As a bit of a tangent, it’s amusing how differently purchasing packaged water in restaurants is seen in certain countries (e.g. Spain, Italy) compared to in the US/Canada where it’s generally the default, and to a lesser extent Switzerland and perhaps other tap-centric European countries where tap water is at least the norm outside of restaurants.
It's not clear from your post what the restaurant norms are in any of those countries.
Having lived in Italy, my experience is that Italians are pretty obsessed with bottled water. Well really bottled spring water to be exact. At restaurants especially. The exception would be in areas where you can get spring water from the source like a mountain resort. Spain is quite similar although I've only spent months at a time there so I'm less experienced in their views on water.
In the US it varies, but it's still fairly easy to find restaurants that bring a glass of tap water without even asking you. Big city restaurants and upscale restaurants will try to sell you bottled water but asking for tap water is not frowned upon like it would be in Italy.
I haven't spent enough time in Switzerland to comment on that, so maybe you could give more details on your experience there.
> It's not clear from your post what the restaurant norms are in any of those countries.
Sorry, that's my fault, I was editing my comment to make it more concise but managed to also extract its clarity. :)
I would agree about Italy and Spain. At least in Italy, many restaurants provided some regional brand of mineral water from a local-ish spring, but I virtually never saw someone asking for tap water.
In the US, I would even be surprised if I asked for water and was brought a bottle that I would be charged for, although I'm sure there are places that will try and up-sell bottled water.
In Switzerland, there's something of a dichotomy in my experience. In homes and most public spaces, including self-serve restaurants that often have a filling station, tap water is almost always the expectation. It's also much more accepted to drink directly by putting one's mouth up to a tap, whereas in the US I imagine most people would find a dedicated water fountain, cup, bottle, etc. With waiter service, however, there seems to be at least a weak expectation in Switzerland that a patron will order some beverage. Asking for tap water didn't seem frowned upon, but I would get noticeably more hesitation for it than anywhere I've been in the US or Canada.
That was also my experience staying with a Swiss friend in both her city home and mountain home. Drinking tap water at home and then ordering bottled water at the restaurant literally next door to the house. I'll have to ask her about it next time.
