driven the movement, she noted that almost everyone can taste the difference between tap, filtered, and bottled water. She emphasized that the minerals present in water, such as magnesium and potassium, influence its taste and mouthfeel, making water from the Catskill Mountains perfect for bagels and water from the Cascade Mountains ideal for coffee.
However, the trend has not been without its critics. The practice made a splash on the r/FoodLosAngeles subreddit as users debated the water menu at Gwen, with some joking about charging for “air” or allowing customers to bring their own Brita filters. Despite the skepticism, supporters argue that the goal is to “bring awareness and value back to water,” highlighting the growing demand for premium, curated water experiences in the fine dining sector.