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Redditor Pissed After Bartender Tries To Roast Them For Ordering Non-Alcoholic Drink At His Bar

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Bars are obviously primarily for alcoholic drinks, but sometimes you just want a soda or some water, right?

For one person on Reddit, however, that simple request sparked drama with a bartender who demanded they purchase an alcoholic drink.

The Original Poster (OP), who goes by Uninstall_Fetus on the site, wasn’t sure about how they responded to the situation. So they went to the AITA (Am I The A**hole) subReddit for input.

OP asked:

“AITA for walking out on a bartender that insisted I order a drink”

They explained:

“My gf and I are going on vacation. We get through security in the airport and start searching for a place to eat. We quickly decide on this Cuban place and we grab a seat at a high top right in front of the bar.”

“We sit down and the bartender kinda hollers across the bar (packed bar, about 10 feet away) and says the kitchen is closing but it’s last call for drinks.”

“The bartender looks at my gf and says ‘I bet you want a Tito’s & soda with a splash of cranberry’ then looks at me and says ‘I bet you want an IPA’. We’re fu*king starving so I turn to My gf and say ‘what do you wanna do’ and she said she wants to stay.”

“So I’m like ok whatever no big deal we’ll find some food after a drink. My gf looks at the bartender and says ‘I’ll have an old fashioned’ and then he asks me what I want. I say ‘I’ll just have a coke’ and he goes ‘with what?’ And I say just a coke please.”

“Then he says ‘ah what cmon man you’re a grown man no one likes just a coke’. I reply ‘really? I feel like everyone likes coke!’.”

“At this point everyone in the restaurant is staring at this whole thing going down and I’m fu*king pissed because I just want a coke and this guy is insulting me for not ordering an alcoholic drink in front of all these people.”

“So I start grabbing my bags and sh*t and he’s like ‘wooooow really it was just a joke’ and I say ‘dude if you don’t want my money that’s fine I just wanted a coke’ and walked out.”

“Who’s the a**hole here?”

Redditors were then asked to judge who was in the wrong in this situation based on the following categories:

  • NTA – Not The A**hole
  • YTA – You’re The A**hole
  • ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
  • NAH – No A**holes Here

Unsurprisingly, they were pretty unanimously on OP’s side.

“NTA! As someone who has a lot of sober people in my family, for many different reasons (including myself) I’d have been really annoyed, probably even pissed too.”

“He could have been actively pressuring an alcoholic into drinking, if someone says they just want a coke, give them a coke and don’t question it. Beyond that, someone could just not be in the mood for alcohol. Definitely NTA.” –lexii-thornton

“100% this. I have sober people in my family too and this would either pressure them to drink or make them feel completely shamed for not drinking. Definitely NTA.” –s_k_s_89

“Or meds. Alcohol and meds is often a really bad combo, and that’s none of anyone’s business except the person with the prescription.” –PiraticalApplication

“This!! I just hate the taste of alcohol, and that paired with being an extreme lightweight means I don’t drink.”

“It makes me so uncomfortable at parties and events when people pressure me to drink—you’re an adult, everyone else is drinking, why aren’t you?—or only offer alcoholic options. I love all of my friends who remember that I don’t drink and always buy nonalcoholic options for me.” –smallsaltybread

“Absolutely. Some people may struggle with addiction, others may want to cut down on alcohol, other may be or be trying to get pregnant, others may be trying to lose weight and ditch the empty calories in alcohol.”

“Regardless of the reason, a gracious host or member of the serving staff accepts the request with a smile and serves. The only question they should pose would be something akin to ‘We do have several very good virgin coctails and non-alcoholic beers if you’d prefer any of that?’.” –vonadler

“NTA”

“Why someone doesn’t want alcohol is not something that should be questioned or mocked.”

“You were absolutely in bounds.” –rapt2right

“NTA. From the title I thought you meant that you were sitting at a table simply taking up space and not ordering anything (which is jerk behavior), but you ordered something. A bartender doesn’t get to dictate if you drink alcohol or not.” –moongirl12

“NTA as someone who used to be a bartender, there is no reason to force you to drink. Hell if you were a DD food and drink was usually on me.” –whiskey_sarcasm

“This!! People don’t drink for lots of reasons, pregnancy, medication, sobering, and as a bartender you have to toe the line between being understanding and hospitable, and a bit of a cheeky a**hole. This guy was just an a**hole!” –Apprehensive-Food205

“NTA. What a weird exchange? Does he make a commission off of alcohol or something?” –MerryE

“It’s never cool to pressure someone into drinking alcohol especially when they’ve made it clear they don’t want it. And it’s not like you sat down to take up space at a busy place with the intent of not spending any money, you still ordered a drink and the person you were there with did too so idk what the bartenders problem was. NTA.” –InkGeode

“NTA, I’m 24 and I really don’t drink much so that would’ve pissed me off too. Sometimes adults just want a non-alcoholic drink.” –Crailtep

“NTA, bartender should have just poured the damn Coke. It’s not his job to judge customers, if I were the business owner I would have been pissed.” –DungeonMob42

“Wow, that bartender was a butthead! I can’t stand people like that! He was trying to embarrass you in front of your gf and strangers. I would have left, too. Don’t feel bad about that jerk.” –BatDance3121

Hopefully OP can avoid any future run-ins with this bartender.

Written by Peter Karleby

Peter Karleby is a writer, content producer and performer originally from Michigan. His writing has also appeared on YourTango, Delish and Medium, and he has produced content for NBC, The New York Times and The CW, among others. When not working, he can be found tripping over his own feet on a hiking trail while singing Madonna songs to ward off lurking bears.