Photo by egbphoto

Late last year, we opined that the 29 cents that upscale Italian restaurant Elisir was charging for a glass of filtered water was a little foolish. Tap water is free, after all, and just fine for most of us, thank you very much.

Thankfully, the restaurant backtracked this year, according to a press release posted during a chat hosted by the Washingtonian’s Todd Kliman this morning. The release stated:

In an attempt to offer a better service to our patrons, Elisir Restaurant in its first month of operation implemented a minimum charge of $0.29 per person for filtered/purified water. Elisir’s original intent was to provide a higher quality product to all its guests and to offer the opportunity to consume a better one without incurring out of control bottle charges.

Our goal is, first and foremost, to please our customers by offering a superior quality service and to provide them with the best possible dining experience by implementing a level of attentiveness and comfort with personalized care. It has occurred to us that our water policy is presently not meeting Elisir’s goals. It is therefore our intention to continue on our mission of quality service but with new options.

For this reason Elisir has revised its filtered/purified water charge policy by eliminating the originally imposed $0.29 per person and by implementing an a la carte bottle water charge of $3.95 instead. And of course, D.C.’s tap is always a free option. This policy is effective immediately with the sole intent to better please our clientele with a warmer quality service the way it was intended in the first place.

There you have it. So if you’re enjoying the restaurant’s seven-course $75 menu or 10-course $95 menu, know that you can now opt for the free D.C. tap water to go along with it. Or you can pay the $3.95, which seems similarly foolish. Oh well. One victory at a time.