This ice (or water in general) thing is so out of hand. I swear there’s one American who a few months ago had nothing going on one day and thought ‘I wonder if people would go along with it if I said ‘Murica is the best cos nowhere else has ice’ and I’ll just keep saying it and see if I can make it MAGA lore.’ So they did and it clearly worked.
I’m 44yrs old (UK). I could not tell you a single time in my life I have struggled to get ice or water in the UK or Europe as a whole. If anything I have to ask to not have ice. It is such nonsense and I don’t understand why it’s become a topic of discussion!!!
Yeah, I was in Scotland last week, cold with storm level wind outside, found out there's zero sugar Irn Bru, so I thought I'll have a bottle of that. Gave me a glass, ice to the top, the bottle of Irn-Bru was already almost freezing cold. I mean, it was hurting my gums...
Exactly, at a bar if I order a cider I have to say "No ice please" or it gets loaded up. They go mental with ice. But then we don't put ice into everything, iced coffee is a big thing in the USA, many spoonful's of sugar, a little bit of coffee and glass full of ice.
Uh? If I order a soda I get the glass with ice and the bottle at most regular places here in Norway.
The waiter pours about half of it in the glass and leave the bottle for me to pour the rest.
We usually get soft drinks from a tap here in the UK. The more ice in the glass the less drink you get for your money. Some places if you ask for no ice they give you a smaller glass. If you want a bottle you usually are playing a lot more for a lot less (but it does tatse better).
Mcdonalds (not all and a lot less in modern times) would actually put more syrup in the drink so that when the ice melted it watered down to the right consistency.
Met a lad in Lisbon about 15 years ago. We were watching a match in an Irish bar in Cais Do Sodre. He was looking v under the weather. Proclaims he adores the city but he's had the shits for a week. He was drinking cider with pints glasses of ice every day 😂
As someone who's worked in the industry I've gotten into the habit of ordering no ice. None of the places I've worked at had their ice machine cleaned.
Open the cover on every one of those machines and there is mould to be found.
Hennesys by any chance? Shut now, but was my local in Cais do Sodre for a while when I lived there 2013-2014! I felt ill after a while drinking in Portugal but I was told it was because lines weren’t cleaned as often if you were drinking draught. I switched to bottles of cider and was fine!
This was a young lad from Meath who was drinking pint bottles of Bulmers with full pint glasses of ice by the gallon. That much tap water will do it to a tourist.
Hhahaha that was the exact drink I switched to after too many draught beers. I loved that pub though. It shut a few years ago, even though I moved home since still made me sad. This has made me feel very nostalgic for the place!
Only place I've ever been given ice in cider is Australia! I drink cider rather than beer and I've never even been offered ice with it in the UK. Don't know why you'd want it as it's already chilled and dilutes the drink.
On the other hand, I am happy to drink tap water as long as it's cold and find it annoying to be served it at room temperature, especially when I've asked for "iced tap water".
In Ireland they will serve a Bulmers and ice in a pint. I always say no ice. If it is draught, I'm not getting a full pint because of the ice and it is cold anyway. If it is a bottle, it will be cold from the fridge so why the ice. Also it is freezing outside. I always get a funny look from the bar staff when I say no ice.
Proper cider should have no ice. Chemically fake cider (eg anything not brewed within 5 miles of Druid) is acceptable to put ice in as it’s just apple beer and you can do with that what you will.
Only place I've ever been given ice in cider is Australia!
A decent pub will ask first, and would only default for sweeter ciders.
Don't know why you'd want it as it's already chilled and dilutes the drink.
Having an overly sweet anything in 35+ weather isn't exactly pleasant, IIRC my local puts it in a second glass since it is to your own taste than it is anything else but not every type of venue (like a club) can give you a second glass.
Personally I wouldn't add ice to a standard cider, but if it was blackcurrant or pear I'd do it on a warm day. Then again, I wouldn't order those on a warm day anyway.
One of my (British born) friends who moved to Australia many years ago and is now most definitely an Australian remarked to me when he came back here for a few weeks in the “heatwave” we had: “you cunts don’t get what hot weather is. If it’s not on fucking fire it ain’t that fucking hot”.
"If you can't fry an egg on the pavement, it's not really hot!" The number of times I burnt the soles of my feet on the paving slabs trying to get from the pool to the shade under the gazebo (at my parents' new place in Perth back in the 1980s) showed how idiotic I was as a teenage noob to Australia.
Thing is, at least in Perth, the housing is designed for hot sun - wide eaves keeping the walls of the houses in shade for most of the day helps prevent the houses from heating up too fast. My UK house is south facing, and even when there's not a heat wave, all of the rooms on that side of the house heat up really fast when the sun is shining. To the point that we rarely open the curtains in those rooms in order to control the heat - the room we use the most, standard UK "front room" set up as our "study", now has thermal blinds and thermal curtains fitted otherwise we get to mid-morning and it's too hot to be comfortable (heat coming in the window, the external wall heating up and two+ PCs running with two people in there). Whereas the back of the house can stay quite cool, even during a heat wave, because the sun barely touches it.
It's almost like different countries have different climates and people are adapted to what their climate is. Average summer temp where I am is 18c so yeah, when it gets to the high 20s I'm struggling. By 30+ I feel like I'm going to die because it's getting close to twice what's normal for me. We also don't have aircon everywhere or buildings, infrastructure, town planning designed to keep cool. Meanwhile, I'm sure if summer temp was 18c for a week you'd be complaining it was cold when it's tshirt and shorts weather here.
I live in Australia, arguably a warmer climate than the UK.
Need a citation for that /s
I definitely have to stop the ice in my cider pint, never had a shortage.
You can just say 'without ice'. My local doesn't put ice in cider by default, it's funny when people ask because the newer staff look at them like they have two heads.
I did have to dispose of a housemate who neglected the ice trays.
Honestly, I'm not pro-death penalty per-se.
But I think this should be grounds for at least mild torture until they learn a lesson.
Pubs pretty much all have ice machines. It's also an unwritten rule that if another hospitality venue needs ice, you give it to them.
I used to work in a pub opposite an Indian restaurant. I let them have a bin bag full of ice, and in return got a couple of free rounds of drinks when I next went for a curry.
You also have delivery companies whose entire business is selling extra bags of ice to pubs etc in the summer.
I think it started somewhat on tiktok and american travellers noticing they always carry bottles around while others don't which seems to have started this whole europeans don't drink water thing.
So the thing is when I'm at home and I go out quickly to do something, or take a little walk or whatever I don't take a huge ass water bottle with me I don't need to. When I'm a tourist somewhere and I leave my hotel in the morning go sightseeing all day and expect to be back in the evening I take a bottle or two with me. Everyone carrying a big ass water bottle around is likely a tourist from anywhere.
add this weird Obsession with stanley cups and other trendy bottles, that's not just an american thing but big with people on tiktok.
And the little cultural difference of having to order water and ice in a restaurant or cafe in lots of places. Although I've rarely ordered somewhere where the ice doesn't come automatically so I don't know what that is about.
The gigantic water vessel thing is nuts. I visit the US quite a lot and at one point it felt like in between trips some sort of law was introduced that mandated the carrying of water provisions at all times. One trip: normal usage of water bottles. Next trip: everybody was equipped for an ultramarathon through the desert. It’s such an odd fad.
I saw a similar relationship with athletic knee supports while visiting Disney. One trip: everyone in the park had healthy knees. Next trip: all of a sudden everyone is recovering from an ACL tear and strapped up to the nines. Trip after that: all the knee supports had gone again. Bizarre behaviour.
UK here too. I usually get pissed at bars and restaurants adding ice to my drinks, because it means I get less drink. I actually get so much ice that I want less ice. Remove the ice on my pint of coke and you actually have 1/4 of a pint of coke. If you say "please no ice", you get a pint of coke actually worth the extortionate price you pay for it.
I'm european, my dad went to the us 15 yrs ago. He was confused by the crazy amount of ice you get with your drinks, he described it as a full glass of ice with the holes filled with whatever. So he started asking for less ice, but the result was basically the same.
He ended up asking drinks withut ice, getting very weird looks from waiters and sometimes a glass full of ice anyways. So much for the land of the free.
Absolutely this. Most people know more ice = less drink. It’s probably just them over there who struggle with that concept and see amount of ice in a glass as some sort of sign of luxury.
As an American (sadly) we generally get much larger drinks than what I was given in France and the UK, I think ethnocentrism plays into that and then we get this weird misconception. The ice part makes no sense though, I was served way more ice in Europe than anywhere else.
I struggle to not get ice! I'll ask for coke, no ice. It is always 50/50 if I get it or not. I can't stand ice cold drinks, I like to have mine room temperature.
The only time I've ever noticed a shortage of ice cubes was when working as a head chef when Manchester hosted the commonwealth games in 2002. The bar was so rammed the ice machine ran out a few times and they had to send some of the bar staff to Tesco to get bags of ice cubes.
Why are they so obsessed with watering down their drink with ice? Is it due to the disgusting taste? The disgusting level of sugar? Do they just like wasting money?
They have the exact same obsession with air con too. Middle of winter their offices will be freezing and then when they go abroad or even go outside, they can't adjust to the warm
Ice cubes mean that they can afford ice makers and electricity to power them so they can put cubes into their bottled drinks, whereas we europoors just have to drink filthy warm ditchwater.
I think this basically comes down to table water. Mostly in europe you get a jug of water, with maybe some ice in it, maybe not. The water isn't necessarily cold it's just water. In the US all liquids have to be ice cold at all times, so thay use a lot of ice. It's not that we don't have ice, we just don't need our drinks to be ice cold.
Yeah, nah, there’s too much ice cubes going on in Europe. When I order a drink, I want to be able to taste the drink. I didn’t pay 4 euros for a glass of permafrost. I paid for a glass of cola.
Ah that would be my fault. Always been ice cubes in my freezer when lived in the (f)UK, Canada and Sweden but if there was a slight chance a seppo would turn up I flushed them down the loo
Americans have these weird ice machines in a lot of places which are generally pretty gross and presumably never cleaned. Maybe they just can't comprehend where ice might come from other than one of these machines in 7/11 or the corridor of their hotel.
10 years in as a bartender, I have yet to give someone more of something for the same money simply because they said no ice... The price is for the amount of liquid, the ice is there for a reason (not to just fill up the glass), if I wanted the glass to look full without ice, Id just use a smaller glass....
We were in Italy last year, and stopped off at a pizza place in Rome. We asked for ice, and they gave us one cube. One lonely little cube. To be shared between two glasses of tepid water (which we practically had to beg for). Shortly after the pizza was brought to our table, the waiter came by, and without asking, he picks up a spoon, reaches into my glass of water and fishes out the ice cube. He carried it over to a table on the other side of the restaurant, and drops it in the glass of the man at the table. They were obviously American - you could tell by the incredible health care and MAGA hat.
We waved at our patriotic friends and asked how they liked the pizza. They laughed and said it wasn't as good as the deep-dish Chicago style they get back home. I told them that since Italy stole pizza from the US, we couldn't expect much.
Overall, Italy was interesting but it lacks the deep history that we have in the US. And it was really run down. They have this sports stadium there that they've working on for almost teo thousand years, but it is still not done. At least we know how to make a proper sports stadium in the US. And Italy was much smaller than we thought it would be. All of Europe would fit into Texas!
It's true. I was the man in the MAGA hat. The second you turned your back I swallowed the communal ice cube and was arrested by the European nanny state police for exercising my God-given American freedoms. I handed over a solitary greenback and the officer bowed to kiss my feet, wailing out his thanks at being handed real money for once. I demanded a golf cart so I could drive myself back to my hotel, 30 American yards away. They had never heard of such futuristic transport. They still travel by donkey in those parts. I won't return.
In the town of Ghent, Belgium (the ****real one****, not Ghent, NY or Ghent, MN!), asking for more than two ice cubes is still a criminal offence, punishable by death.
Perpetrators are arrested and imprisoned in the medieval castle "Het Gravensteen". Once some 20–30 are apprehended, they're paraded through the city barefoot, in sackcloth, with a noose around their necks. They’re forced to beg for mercy while being ridiculed by the locals.
Most are pardoned on the condition that they never return to Ghent. A few are hanged for good measure and as an example. We take those matters very seriously!
I think we're looking at it and thinking "what are they talking about, we get three cubes of ice in a drink. Maybe as many as five!" And they expect it filled with ice, and the gaps filled with liquid.
In the USA they literally fill drinking glasses with ice first then add the drink. People love it over there. When I asked for no ice I got funny looks.
Time before last my cousin from the USA was visiting we told her, we had no ice. Because it was winter and we don't really use it at home.
So last time she brought ice cube forms for the whole family. Because she thought, that we don't have them in germany. Couldn't fathom, that there was an easy way to make ice and we just didn't make it, because we don't need it.
Her mother is German and they visit every other year or so. I still can't believe her.
I've definitely had days where buying a bag ice in the UK was a pain in the ass cause the shops got emptied of it during heatwaves, but a general shortage? Lmao
I think it's just baffling how obsessed American are with having ice in their drinks. If you put ice in your drink, you get less of the drink, and the drinks you want cold will come out cold when you order them. And the ice will just melt into it and water it down anyway. Just why?
It’s just not the default and somehow they’re flummoxed by this; they could simply ask for “… with lots of ice, please.“ that’s not exactly hard is it?
As a Mexican, I always ask for little or no ice, since drinks are usually already cold and we don’t get free refills here. If they serve it American-style, packed to the top with ice,the whole cup is just ice, and you end up paying for 100ml of soda instead of maybe 300ml that’ll taste like water in 5 minutes.
I’d rather wait and have a cold Coke from the fridge than adding too much ice to it.
This is why they get "free" refills. There is so much ice in the cups they get a splash of coke. By the time they have had a few refills they have basically got the 330ml or 500ml we would have got without ice anyway.
Literally go into the freezer section of any supermarket in England and you will find bags and bags of ice cubes lmao. Also most fast food restaurants will automatically put them in your drink
The thing is, ice is mainly useful when you have hot (sweltering) temperatures (which isn't that often in parts of Europe). The rest of the time, I (an Aussie living in Europe) would perceive it as a money-saving measure used by companies to give you less product (drinks) for more money. I find it disappointing when there's a lot of ice in a drink I buy, and perceive it as the company being cheap. It's not exactly hard to make or buy ice over here though, but a lot of drinks at restaurants don't come with it or much of it (which I would view as a good thing).
I buy a sack of ice cubes in Aldi/Lidl with my weekly shopping. They cost 1.09 of my Irish euros. I use them in my water bottle with water I get from the tap.
I'm also planning a kitchen remodel and I have lots of options for a fridge/freezer with an ice function. I plan to purchase one so I can cut down on plastic waste from that sack of ice cubes.
I've never had an issue at any bar/restaurant both here & on the continent.
Firstly, if you ask for ice you'll get ice.
In fact, at least here in England, a lot of places will assume you want ice as the default.
But secondly, I don't understand why they need their drinks to be so cold all the time. Even when I have ice I'll just put a couple of cubes in but they fill the whole cup? Even when it's cold out?
Im from the Netherlands, i dont drink anything without ice cubes. I buy said ice cubes at the store. All stores sell ice cubes. Here is an example of a bag of ice cubes from Albert Heijn:
Dear americans, if there is any ice left when you finish your drink, you had more ice than needed, even if your goal was the coldest possible drink. That means you got less product than you could have gotten.
Also, please just ask for ice if you want ice. I doubt there are restaurants that wont help you out.
In the Netherlands we have so much ice, like the most ice ever, and its the best ice, anyone will tell you, we do ice better than ICE, colder than any ice.
But when we hear an american accent we pretend we have never heard of it.
I didn't realise how ice obsessed they are until visiting. Ice machines on each floor seemed to be a mandatory requirement in hotels. Who needs this much ice, and for what purpose. The only time I'd specifically want that much ice is if I was taking an esky somewhere and had no other forms of keeping shit cold.
I'm certain there is something I'm not aware of here... not sure I really care... but did care enough to comment I guess..
Don't know why they are complaining over getting more to drink because the glass isn't filled to the brim with ice... must be the Quarter Pounder deal all over again...
Some years ago my father was in the USA and ordered a whiskey, no ice. The barman nearly melted. Why can’t Americans understand that the colder a liquid is the less taste it has.
I'm British but I have Pica as a result of a hard to resolve iron deficiency (my heavy periods make it hard for me to retain a healthy level of iron and my sensitive stomach means iron supplements cause a lot of pain and stomach issues) and crave ice. I therefore want ice in my drinks when I go out. The thing is you can just ask for ice in any cold drink. A lot of pubs ask you if you want ice or not and how much. Ice is extremely easy to get in this country it's just not mandatory.
I have been to over 60 countries and my only problem with ice has been in USA -too much icem which I hate as it changes the flavour of the drink. I a couple o bars in the exclusive Mayfair district in London, where may of my work colleagues used to drink, in warmer months, the used to put beer in a tub of iced water as they knew we prefered colder drinks than the locals liked, but it wasn't long before we noticed many of the three piece suit "professionals" started asking for the colder cans,
This ice (or water in general) thing is so out of hand. I swear there’s one American who a few months ago had nothing going on one day and thought ‘I wonder if people would go along with it if I said ‘Murica is the best cos nowhere else has ice’ and I’ll just keep saying it and see if I can make it MAGA lore.’ So they did and it clearly worked.
I’m 44yrs old (UK). I could not tell you a single time in my life I have struggled to get ice or water in the UK or Europe as a whole. If anything I have to ask to not have ice. It is such nonsense and I don’t understand why it’s become a topic of discussion!!!
as a european i'm so tired of ordering water in restaurants in the middle of january and being served fridge water or a glass with ice cubes
That's just cubes of frozen water they're giving you.
Not ice - not in Europe.
I don't mind fridge water, I hate it when it's half a glass of ice with fridge water.
That's just giving me half a glass of water. That ice isn't melting any time soon.
Yes I always tip it out (unless it’s whisky). I don’t want to water down my drink or drink it so cold it’s tasteless.
You’re putting ice in whisky? Tsk.
My thoughts exactly!
Chemical magic happens. Neat whisky is meh. Whisky with a touch of water is complex and beautiful.
Agreed. Water, not ice…
Yeah, I was in Scotland last week, cold with storm level wind outside, found out there's zero sugar Irn Bru, so I thought I'll have a bottle of that. Gave me a glass, ice to the top, the bottle of Irn-Bru was already almost freezing cold. I mean, it was hurting my gums...
I'm from the UK, and if anything the ice problem is the opposite. There's too much fucking ice in drinks.
Exactly, at a bar if I order a cider I have to say "No ice please" or it gets loaded up. They go mental with ice. But then we don't put ice into everything, iced coffee is a big thing in the USA, many spoonful's of sugar, a little bit of coffee and glass full of ice.
My friend, while in the US, was always ordering coffee without ice. The result was always a critical error of the barista's brain.
Ice cost nothing. More ice, less products.
Only morons enjoy this.
Uh? If I order a soda I get the glass with ice and the bottle at most regular places here in Norway.
The waiter pours about half of it in the glass and leave the bottle for me to pour the rest.
We usually get soft drinks from a tap here in the UK. The more ice in the glass the less drink you get for your money. Some places if you ask for no ice they give you a smaller glass. If you want a bottle you usually are playing a lot more for a lot less (but it does tatse better).
That’s because you can change the syrup concentration on those taps, so like everything it’s watered down as much as possible before people notice!
Mcdonalds (not all and a lot less in modern times) would actually put more syrup in the drink so that when the ice melted it watered down to the right consistency.
You can but the soft drink engineers stop it and report you to the company. They won't let you sell their drink like that, bad for rep.
Good restaurants would never use tap soda here. That is what you get at fast food places I guess.
This is the way. From Australia.
Wait, so you don’t get s bottomless sippy-cup with endless all-you-can-drink refills?
I bet the ice is low-tier and below US standards too.
Yup. Made from (shudder) tap water.
It's also likely to make tourists ill.
Met a lad in Lisbon about 15 years ago. We were watching a match in an Irish bar in Cais Do Sodre. He was looking v under the weather. Proclaims he adores the city but he's had the shits for a week. He was drinking cider with pints glasses of ice every day 😂
As someone who's worked in the industry I've gotten into the habit of ordering no ice. None of the places I've worked at had their ice machine cleaned.
Open the cover on every one of those machines and there is mould to be found.
Hennesys by any chance? Shut now, but was my local in Cais do Sodre for a while when I lived there 2013-2014! I felt ill after a while drinking in Portugal but I was told it was because lines weren’t cleaned as often if you were drinking draught. I switched to bottles of cider and was fine!
It was indeed 😂 just checked pics on Google maps.
This was a young lad from Meath who was drinking pint bottles of Bulmers with full pint glasses of ice by the gallon. That much tap water will do it to a tourist.
Hhahaha that was the exact drink I switched to after too many draught beers. I loved that pub though. It shut a few years ago, even though I moved home since still made me sad. This has made me feel very nostalgic for the place!
Ice does cost though!!
Since very few pubs serve decent cider anyway, I guess diluting it does it no harm.
I have Cider if they serve Thatchers.
This house is a Magners house young man!
Only place I've ever been given ice in cider is Australia! I drink cider rather than beer and I've never even been offered ice with it in the UK. Don't know why you'd want it as it's already chilled and dilutes the drink.
On the other hand, I am happy to drink tap water as long as it's cold and find it annoying to be served it at room temperature, especially when I've asked for "iced tap water".
In Ireland they will serve a Bulmers and ice in a pint. I always say no ice. If it is draught, I'm not getting a full pint because of the ice and it is cold anyway. If it is a bottle, it will be cold from the fridge so why the ice. Also it is freezing outside. I always get a funny look from the bar staff when I say no ice.
Proper cider should have no ice. Chemically fake cider (eg anything not brewed within 5 miles of Druid) is acceptable to put ice in as it’s just apple beer and you can do with that what you will.
Druid? Proper cider comes from Somerset, like me!
A decent pub will ask first, and would only default for sweeter ciders.
Having an overly sweet anything in 35+ weather isn't exactly pleasant, IIRC my local puts it in a second glass since it is to your own taste than it is anything else but not every type of venue (like a club) can give you a second glass.
Personally I wouldn't add ice to a standard cider, but if it was blackcurrant or pear I'd do it on a warm day. Then again, I wouldn't order those on a warm day anyway.
I do like iced americanos which is just cold coffee love it summee
I live in Australia, arguably a warmer climate than the UK.
I definitely have to stop the ice in my cider pint, never had a shortage.
I did have to dispose of a housemate who neglected the ice trays.
“Arguably”. Fantastic.
To be fair, during the English summer I seem to read about fatal heatwaves...
In Australia we just call that spring.
One of my (British born) friends who moved to Australia many years ago and is now most definitely an Australian remarked to me when he came back here for a few weeks in the “heatwave” we had: “you cunts don’t get what hot weather is. If it’s not on fucking fire it ain’t that fucking hot”.
Sounds simultaneously like a very Aussie and a very Pommy thing to say to a Pom.
"If you can't fry an egg on the pavement, it's not really hot!" The number of times I burnt the soles of my feet on the paving slabs trying to get from the pool to the shade under the gazebo (at my parents' new place in Perth back in the 1980s) showed how idiotic I was as a teenage noob to Australia.
Thing is, at least in Perth, the housing is designed for hot sun - wide eaves keeping the walls of the houses in shade for most of the day helps prevent the houses from heating up too fast. My UK house is south facing, and even when there's not a heat wave, all of the rooms on that side of the house heat up really fast when the sun is shining. To the point that we rarely open the curtains in those rooms in order to control the heat - the room we use the most, standard UK "front room" set up as our "study", now has thermal blinds and thermal curtains fitted otherwise we get to mid-morning and it's too hot to be comfortable (heat coming in the window, the external wall heating up and two+ PCs running with two people in there). Whereas the back of the house can stay quite cool, even during a heat wave, because the sun barely touches it.
One of my British born friends told me that he fainted from heat-exhaustion once when it got to 28C in West Yorkshire.
I asked if his family was trying to kill him by moving to Perth.
He lives in Queensland now, so he must've gotten use to it.
I prefer the Perth heat, this Queensland humidity is bullshit.
It's almost like different countries have different climates and people are adapted to what their climate is. Average summer temp where I am is 18c so yeah, when it gets to the high 20s I'm struggling. By 30+ I feel like I'm going to die because it's getting close to twice what's normal for me. We also don't have aircon everywhere or buildings, infrastructure, town planning designed to keep cool. Meanwhile, I'm sure if summer temp was 18c for a week you'd be complaining it was cold when it's tshirt and shorts weather here.
Shhh! I believe we all know that, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
Need a citation for that /s
You can just say 'without ice'. My local doesn't put ice in cider by default, it's funny when people ask because the newer staff look at them like they have two heads.
Honestly, I'm not pro-death penalty per-se.
But I think this should be grounds for at least mild torture until they learn a lesson.
Pubs pretty much all have ice machines. It's also an unwritten rule that if another hospitality venue needs ice, you give it to them.
I used to work in a pub opposite an Indian restaurant. I let them have a bin bag full of ice, and in return got a couple of free rounds of drinks when I next went for a curry.
You also have delivery companies whose entire business is selling extra bags of ice to pubs etc in the summer.
Those ice exchange runs in the summer are good memories. Helping each other out in the industry gave me the warm fuzzies.
I think it started somewhat on tiktok and american travellers noticing they always carry bottles around while others don't which seems to have started this whole europeans don't drink water thing.
So the thing is when I'm at home and I go out quickly to do something, or take a little walk or whatever I don't take a huge ass water bottle with me I don't need to. When I'm a tourist somewhere and I leave my hotel in the morning go sightseeing all day and expect to be back in the evening I take a bottle or two with me. Everyone carrying a big ass water bottle around is likely a tourist from anywhere.
add this weird Obsession with stanley cups and other trendy bottles, that's not just an american thing but big with people on tiktok.
And the little cultural difference of having to order water and ice in a restaurant or cafe in lots of places. Although I've rarely ordered somewhere where the ice doesn't come automatically so I don't know what that is about.
The gigantic water vessel thing is nuts. I visit the US quite a lot and at one point it felt like in between trips some sort of law was introduced that mandated the carrying of water provisions at all times. One trip: normal usage of water bottles. Next trip: everybody was equipped for an ultramarathon through the desert. It’s such an odd fad.
I saw a similar relationship with athletic knee supports while visiting Disney. One trip: everyone in the park had healthy knees. Next trip: all of a sudden everyone is recovering from an ACL tear and strapped up to the nines. Trip after that: all the knee supports had gone again. Bizarre behaviour.
UK here too. I usually get pissed at bars and restaurants adding ice to my drinks, because it means I get less drink. I actually get so much ice that I want less ice. Remove the ice on my pint of coke and you actually have 1/4 of a pint of coke. If you say "please no ice", you get a pint of coke actually worth the extortionate price you pay for it.
They have ice dispensers everywhere. Like other countries have bins, they have these. In every hotel there is one on every floor.
The breakfast is absolutely vile but you get ice.
It's all horseshit. It's like their obsession wth beans on toast.
I'm european, my dad went to the us 15 yrs ago. He was confused by the crazy amount of ice you get with your drinks, he described it as a full glass of ice with the holes filled with whatever. So he started asking for less ice, but the result was basically the same. He ended up asking drinks withut ice, getting very weird looks from waiters and sometimes a glass full of ice anyways. So much for the land of the free.
Absolutely this. Most people know more ice = less drink. It’s probably just them over there who struggle with that concept and see amount of ice in a glass as some sort of sign of luxury.
Amount of boose, amount of ice... It all boils down to fractions and we all know how good their math-teacher-in-chief is on using those...
As an American (sadly) we generally get much larger drinks than what I was given in France and the UK, I think ethnocentrism plays into that and then we get this weird misconception. The ice part makes no sense though, I was served way more ice in Europe than anywhere else.
Most places I go I need to tell restaurants that I don't want any ice in my drink.
Takes up 50% of the glass and dilutes my drink.
It's because Americans put so much ice in their drinks that we'd be pissed off if we got as much as they do
And I bet he/she didn’t have to work hard to get people to follow along
If it ain't 'Murican it don't exist. 'Murica is only country in world.
I wonder if the increased ICE presence was a source of inspiration for this con.
I struggle to not get ice! I'll ask for coke, no ice. It is always 50/50 if I get it or not. I can't stand ice cold drinks, I like to have mine room temperature.
The worst bit is, when you get a drink in McDonald’s in the uk, they fill your cup with ice so that you don’t get as much actual drink.
The only time I've ever noticed a shortage of ice cubes was when working as a head chef when Manchester hosted the commonwealth games in 2002. The bar was so rammed the ice machine ran out a few times and they had to send some of the bar staff to Tesco to get bags of ice cubes.
Years of therapy later I think I'm over it
Thank you for your service! You're the real heroes! 🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅
I'm glad you're ok lol
Why are they so obsessed with watering down their drink with ice? Is it due to the disgusting taste? The disgusting level of sugar? Do they just like wasting money?
They're served a glass of water with lots of ice with every meal. I think they think every country in the world should do the same
America is the first country in history where pax-[country name] isn't about internal/diplomatic peace, it's about dining imperialism.
Oh my friend, they don’t mean ice, they mean ICE. We simply are not harassing people here lawfully enough (cubing them, to use the lingo)
Is it really lawful though?
If they are here lawfully, then yes.
No
They have the exact same obsession with air con too. Middle of winter their offices will be freezing and then when they go abroad or even go outside, they can't adjust to the warm
Medieval monk like insistence on everything catering to them
It’s due to never having cleaned an ice machine. Do not recommend. Bacteria, fungi, slime mold…
That is the exact reason i NEVER have ice that i havent made myself in my own freezer.
I wont buy fountain drinks either. Those things are just as disgusting.
Same. Working in hospitality for a few years cured me of MANY vices.
Yes, the bottom of hospitality sized ice machines are a whole new civilization of germs. I only use ice I have prepared myself.
Those water coolers can get disgusting inside and in the trays. I remember seeing a few times how bad they got.
Several generations of entitled, spoiled brats who think the world revolves around them.
Why do they think that? How come they don't see ice?
I mean it’s true. Compared to us standards drinks in European countries have less ice cubes.
But also our water does not taste like chlorine so we do not have to cold it down that much.
Also wine and other drinks have less future and more natural flavor that ice would destroy.
Huh interesting. I don't usually get ice cubes in drinks myself if I can ask for it.
"American standards of ice" HAHAHAHA.
It's fucking solid water you muppet
Ice cubes mean that they can afford ice makers and electricity to power them so they can put cubes into their bottled drinks, whereas we europoors just have to drink filthy warm ditchwater.
warm ditchwater, you've gone all posh, we dream of warm ditchwater.
Imagine being so posh that you live near a ditch. Here's me catching rainfall in a discarded Coke can. Stuck up twat.
You guys are all so privileged with not drinking your own pee. Smh
You have ditchwater?! I would kill for ditchwater
We had to go up the hill both ways to get ditchwater!
Luckily my hovel is in a swamp, so we have a choice of ditches. Sorry if it sounds boastful.
You leave my real ale out of this
what is the american standard of ice? if it melts in their huge coolers before the freedom beer gets cold, does it fail said standard?
Their ice melts above 32 degrees, ours melt at 1 degree. 32 is higher than 1 - so it is biggerer and betterer, some say the best, they say that.
Freedom ice!!!
I think this basically comes down to table water. Mostly in europe you get a jug of water, with maybe some ice in it, maybe not. The water isn't necessarily cold it's just water. In the US all liquids have to be ice cold at all times, so thay use a lot of ice. It's not that we don't have ice, we just don't need our drinks to be ice cold.
They have to keep their tap water cold for the same reason they have to keep their eggs refrigerated...
“Very ironically, Iceland”
Why would a famously cold country put ice in their drinks??!
Yeah, nah, there’s too much ice cubes going on in Europe. When I order a drink, I want to be able to taste the drink. I didn’t pay 4 euros for a glass of permafrost. I paid for a glass of cola.
Ah that would be my fault. Always been ice cubes in my freezer when lived in the (f)UK, Canada and Sweden but if there was a slight chance a seppo would turn up I flushed them down the loo
Yes, we hear you're so deep in ICE that people are being dragged out of their beds and ziptied naked in the street.
Americans have these weird ice machines in a lot of places which are generally pretty gross and presumably never cleaned. Maybe they just can't comprehend where ice might come from other than one of these machines in 7/11 or the corridor of their hotel.
Did they ask for ice? Of course not, they only speak american
Not often do you do refillable drinks in Europe, so I'll often do no ice because you get more of the drink you ordered.
In the UK it's hot for like 2-3 weeks of the year, if we're lucky, so I'd suggest you don't need ice in your drink.
Don't get the obsession with ice, the drink is usually chilled anyway...
10 years in as a bartender, I have yet to give someone more of something for the same money simply because they said no ice... The price is for the amount of liquid, the ice is there for a reason (not to just fill up the glass), if I wanted the glass to look full without ice, Id just use a smaller glass....
We were in Italy last year, and stopped off at a pizza place in Rome. We asked for ice, and they gave us one cube. One lonely little cube. To be shared between two glasses of tepid water (which we practically had to beg for). Shortly after the pizza was brought to our table, the waiter came by, and without asking, he picks up a spoon, reaches into my glass of water and fishes out the ice cube. He carried it over to a table on the other side of the restaurant, and drops it in the glass of the man at the table. They were obviously American - you could tell by the incredible health care and MAGA hat.
We waved at our patriotic friends and asked how they liked the pizza. They laughed and said it wasn't as good as the deep-dish Chicago style they get back home. I told them that since Italy stole pizza from the US, we couldn't expect much.
Overall, Italy was interesting but it lacks the deep history that we have in the US. And it was really run down. They have this sports stadium there that they've working on for almost teo thousand years, but it is still not done. At least we know how to make a proper sports stadium in the US. And Italy was much smaller than we thought it would be. All of Europe would fit into Texas!
It's true. I was the man in the MAGA hat. The second you turned your back I swallowed the communal ice cube and was arrested by the European nanny state police for exercising my God-given American freedoms. I handed over a solitary greenback and the officer bowed to kiss my feet, wailing out his thanks at being handed real money for once. I demanded a golf cart so I could drive myself back to my hotel, 30 American yards away. They had never heard of such futuristic transport. They still travel by donkey in those parts. I won't return.
In the town of Ghent, Belgium (the ****real one****, not Ghent, NY or Ghent, MN!), asking for more than two ice cubes is still a criminal offence, punishable by death.
Perpetrators are arrested and imprisoned in the medieval castle "Het Gravensteen". Once some 20–30 are apprehended, they're paraded through the city barefoot, in sackcloth, with a noose around their necks. They’re forced to beg for mercy while being ridiculed by the locals.
Most are pardoned on the condition that they never return to Ghent. A few are hanged for good measure and as an example. We take those matters very seriously!
https://preview.redd.it/7ve974tigs6g1.jpeg?width=1620&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a2171eb69f6a3cf9f96d924a22d14f87034adde0
I think we're looking at it and thinking "what are they talking about, we get three cubes of ice in a drink. Maybe as many as five!" And they expect it filled with ice, and the gaps filled with liquid.
In the USA they literally fill drinking glasses with ice first then add the drink. People love it over there. When I asked for no ice I got funny looks.
Time before last my cousin from the USA was visiting we told her, we had no ice. Because it was winter and we don't really use it at home.
So last time she brought ice cube forms for the whole family. Because she thought, that we don't have them in germany. Couldn't fathom, that there was an easy way to make ice and we just didn't make it, because we don't need it.
Her mother is German and they visit every other year or so. I still can't believe her.
You’re supposed to fill a half-litre glass with ice, then pour in a little bit of the drink over it for that yummy, sweet but bland flavour.
I just store my drinks in the refrigerator, so I can drink them cold, without the need of watering them down with ice cubes
Must be an American thing, i mean do they want drink with their Ice? :D
No ice cubes in Sweden? Literally every American hamburger restaurant put like 50% ice in the drinks. Guess those are not ”cubes”.
I've definitely had days where buying a bag ice in the UK was a pain in the ass cause the shops got emptied of it during heatwaves, but a general shortage? Lmao
That's where they're going wrong. You're not supposed to swim in the ice until it's melted.
This must be a cult or something.
Oh wait....
So, 21 countries have got it wrong and one country has got it right. Isn't this a case of "everyone is out of step except me" Hmmmm🤔
Yes, I would also prefer water to the actual drink I ordered.
Also swimming in morons by the sound of it.🤦
I think it's just baffling how obsessed American are with having ice in their drinks. If you put ice in your drink, you get less of the drink, and the drinks you want cold will come out cold when you order them. And the ice will just melt into it and water it down anyway. Just why?
Why are they so obsessed with ice?
Can’t chew melted ice
Bro went in half of Europe and never got icecube ? I call bullshit here...
It’s just not the default and somehow they’re flummoxed by this; they could simply ask for “… with lots of ice, please.“ that’s not exactly hard is it?
As a Mexican, I always ask for little or no ice, since drinks are usually already cold and we don’t get free refills here. If they serve it American-style, packed to the top with ice,the whole cup is just ice, and you end up paying for 100ml of soda instead of maybe 300ml that’ll taste like water in 5 minutes.
I’d rather wait and have a cold Coke from the fridge than adding too much ice to it.
I don’t know why but when I read this I immediately thought of a million ways to die in the west.
thought most of you were avoiding ICE ?
This is why they get "free" refills. There is so much ice in the cups they get a splash of coke. By the time they have had a few refills they have basically got the 330ml or 500ml we would have got without ice anyway.
"how many countries in Europe can I google"
yeah...the americans love ice in theire drinks. pay more...get less drink because of the many icecubes. capitalism at is finest :)
I reaaally don’t get this? I’ve NEVER had any problems getting ice anywhere in any European country I’ve visited. It’s so weird.
Literally go into the freezer section of any supermarket in England and you will find bags and bags of ice cubes lmao. Also most fast food restaurants will automatically put them in your drink
The thing is, ice is mainly useful when you have hot (sweltering) temperatures (which isn't that often in parts of Europe). The rest of the time, I (an Aussie living in Europe) would perceive it as a money-saving measure used by companies to give you less product (drinks) for more money. I find it disappointing when there's a lot of ice in a drink I buy, and perceive it as the company being cheap. It's not exactly hard to make or buy ice over here though, but a lot of drinks at restaurants don't come with it or much of it (which I would view as a good thing).
Freezing water yourself 🤡
Paying a company + tax to do it for you 🤠
-some american
We really needs more ice cubes in Wales.
It's so hot hear.
Didn't you know, in Europe we don't have freezers so ice simply isn't a thing.
It’s almost like they were expecting Europeans to carry ice cubes in their pockets.
all things aside, iceland having no ice is kinda funny
I buy a sack of ice cubes in Aldi/Lidl with my weekly shopping. They cost 1.09 of my Irish euros. I use them in my water bottle with water I get from the tap.
I'm also planning a kitchen remodel and I have lots of options for a fridge/freezer with an ice function. I plan to purchase one so I can cut down on plastic waste from that sack of ice cubes.
I've never had an issue at any bar/restaurant both here & on the continent.
Where does this plainly false rumour come from?
Firstly, if you ask for ice you'll get ice.
In fact, at least here in England, a lot of places will assume you want ice as the default.
But secondly, I don't understand why they need their drinks to be so cold all the time. Even when I have ice I'll just put a couple of cubes in but they fill the whole cup? Even when it's cold out?
Bags of ice in my local Tesco.
WTF IS GOING ON WITH THE ICE? WHAT MEMO DID I MISS?! 😭😩
Lots of ICE in the land of tread on me harder, daddy.
Why are Americans boasting that they cannot survive without ice or air conditioning?
It's funny because everytime I order a non alcoholic drink from a bar they ask if I want ice😵💫
Ask for it. Don't expect it.
Im from the Netherlands, i dont drink anything without ice cubes. I buy said ice cubes at the store. All stores sell ice cubes. Here is an example of a bag of ice cubes from Albert Heijn:
https://preview.redd.it/7bptnjh17f6g1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=75189e96949faf3e03ac3b1cb3b79cc1182d2702
This reads as I can name some European countries.
We prefer to use solid water in Europe.
Other countries order a drink and get some ice in it
Americans order a cup of ice and get some drink in it.
I am baffled by even the suggestion for this. We have freezers... we have water. We even have a variety of ice trays. How is this... what?
Who even wants their water to be that cold? When every sip hurts your brain. I really dont get the obsession.
For swimming I recommend water.
...For diving in particular.
Dear americans, if there is any ice left when you finish your drink, you had more ice than needed, even if your goal was the coldest possible drink. That means you got less product than you could have gotten.
Also, please just ask for ice if you want ice. I doubt there are restaurants that wont help you out.
The American standard of ice 😆
I never understand why Americans want to fill their mugs, glasses, cups etc up with ice, and then add a tiny bit of the actual drink.
ICE? No... Ice? Yes
I don't get why someone would want extra fillers in it's drinks so you get less of what you pay for.
1) Imagine listing all those “exceptions” and not realising your own country is the outlier
2) why do they want more watered down beverages
As an Australian, I love way this is always a USA vs Europe argument. There are people dying from lack of water. Europe is not a problem .
That`s the current issue in the US.. this ICE
Or as we know it in the rest of the world - the gestapo.
They're all anaemic if they're eating that much ice.
In the Netherlands we have so much ice, like the most ice ever, and its the best ice, anyone will tell you, we do ice better than ICE, colder than any ice.
But when we hear an american accent we pretend we have never heard of it.
Cool story, bro
I didn't realise how ice obsessed they are until visiting. Ice machines on each floor seemed to be a mandatory requirement in hotels. Who needs this much ice, and for what purpose. The only time I'd specifically want that much ice is if I was taking an esky somewhere and had no other forms of keeping shit cold.
I'm certain there is something I'm not aware of here... not sure I really care... but did care enough to comment I guess..
They put loads of ice in your drink because it's cheaper than the drink, genius. They're proud of being conned. It's MAGA in miniature.
What kind of ice are we talking about?
he didn't mention Poland tho
Spain? SPAIN!? No ice cubes in 50° summer Spain? Bro is trolling
Don't know why they are complaining over getting more to drink because the glass isn't filled to the brim with ice... must be the Quarter Pounder deal all over again...
Some years ago my father was in the USA and ordered a whiskey, no ice. The barman nearly melted. Why can’t Americans understand that the colder a liquid is the less taste it has.
No offence but honestly its so icy cold in ireland why would ye even want ice cubes.
Yeah we just like our glasses to be filled with mostly drink and not mostly ice.
At least they got a point for naming more European countries than most of their government know exist. Oh that's me gone. !RemindMe 5 years
I don’t understand the flex of using energy to make water worse at hydration.
Swimming in ice sounds painful.
As someone who has lived in Sweden for 31 years. I call absolute bullcrap on this.
I'm a refrigeration engineer in the UK and part of my job is fixing ice machines
I'm British but I have Pica as a result of a hard to resolve iron deficiency (my heavy periods make it hard for me to retain a healthy level of iron and my sensitive stomach means iron supplements cause a lot of pain and stomach issues) and crave ice. I therefore want ice in my drinks when I go out. The thing is you can just ask for ice in any cold drink. A lot of pubs ask you if you want ice or not and how much. Ice is extremely easy to get in this country it's just not mandatory.
It will never not be funny to me that Americans take ice as this proof of advancement.
As if companies weren't dumping the ice into your drinks literally to sell you less drink and fill the rest with water
I have it on the door outside my freezer but maybe they don't qualify?
Pubs offer to put ice in your soft drinks in England. We just like being able to taste our drinks.
Haven't they seen Titanic?
If your fridge doesnt throw ice cubes then definitly you dont have ice cubes I guess
I have been to over 60 countries and my only problem with ice has been in USA -too much icem which I hate as it changes the flavour of the drink. I a couple o bars in the exclusive Mayfair district in London, where may of my work colleagues used to drink, in warmer months, the used to put beer in a tub of iced water as they knew we prefered colder drinks than the locals liked, but it wasn't long before we noticed many of the three piece suit "professionals" started asking for the colder cans,
Gee, guess this guy lost the recipe for ice....