How do you order tap water in Italy?

Question

In Paris, I found that I could save 5-7 Euro per meal simply by ordering tap water instead of bottled. The problem was, no travel guide or phrase book ever seems to include this handy tip...I simply started copying the locals I overheard ordering a "carafe d'eau."

If you stop off at a cafe or casual restaurant in Italy, what is the correct phrase to order plain ol' water?

Answer 1

Hi there the correct form is "Posso Avere acqua del Rubinetto"

Don't trust the user above and remember in Italy you can bargain the price down of almost everything

Also be Prepared if they hear you speak A foreign language Italians gonna try to give you incorrect change everywhere

Ciao Ciao

Answer 2

I think the asker is talking about restaurants, not bars.

I've never heard someone asking tap water (acqua del rubinetto) in a restaurant, but since you'r a foreigner you can try and see what happens... maybe they will be kind and serve you with it.

Maybe i will try sometimes, if i find the guts.

anyway in Italy bottled water is significantly less expensive than in France, so you would save 2-3 Euros, definitely not 5-7.

(Ah, and the free little glass of water they give you with a coffee is a beautiful custom, but it happens only in the south unfortunately)

Answer 3

"Dal rubineto" - from the tap and I've never had anyone refuse me a glass of tap water in Italy. Never.

"Per favore - un bicchieri d'acqua... dal rubineto grazie" and you've got it.

Answer 4

I have lived here in Italy for over 4 years. You can not get tap water at places. If you go to a cafe to get a cafe they will give you a small cup of water for free with your drink. But thats it. You have to buy water. Its either water with gas or no gas just like in frances bottle water. Sorry.

Answer 5

Guys, I don't know what cafés you went to, but I have been living in Italy for 30+ years and have asked for tap water often without puchasing anything, and have never been turned down! To the Asker, you can certainly ask for a glass of tap water in any café, whether you purchase something or not, and the correct sentence is the one given by Genius Cook.

And it is also not true that you bargain for everything in Italy! Proper shops have fixed prices. You do not haggle over the price of a cup of coffee, a meal, or clothes in a shop. The only place it is "accepted" is at a stall on the street.

Answer 6

Hi, you should ask "acqua di rubinetto". I know how it works in France  and, in fact, the French ask the same when they travel around Italy and they get annoyed when they realize in Italy it is not the same. You can drink tap water in Italy and Italians do it at their homes but the only place where you can ask "un bicchiere (a glass) di acqua di rubinetto, per favore (please)" is at the café (when you stand at the bar, not when sitting) if you are drinking something else, like coffee or if you have a child and, but anyway you order something else. They won't give you tap water when you sit at a café nor at the restaurant. We Italians don't like this because it is expensive but the system is part of the business. I'm sorry!

It can happen that they bring a water caraff that seems to be from tap but they call it "depurata". It is tap water that they serve you from the tap through a depurator that makes it cleaner (if you believe it) but you will pay it anyway so, refuse this and ask for a bottle.

Beware: an Italian law says that the bottle of water must be served closed and that the waiter has to open it at the table, when you see it, in order to avoid the fact that they put tap water into a bottle that you pay expensively.

Comment after "genius cook" and "valentino fly" messages:

First of all it is not nice the way they relate to my message. Secondly, although Italian people are good humans, every place has different habits. In Italy, in the restaurants, they serve water in bottles. There's a proverb

"chiedere è lecito, cortesia è rispondere": you can ask, of course, like I may ask, as an Italian, something that in the US is not a habit. American people are nice and they may give me what I ask, but IT IS NOT A HABIT. So, if you want to be ready to look not too touristy and to certain reactions, just ask but be aware that they don't serve water from the tap besides, as I said, at the café if you stand at the bar and, I repeat, you buy another drink (same if you need to go to the restrooms, they want you to buy a drink, although the law says it is everybody's right to use public restrooms, including in this word the ones from the restaurants and cafés). Also, consider that Italy is differs a lot in the different regions and so do habits. Anyway, I live in Italy every day and I go out to drink and eat on a regular basis. Experience can't be based on a trip.