Will bringing your own bottle of wine to a restaurant in France cause bad service?
There is a law in France that states that you can bring your own bottle of wine to a restaurant. The restaurant cannot prevent you from doing this. Thus, you can either bring your favorite wine, or a cheap bottle of wine without having to worry about getting ripped off by the house. Despite this law, will bringing your own wine to a restaurant cause problems? I'm imagining the chef or waiter spitting in my food because I'm not buying their wine, or perhaps giving me bad service in some other form. After all, they're not making a profit on it and my tip must be less because my bill is lower.
This Wall Street Journal piece has some good guidelines, but I won't be able to, as the article states it, "Get to know the place first" because I'll be moving from one place to the next. Also, I really may not want to visit the same place twice because there is so much to do.
Best Answer
I'm French and I didn't know about this law, nor can I find any mention of it in a casual search. This site with teaching material for the restaurant business claims the contrary:
Can we make a customer pay a supplement if he wishes to bring his own bottles?
Yes, it is possible to charge a “corkage fee” if the customer wants to be served his own bottles. The restaurant owner is free to set the amount. Restaurants are not required to accept this practice.
BYOB isn't a known concept in France. A few restaurants are trying it out (here's a list for Paris), sometimes with a corkage fee. But it goes strongly against the French culture — why not bring your own food while you're at it?
If you go to a random restaurant, you should expect that they'll say no. I doubt that they'd spit in the food (what a strange idea!), but they might ask you to leave.
Pictures about "Will bringing your own bottle of wine to a restaurant in France cause bad service?"
Can a restaurant serve a bottle of homemade wine brought in by a customer?
The bottle must be new, with its manufacturer's seal intact. When patrons are leaving the establishment, they may take the remaining wine with them, but only if the bottle has been sealed with a cork inserted flush with the top of the bottle.Why do people bring their own wine to restaurants?
There are valid reasons for bringing your own wine to a restaurant: you've been saving a special bottle; the restaurant only offers BYOB (bring your own bottle); or it may serve great food, but it has a lackluster drink list. BYOB is a courtesy restaurants offer, not an obligation.Is it rude to bring your own alcohol?
Surely you can stomach a subpar libation \u2014 or drink a nonalcoholic one \u2014 annually, rather than offend your friends. Bringing your own supplies is rude and tells your hosts that their taste is not up to your standards. Never mind that it is true.Is it rude to bring drinks into a restaurant?
So should \u2013 or could -restaurants legally charge people for sitting down to eat with their own drink they brought in if they aren't purchasing something for that's sale? If it's a sit-down restaurant, it's rude to bring in a beverage that the restaurant is capable of providing.Rules to Follow When Bringing Your Own Wine to a Restaurant
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Kenneth, Andrea Piacquadio, Andrea Piacquadio, Ron Lach