# Go into a bar serving Pepsi, ask for diet coke **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [June 13, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176 "2021-06-13T16:25:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mundylion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundylion/32/3604_2.png) [@mundylion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mundylion)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/41 "2021-06-14T17:26:02Z")
It amazes me how many times I’ve had servers say that they mix Sprite and Coke and think it’s the same thing as ginger ale. How the heck did that start? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/42 "2021-06-14T17:29:29Z")
Yeah, around here they almost always ask you if the other brand is okay. For awhile I took to ordering thusly: “I’ll have the diet version of whichever cola you are affiliated with.” I stopped that after awhile, because I’m enough of a pretentious asshole as it is. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/43 "2021-06-14T17:37:02Z")
Available at Migros and many restaurants: > **[Welcome to the Premium Swiss Cola since 1938 - Vivi Kola](https://vivikola.ch/en/)** > > Switzerland has its very own cola beverage - since 1938. Join in and support this premium, proudly Swiss product! #swissness #SwissMade #premium Coop sells their own brand [Happy Cola](https://www.coop.ch/en/food/drinks/soft-drinks/cola-limonades/cola/happy-cola-classic/p/6328841), which I’ve never tried. [Fritz Kola](https://www.fritz-kola.de/en/) is from Hamburg, Germany and is quite common as well. Pepsi is sold at Migros stores, but I think that’s relatively recent. Migros also has their own cola, which I’ve also never tasted. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/44 "2021-06-14T21:36:20Z")
I eat out a,lot with my dad and when I can’t remember which they serve - or the menu just says “fountain drinks” I just ask for a diet. Invariably they specify which it is - Coke, Pepsi or RC - and then ask if it’s okay. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/45 "2021-06-14T22:34:46Z")
A lot of my confusion is over the bar aspect of the question as I’ve never seen a bar with signage for any soft drink except for airport bars where the entire airport has a contract with one of the big two. And I’ve never seen a fridge stocked with Pepsi in a bar, almost always the soft drinks come from a gun. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/46 "2021-06-15T01:00:59Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > I think my expectations would be completely different if talking to a bartender who would be using the little soda gun thing… I’ve never seen tap handles (shows you how classy my bars are). I often ask “What kind of sodas ya got?” and they’ll look at the gun and say “Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, and Sprecher’s.” “Wait, you’ve got Sprecher’s Root Beer ‘on tap’?” “Yeah, root beer and their cream soda.” Bonus! I’ve been rewarded for asking! Just last night I rolled into the local dive for the Westminster Dog show (it’s a tradition, the regulars each pick a dog and cheer like crazy for them it’s the Kentucky Derby). I’m on a diet, so I was going to order a D-Coke, but I asked what they had, and they’d added Diet Sierra Mist. So I had that… with a shot of Tullamore DEW, Cider Cask Finish. Totally cut the diet taste. And made the old guys’ comments funnier: “You’re tellin’ me there’s a spaniel under all that _cwah-feeer?_ Get that poor dog a real haircut!” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/47 "2021-06-15T01:12:09Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I’ll just have a liter of cola. I thought you were banned from that place. Or did you go to Shenanigans? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/48 "2021-06-15T01:22:11Z")
I might not expect the request for substitution if ordering a drink with liquor like a jack & coke or rum & coke and in a bar/bartender situation (not a tableside server). But I would expect the extra question for just the virgin cola in either environment. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/49 "2021-06-15T01:31:09Z")
OP, why the poll? Have you ever NOT had a server ask if a substitution is okay? Have you had a bartender ignore your order and serve you a different brand (that you didn’t order)? If that hasn’t happened to you, then what’s the point of the poll? In real life, if someone asked me about something like this, they’d tell me why they were asking. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/50 "2021-06-15T03:30:04Z")
My local Wendy’s sold Pepsi. I’ve often slipped and ordered Coke. They always ask if Pepsi is OK? I order sweet tea instead. I don’t like Pepsi. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/51 "2021-06-15T14:28:49Z")
If I go into a bar and order coke, I’ll get a weird look. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered a non-alcohol drink in a bar. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/52 "2021-06-15T14:35:36Z")
> [@digs](#): > > OP, why the poll? Have you ever NOT had a server ask if a substitution is okay? > > Have you had a bartender ignore your order and serve you a different brand (that you didn’t order)? I think that is a reasonable inference for asking the question. And, in my experience, it certainly is not universal that bartenders or other soda dispensing sorts (like at a hot dog joint) do. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/53 "2021-06-15T14:37:10Z")
OP says “You go into a bar.” So my answer assumes that I’m actually in a bar, not in a restaurant that serves meals. I’ve never been in, or worked in, a bar that has a soda dispenser (whatever that means) labeled “Coke” or “Pepsi” (or “RC,” for that matter). You order a Coke (diet or otherwise), you’re getting whatever comes out of the soda gun. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/54 "2021-06-15T14:38:18Z")
This is interesting to me because, on occasion, I will ask for a diet Pepsi at a place that only has diet Coke. Invariably, and as if it actually matters, I get the response accompanied by a serious look, “We only have diet Coke.” I always respond, “That’s fine.” I often wonder what percentage of people in that situation actually give a rat’s ass one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/55 "2021-06-15T14:50:48Z")
You have never been a designated driver then. They often order soft drinks. I may order one with food since I don’t really enjoy eating a meal with a beer, I save that for desert. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/56 "2021-06-15T14:56:27Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > You have never been a designated driver then. Ahhhh, I _was_ designated driver momentarily once. I went with a group of friends to see a band at a bar that expected a sell-out. We arrived early and I offered to be designated driver. I got a different colored wrist band at the door. I went up to the bar and ordered a scotch, figuring I’d switch to something non-alcoholic later. Nope, no scotch for me, even though it was many hours before I’d be driving. So, I went back to the door and got my wristband switched. I was an official designated driver for about ten minutes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/57 "2021-06-15T15:01:28Z")
While I haven’t been one, I’m sure bartenders come across plenty of people who don’t drink but, for one reason or another, want to be at a bar. Last night I met up with some friends at an old haunt and had an NA beer, some hop water, and a few diet Cokes (or whatever it was that came from the gun.) Nobody batted an eye. I mean, most bars at least have some token NA beer (and these days, there’s actually good ones), many bars serve food, so they’re happy you’re there to eat their food, or they’re happy that you’re there bringing all your drinking buddies along. You can be (like me) someone who is avoiding alcohol for the foreseeable future; they could be someone who is taking medication where alcohol use is contraindicated, they could be designated drivers. Nobody really gives a shit why you’re not drinking and I haven’t gotten a side-eye from a bartender yet. (Or, if I have, I have been joyfully oblivious. And why would I give a shit what the bartender thinks?) And those NA beers and hop waters were still like six bucks a pop, so it’s not like they’re making much less money off me. Add in some chicken wings and tip, and I still spent forty bucks. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/58 "2021-06-15T15:10:42Z")
> [@digs](#): > > OP, why the poll? Have you ever NOT had a server ask if a substitution is okay? > > Have you had a bartender ignore your order and serve you a different brand (that you didn’t order)? Not the OP and don’t order soda in a bar. I do order Coke in restaurants and about 10% of the time (when I’m traveling, as here in Atlanta almost all non-chains are Coke), they won’t ask if Pepsi is okay, they just bring it instead. The other oddity, and this happens even in Atlanta, about 10% of the time I am served a Diet Coke instead. Yes, I’m one of those picky people who can easily tell if they are drinking actual Coca-Cola. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/59 "2021-06-15T15:16:43Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Nobody batted an eye. I was imagining what would happen at a bar I patronize and know the 'tenders. I like beer. > [@pulykamell](#): > > those NA beers and hop waters were still like six bucks a pop, The bars I frequent do not have a NA beer on tap, and I’ve never seen or heard of “hop water”. I just googled it though. I love IPAs, can’t get enough hops, but I like alcohol also. Maybe I’ll try one if I see it offered. ---
**Author:** ![oldoaktree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ccd318/32.png) [@oldoaktree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldoaktree)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176/60 "2021-06-15T15:23:13Z")
i tend to use “coke” to mean a cola beverage, and find it a bit annoying when they feel the need to clarify Coke or Pepsi. But i understand why they might need to. I’m sure people have ordered Coke and gotten Pepsi and were outraged and demanded to speak to the manager. in another cola thread i think someone mentioned that bars with the soda gun thing often use generic off brand colas or even RC Cola which i rarely see in the stores anymore. i have never ordered a “rum and coke” and had the bartender ask if “rum and shasta” is ok. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-into-a-bar-serving-pepsi-ask-for-diet-coke/944176.md?page=4)