# If you just ask for 'coffee' in a restaurant/bar, what do you expect to be given? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2005, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373 "2005-01-12T10:50:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/21 "2005-01-12T17:05:22Z")
In a restaurant or bar one should be given just what they ask for (within reason). So when a person asks for coffee and responds with a “No” to the “Do you want cream” question, they should not immediately shout “Where is my cream” when the coffee is brought to the table. The same applies for people in my bar who ask very plainly for a shot of Seagrams 7 and when they get their shot look at me like I am an idiot. When asked if there is a problem they say “Well duh, what is Seagrams 7 served with?”. A shot of 7 is not served with anything! If you want 7&7 you have to ask for it just like you should have to request cream when you order coffee. :wally Mind reading is not in the job description. Sorry for the slight hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/22 "2005-01-12T17:12:15Z")
> [@Papermache Prince](#): > > In New England, in the older coffee / doughnut shops like Dunkin’ Donuts, if you ask for a “regular coffee,” it will come with milk already added. One time I was in a Dunkin’ Donuts in Mass, and asked for a “coffee”. She put a spoonful of sugar and some cream in it. “Whoa, I’m sorry, I want a black coffee.” She got another cup, and put sugar in it again. “I’m sorry. Coffee, no cream, no sugar.” In most other places, if I order “coffee” I expect it to be black. But, I usually ask for “black” specifically and nowhere outside of New England have I found people who try to add sugar to black coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/23 "2005-01-12T18:05:38Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > Ditto. And like **Jjimm** , I’ve lost count of the times I’ve asked for “black coffee”, only to be immediately asked “do you want milk with that?” Well, duuh. If I wanted milk with it, I’d have asked for a _white_ coffee. Surely the very words “black coffee” imply that I do not want milk in it? Maybe they are used to people who order black coffee, then ask for cream and sugar so they can put enough in to suit their preferance? That makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/24 "2005-01-12T18:21:42Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > Maybe they are used to people who order black coffee, then ask for cream and sugar so they can put enough in to suit their preferance? That makes sense. But that’s not a black coffee, its a coffee with cream and sugar in it. Besides, round here, if you ask for a white coffee they give you the cream/milk in little pots, or in a jug, so you can make the coffee as dark as you want. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/25 "2005-01-12T18:37:49Z")
In restaurants in the western states, they just give you an unadulterated coffee. When they seat you there is always a tray already on the table with several little contianers of non dairy creamer, and a holder with packets of sugar and artificial sweetener. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/26 "2005-01-12T19:03:58Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > But that’s not a black coffee, its a coffee with cream and sugar in it. Besides, round here, if you ask for a white coffee they give you the cream/milk in little pots, or in a jug, so you can make the coffee as dark as you want. I’ve been in restaurants where, if you just ask for coffee, the waitress will then put in the cream and sugar for you, while asking “Is this enough?” This method rarely ends up suiting my taste. It’s so much easier, and more effecient in places like that, to just order “black” coffee, and ask for cream and sugar to put in yourself. Just speculating if the maybe the person is one of “those” kinds of coffee servers. It would explain some cases of this behavior in any case. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/27 "2005-01-12T22:37:06Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > But that’s not a black coffee, its a coffee with cream and sugar in it. Besides, round here, if you ask for a white coffee they give you the cream/milk in little pots, or in a jug, so you can make the coffee as dark as you want. I’ve never worked in food service but I’ve worked retail and people can be idiots (on both sides of the desk) so they’re probably just covering their ass or are so used to people ordering something they didn’t actually want that they have to make sure, especially with things that come in wide varities. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/28 "2005-01-13T00:55:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > While we’re here, what does ‘regular’ mean to you all? > > Back in the early 80s, when McDonalds was gaining popularity here, it used to annoy everyone that ‘regular’ meant ‘the smallest size we sell’ Regular/Medium\ > But now I find that some places are calling the _largest_ size ‘regular’ (I’m sure this is just a trick to get you to spend more by accident. > > What does ‘regular’ mean? When you find out, let me know. I’ve got customers that come in and order “regular coffee” all the time and I have no idea what they’re talking about. If I ask them what size, they sometimes snarl at me, “Whatever you call those things.” Are we talking about size here? If so, small, medium, or large will do just fine. I really don’t care if you want to use our lingo or not. I do, however, understand small, medium, and large. Heck, I’ll even tell you how many ounces are in each if you’re not sure what size you want. If I didn’t ask, I’d probably just give them a medium or large depending on whichever one I was “regularly” selling that day. We sell more of those larger sizes than the smallest one, but invariably, no matter what I give them, it’s not correct. :rolleyes: And yet, they can’t be bothered to give me the info I need to give them what they want without unnecessary prompting. And, of course, I’d never put anything in it, unless they specifically asked for sugar, cream, or whatever. Generally, I do ask whether they’d like room for cream or slosh allowance. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/29 "2005-01-13T01:10:24Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > Ditto. And like **Jjimm** , I’ve lost count of the times I’ve asked for “black coffee”, only to be immediately asked “do you want milk with that?” Well, duuh. If I wanted milk with it, I’d have asked for a _white_ coffee. Surely the very words “black coffee” imply that I do not want milk in it? Heh. Sorry about that. I’ve gotten caught doing that myself. It’s habit to ask every customer ordering coffee if they’d like room for cream. Once in a great while, a customer orders a “large black coffee” and I catch myself responding (by rote), “Room for cream?” :smack: One customer used to catch us all the time. He used to get such a kick out of it, too. He knew our schtick and ordered his coffee black, waiting to see if we were listening. As soon as he was asked whether he needed room for cream, he’d respond with some pithy comment in a completely deadpan tone. “Well, now, if I added cream, that wouldn’t be black, would it?” or “What part of black are you not understanding?” Or something like that. Eventually, he tired of this game with one person in particular who just wouldn’t learn. Every day, same order, same question. We all thought it was hilarious, but she would stammer and explain that she was “supposed to ask that.” Dimwit. So, he switched gears one day and ordered a large coffee “filled to the brim.” When she asked if he needed room for cream, he responded, “Yes. Please put the room in another cup.” He slayed the room with that comment. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/30 "2005-01-13T01:14:09Z")
I have asked for a small coffee, hoping to get the smallest available size only to be told quite snootily that the don’t serve small coffees. Needless to say I immediately murdered the entire staff, and everyone I met within the next 15 minutes as I tired to regain my composure. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/31 "2005-01-13T01:18:39Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > “A black coffee please.” “Do you want milk in that?” > > (The default state for any sandwich is slathered with butter, too, unless you shout “no butter” really quickly.) Both these _really_ piss me off. Also the chip-shop-worker’s asking of ‘sal’n’vin’gr?’ _while already covering my chips with that stuff_. > [@Iris](#): > > In parts of Europe, especially Eastern Europe, I have asked for coffee and been given an espresso or tiny cup of black instant coffee. You’re right that this is a regional difference. But of course, there’s an extra element, that in many languages, the closest equivalent to the word ‘coffee’ actually does mean what we call an espresso. However, when in Italy or France, they’re all I drink (before midday, at least 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/32 "2005-01-13T01:22:03Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Both these _really_ piss me off. Also the chip-shop-worker’s asking of ‘sal’n’vin’gr?’ _while already covering my chips with that stuff_. Grrr… And don’t they load it on? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/33 "2005-01-13T01:22:11Z")
> [@Cinnamon Girl](#): > > When you find out, let me know. I’ve got customers that come in and order “regular coffee” all the time and I have no idea what they’re talking about. If I ask them what size, they sometimes snarl at me, “Whatever you call those things.” Are we talking about size here? If so, small, medium, or large will do just fine. I really don’t care if you want to use our lingo or not. I do, however, understand small, medium, and large. Heck, I’ll even tell you how many ounces are in each if you’re not sure what size you want. Regular = medium. I for one order that way, and would have assumed it’s pretty damn obvious that the regular option is neither large nor small. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/34 "2005-01-13T01:23:12Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Grrr… And don’t they load it on? Exactly - I _do_ like a _ **little** _ salt, but there’s no point trying to tell them. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/35 "2005-01-13T01:33:47Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Regular = medium. I for one order that way, and would have assumed it’s pretty damn obvious that the regular option is neither large nor small. See, now that’s what I would think too (read the rest of my post). But you’d be amazed how many people seem to equate regular with small. Don’t ask me why. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/36 "2005-01-13T01:37:03Z")
> [@Cinnamon Girl](#): > > But you’d be amazed how many people seem to equate regular with small. Don’t ask me why. Maybe they think that others will think “small = cheap”, and not necessarily “small = the little bit of caffeine I need”. Still, not as bad as the McMethod of re-designating everything ‘small’ as ‘kids’, to ensure that any adult at least orders the medium. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/37 "2005-01-13T01:43:31Z")
I’ve never asked just for “coffee”. Here people tend to specify exactly what they want e.g. long black, flat white, cappucino etc. I imagine if I asked simply for “coffee” I’d be brought a cup of the plain, black filtered stuff and then asked whether I wanted milk. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Deschain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@Roland\_Deschain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Deschain)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/38 "2005-01-13T05:48:57Z")
Around here in rural Indiana it goes something like this: Coffee- Black, maybe up to eight hours old made strong enough to strip paint off of walls. Your an “OK” person if you order this. Coffee -Black with sugar- maybe with a teaspoon of sugar or two your still OK, but your going soft and some people might think you are a pansy. Coffee- Black with Cream added- People, unless you are a woman people now question your sexuality. Coffee- Black with Cream and Sugar- Again, Ok for a woman, but for a man you are assumed gay. Anything else: You are obviously a communist or Al Qaida subversive that needs to be reported to homeland security ASAP. Don’t be in town after dark. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Deschain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@Roland\_Deschain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Deschain)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/39 "2005-01-13T05:51:17Z")
> [@Roland Deschain](#): > > Around here in rural Indiana it goes something like this: > > Coffee- Black, maybe up to eight hours old made strong enough to strip paint off of walls. Your an “OK” person if you order this. > > Coffee -Black with sugar- maybe with a teaspoon of sugar or two your still OK, but your going soft and some people might think you are a pansy. > > Coffee- Black with Cream added- People, unless you are a woman people now question your sexuality. > > Coffee- Black with Cream and Sugar- Again, Ok for a woman, but for a man you are assumed gay. > > Anything else: You are obviously a communist or Al Qaida subversive that needs to be reported to homeland security ASAP. Don’t be in town after dark. Oh, and your situation would be grounds for justifiable homicide in these parts! ---
**Author:** ![Zonyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a183cd/32.png) [@Zonyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zonyx)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373/40 "2005-01-13T11:40:27Z")
> [@TroubleAgain](#): > > I expect black, with cream and sugar on the side. I heard this a lot when I went to America. When you say cream, do you mean actual cream or just milk? I’m wondering 'cause nobody ever offers cream with coffee in Ireland. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-just-ask-for-coffee-in-a-restaurant-bar-what-do-you-expect-to-be-given/284373.md?page=3)