just to let you know

Things I love about the UK: bring your own bottle...!

It happened in a curry place in Coventry A.D. 1997. That's where I - for the first time in my life - brought my own bottle to a meal. To be precise, we're talking a 2 litre bottle of Cider here. After all, we were students. And we all thoroughly enjoyed what we could never imagine to be possible back home in Germany: consuming your own beverages while enjoying the delicacies of distant asian countries.

Someone please explain to me why this system has not been adopted in Germany yet - you save money *and* you know what kind of drink you get. I guess there is some sort of law against it. With bevvies getting more and more expensive on the continent, I can see this becoming normal practice.

There is the "corkage" though... a fee for opening bottles on the premises - and it feels almost like a rip-off. There is you, bringing all these bottles and then somone still charges you for merely opening them ! Also, there are restaurants which do not allow you to bring beer, but are happy with wine.

All in all, "Bring-your-own-bottle" gets top marks from me. Lets hope for the german students that they might find a loop hole in gastronomy legislation.

Posted by Michael at February 22, 2004 08:19 PM