Or live in France
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Of course, but I think Chris with his comment about being given an immediate glass of sparkling and Rahsaan upthread in mentioning an immediate offer of an apertif are suggesting just that, immediacy. Ordering from a list of wines BTG is going to be subject to some the same type of pacing issues discussed in the OP. Theyāll seat you, bring you water, get a server eventually, a menu eventually, order the glass of wine. Iām basically saying I like the idea of something right of the bat and whether that is a glass of sparkling wine or whatever its a nice way to set the pace while perusing the list.
FWIW, I donāt really see this as a big problem most of the time, and if it really takes a long time it is often reflective of more widespread service issues. We will often order a glass of something or a cocktail while waiting to look at the wine list or to have the wine we brought opened. Well, often in the context of how often we actually go out to eat anymore, which is not really that often at all for all the myriad reasons discussed in recent threads.
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Sure, Iām just considering the subset of times when you donāt want more than the bottle(s) and/or donāt want to spend $40 or more (after tax and tip) on two glasses of plonk.
Nobodyās making a huge deal out of it, just tossing around ideas for where it can come up short or could be better. Which would not only benefit the customer but probably help the restaurant sell more bottles.
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It would be an interesting experiment to serve people a glass of decent but relatively inexpensive sparkling wine or some kind of apertif immediately upon seating and seeing if they tend to spend more money on food and beverage as a result. I rather think the combination of āfree stuffā and depressurizing the selection process might result in more spending overall.
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Is any berserker really interested in getting a glass of inexpensive sparkling chosen by the restaurant as a starter???
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Sure. Iāll take a glass of cava or something upon sitting down. Do you also decline the amouse-bouche because you didnāt select it yourself?
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Nope but Iāve had much more success with amuses-bouche than free sparkling chosen by the establishment. Iāve had better success with free red and white but sparkling has mostly been misses for me. Especially when they offer you champagne but you get a glass of Gold Bottega. And when in a restaurant, if Iām driving, Iām counting my glasses. The free sparkling is probably not where I want to invest one glass.
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Only Berserkers on this thread, but it could be relevant to restaurateurs serving millions.
And in general I donāt think Berserkers go to the kind of restaurant that would be pouring low-level supermarket stuff if they tried this idea. Serving industrial plonk would be penny-wise pound-foolish. It would cost a restaurant five bucks to serve a glass of something that retails for $40 on the shelf. If bubbly, they could even find real Champagne, or really well chosen Cali or Cremant.
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Iām not Berserker level then because a lot of restaurants I go to serve plonk for house red and white. I need an upgrade 
.
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Thereās always the chance it sucks, but the recourse is to try it and not drink it. Like anything, it works much better if executed well rather than poorly. We donāt go out that often anymore, preferring the food and wine at home for the most part (unless traveling). When we do it tends to be for special occasions, so we uber to provide more leeway on consumption
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And yes, if weāre broadening to general consumer market which doesnāt have any issues with āthe process of ordering bottles at a restaurantā and think a glass or half glass of bubbly just as we sit down could be a marketing approachā¦ maybe. Not sure it would make a difference but thatās just a gut feel, not even an educated guess.
I go to a fair number of inexpensive restaurants, but almost never to one that does not have a decent wine list. BYOB is illegal in any Maine restaurant that serves alcohol and I like wine with my dinner. So if Iām eating out, Iām going to a place that I trust on both food and wine, even if itās the A1 Diner.
Kills your chance to sell champagne by the glass.
probably trueā¦ but if the customer likes the free half-glass, they might just buy a full one.
I personally like the idea of the beverage equivalent of an amuse bouche to get you started. It wouldnāt even have to be alcoholicā¦a shrub, perhaps. One other scenario I commonly employ is to ask for the wine list while waiting for my table. That can be in the lounge (where I might be having an apertif) or in the waiting area. That allows for fast-pathing the order upon first contact with the waitstaff at seating. It is a bit of a challenge for the restaurant since not every diner that comes is going to want to select a wine, but every diner is there to eat something. That makes the amuse bouche more generally appropriate (dietary restrictions aside) than a drink. Thereās also the exposure to liability in a more litigious society.
Cheers,
fred
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Forcing free drinks on people might end up being too complicated, if they donāt want alcohol or donāt want that shrub, etc. Then you might as well just give them the regular lists.
Maybe itās more of a European thing, but in my experience even fairly ānormalā restaurants in Europe ask if you want an aperitif as soon as they seat you and before youāve looked at the menus, and will sometimes have a short aperitif list where you can quickly see the 3 options.
Those of you who dine out more often can perhaps track more rigorous patterns about where this does/does not happen.
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I certainly donāt think anyone is suggesting āforcingā anything. Iād say more of a simple yes/no question. But I really love the idea you mention of a very short apertif menu allowing for that quick choice. Iāve never seen that in the US or hereabouts.
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