Just about everyplace I’ve dined in the US I’ve been able to get a free soda refill at the restaurant. When I visited Canada I was surprised to find thay they didn’t do it. This got me wondering what countries do/don’t offer free refills with your meal? (excluding coffee – everyone refills coffee it seems)
It depends on the restaurant. I’ve always gotten free refills from a restaurant with a soda fountain, even McDonald’s allows one free refill for eat-in. It’s another story if they serve canned pop though (as many mom and pop type places do… there are a number I can think of in my area that sell only by the can/bottle even if you eat in).
Where did you go?
I find this varies in the US, depending a lot on what type of restaurant you go to. How many different restaurants did you go to in Canada to come up with this generalization about the whole country?
A half dozen or so in Ontario. I have no idea what their names are anymore – it’s been a few years. Think one had ‘Pickle’ in the name?
Fountain drinks cost virtually nothing to the restaurant (the profit margin on soft drinks was around 2000% at the restaurant where I worked), so in a sit-down restaurant it seems bizarre to deny refills. In a fast food restaurant however, they want to upsell you to the largest possible drink size, so they may prohibit you from refilling your cup. Is it possible they offered more than one size of soft drink? (therefore the policy was in place to encourage people to order the larger size?)
Wish I could remember. Was a number of years ago, and I don’t recall. I know we hit several sit down and fast food joints, and no one did refills except for iced-T (I found out the hard way when I was charged for three cokes on a restaurant tab). The Canadian I was visiting remarked that this was a peculiarity of Canada as comapred to the US.
I used to be an asst controller in a big hotel and pop is dirt cheap. Our medium drink (the one that came with the meals) was 7¢ cost to the hotel (and the cup was 3¢ of that. So the refill is even less or out of glass it’s less too.)
But it may depend on locale. When I lived in the Keys all the fast food places had signs charging a nickel to a dime more if you wanted your drink without ice. But everything in the Florida Keys is costly 'cause it has to be trucked in.
Free refills, of soft drinks or coffee, are not the norm in the UK or any of the bits of Europe I know well.
Ditto for Australia.
Psssst…nandos!
… although I have seen them at Hungry Jack’s (Burger King).
I think you need to look up “not the norm”. 
I love Nandos. I got into them when I lived in Cape Town so was pleased to see them come to the UK.
I don’t think I have ever seen free refills except in the US. In my experience, Americans drink more non-alcoholic beverages while eating than people in other countries. Outside of the US, one beverage per meal seems the rule.
Oh yes, there you can go and re-fill. I was thinking more of the restaurants that the OP mentioned.
A friend of mine took me to a Nando’s restaurant somewhere in South Wales (I can’t remember which city) and and quite frankly it was the first time I ever saw free refills. I think they call it the Bottomless Glass or something. Anyway, their glasses are rather small and there are no servers so you have to go to the fountain and refill it yourself, so after a couple of times it becomes annoying.
The free refill thing is certainly one of the elements which makes the States “different” for me.
In Europe we tend to have wine as a complement to the food and water (be it tap or bottled) to quench our thirst (during the meal). In some countries you may find milk as the “with a meal drink” and beer or cider go with some meals but adults rarely drink fizzy drinks with food.
If we go out for breakfast it tends just to be a croissant/pastry and quick cup of coffee not a hot meal so the one cup of coffee/tea suffices.
Here is Newfoundland, at least, quite a few places offer free refills on soft drinks. Not so much the fast food joints (except McD’s and their one refill) but a lot of local sit-down places with fountains (as opposed to small places that sell from cans) and most of the national chains that are here in the “family dining” category seem to as well. Hell, Empire Theatres will give you one free refill on the bucket-o-Coke they call a large. I’m not sure the human bladder was meant to withstand that sort of punishment.
Germany, not Europe generally:
No soft drink refills, no coffee refills in normal restaurants. No free tap water, either.
The normal soft drinks besides Limo (lemonade) and Cola are mineral water (which costs money) and fruit juices (dito), or mixed schorles (fruit juices with mineral water). I guess tap water is too bland of taste for people, or because in some regions in Germany, tap water needs to be treated and isn’t the good quality of Bavarian mountain-water, so people wouldn’t want to drink tap water in a restaurant.
In fact, I’ve always heard that restaurants put a bit more salt /spices in their dishes to make patrons buy more drinks, because there’s a better margin on them. (it might be an UL, though).
IKEA (the furniture store) offered free soda refills on their fountains some years back; you buy a 0,2 l glass and drink as much as you like, or a 0,2 l cup and get coffee for free. But then, IKEA the furniture store is able to subsidize the restaurants. In fact, as a family member (their customers club), I get coffee for free each visit (and it’s tempting to cheat and fill the coffee cup with soda, too).
The Kaufhaus (big store) restaurant offers a cheaper refill for coffee: if you show you already paid the 1,20 Euros or whatever it is for the first cup today, the second cup is only 0,50 Euro.
But why do you want to drink so much?
I must say the lack of refills of coffee in so many countries is a surprise. I’ve never seen someone drink just one cup of coffee with a meal.
Nor in Israel.
Although hummus joints will give you free pita refills.