At an Italian place, I’ll usually get a Brio Chinotto.
Iced tea isn’t popular here, and you’re unlikely to be able to get it.
Your choices are:
Water (iced, with lemon if you like)
A soft drink (Sprite, Coke, Fanta, Ginger ale, Lucozade etc)
A fruit juice (apple, cranberrry or orange)
Something else:
Tonic water
Bitter lemon
Schloer
If the place is very fancy the might have some health drinks, like Purdey’s, Kombucha, Aqua Libre, or Amé, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Rock Shandy is the name of an Irish soft drink made by Club. It’s a mix of fizzy orange and fizzy lemon (in the style of Fanta, but slightly less artificial), and is what you will get if you ask for “rock shandy” in Ireland.
I drink water or coke.
Cranberry & orange juice. It looks enough like a drink so people don’t bug you (learned that one from an alcoholic bartender).
Ordinarily, I order sunkist, then get brought a fizzy orange substance in a glass. I drink it, exclaim “this isn’t sunkist - what kind of establishment are you running here, you cad?” and throw it in the face of whoever brought it to me.
That’s only half true, actually. The bit about ordering sunkist is true.
Actually, I must admit I very rarely eat at fancy restaurants. Usually lemonade or lemon squash is a safe bet - on lucky occasions, a milkshake can be obtained, too.
~ Isaac
Thanks for all the insight! 
Not that I will need it soon… I’m glad to see there’s a variety of options, at least.
There’s also the option of fizzy water, like San Pelegrino or Perrier.
Bingo.
Lemonade would be OK, or as someone else mentioned, coffee, tea, or non-alcoholic drinks.
I don’t drink before 5 PM…it’s just a personal rule. So I always order this kind of stuff at lunches, etc.
I don’t drink, so when we go to a nice place, it’s
raspberry lemonade or some other juice
water
fizzy water
root beer, maybe–not really very classy!
It also depends to a certain extent to the kind of fine restaurant you are going to. If you are going to a restaurant noted for the quality of its cuisine, then you don’t want to be drinking anything too sugary like grape juice or (in many cases) lemonade. That’ll throw off the taste of your food. Go with something that has a mild flavor like iced tea or water or cranberry juice.
I might add that here in the South restaurants often serve tea that is pre-sweetened. Sometimes they get it right, but most often, they put too much sweetener in. Sometimes they put so much sweetener in you’ll swear you’re drinking corn syrup straight up with a little brown food coloring added. Go with unsweetened, it’s the safe bet.
Last time I was at a really fancy restaurant, the waiter came by very soon after we were seated with 2 bottles of water and asked, “sparkling or still?” This was a polite way of saying “you will not be getting free tap water with your meal.” If your restaurant is like this, you will look classiest if you seem ready for the question and ready to state your preference. I prefer still.
One factor to consider is whether you’re most concerned about enjoying your meal or in fitting in, giving the impression you dine like that all the time. Yeah, where’s the two-faced smiley when you need one…but sometimes in a business setting that’s the reality. For me, then, I think fancy water is the best choice. Ask for Evian or Perrier. That way you come across as health minded and cognizant that some drinks clash with food. As **Evil Captor ** points out, a lot of fruity concoctions aren’t really the best choice with what might be the meal of a lifetime, taste-wise.
Iced water with a slice of lime.
I’m a big fan of club soda. I either drink it straight or with a side of fruit juice (cranberry or lime are nice and colourful) - I don’t let them put it in for me anymore, because I like my drinks very not-sweet. This is also a great substitute for soda pop, if you’re trying to cut down on your sugar intake but you like your fizzy drinks (like I do).
Cola
Is that the one tastes a bit like half-bad orange peels and a hint of vanilla?
San Pellegrino has not just plain fizzy water, but lemon flavored, which is really good.
I can’t think of any fancy schmancy restaurant that wouldn’t be able to provide most of the suggestions in this thread. High end restaurants often anticipate more demanding customers and have a good selection in any case. So I say order whatever you’re comfortable with and if the waiter says they don’t have it, just ask what they have that is similar. I’ve found it’s not so much what you order, but being ready with a smooth response that’s key.
Well, that and not leaving your iced tea spoon in the glass. You could put an eye out!
Rasberry Iced Tea
or good sweet tea (no instant junk)
Why does everyone want their drinks bubbly? I mean I understand Cokes and stuff, but fizzy water? What is the appeal?
I do drink alcohol, but I love me a Virgin Mary when it’s too early for a real one, or it’s otherwise inappropriate. For Mexican food, I find lemonade to be excellent.
When the wife and I fine-dine, in addition to wine Pelegrino is always ordered if available. It settles that full feeling, promotes belching, and cleans the palate quite well.
A couple of things…IMO fizzy water better transmits the flavor of lemon or whatever else you may have put into it. Also, one tends to drink it more slowly, more like a “sipping” drink than an ordinary glass of water that you normally pound down. For that reason, I find it a better fit with food.