Coffee grilled on a ridiculous water charge

It is a reputation that encourages breakfast lovers to queue patiently at the Alexandria restaurant to enjoy home cooking each weekend.

But among the potted plants and cattle, a menu item deeply disrupted Sydneysider Nick Stoll, who arrived to have a late lunch with his girlfriend.

He saw that a humble bottle of water was badped for a whopping $ 10. He quickly turned to social media to express his dismay.

"Are you making fun of me Sydney?", He writes next to a photo of the menu item.

Shortly after posting it on a range of social media channels, the 26-year-old was inundated with commentary responses.

Many said he should not be surprised, given that he was in one of the most popular and fashionable cafes in Central West.

"I mean it's The Grounds, aka" this place where you line up for food and you have to take a mortgage to pay for your breakfast "- what were you waiting for?" , Commented a cynical commentator.

However, as the menu shows, it is not an old water. It is the mineral water Antipodes, that customers can consume in flat or foamy form.

Incredibly, The Grounds has launched a fierce response to critics saying at news.com.au that it's "amazing that people have nothing better to do with their time" than complaining about water on the networks social.

"Cree me a river (antipodes a pure artesian water) is what I would say first, I guess if you want a bottle of this quality beer, you're really going to have to splash yourself," said the director of the coffee brand at news .com.au.

"For those who do not want to pay for water, we recommend you tap it (if you know what I mean). We have tap water in all our rooms. "

But the cynics make fun of the product description of the menu to say that it has refreshing qualities for the soul.

"A carbon-neutral process that produces pure artesian water from the depths of New Zealand sources that will refresh your soul and your taste buds," the menu says.

And, as commentators on social media have pointed out, this chic water mark can cost you $ 6 per liter even if you buy it at a store. So while it seemed expensive on the menu, it is actually a price plus a restaurant.

"Antipodean water usually costs about $ 6 a liter, so it's not so outrageous in a café," wrote one commentator.

"Mineral water costs everywhere you go. If you do not want it, do not order it. Ask for tap water, "added another.

The Grounds spokesperson admitted that the flowery language was not very effective.

"If this exercise has taught us to revisit our writing much more often, who says" water … that will refresh your soul and your taste buds "? We are better than that! We will modify this copy immediately, "he said.

The "refreshing for the soul" water is offered by Dan Murphy's for just over $ 5 – and some of the customer reviews are to say the least.

"There are so many waters in the world," began a critic. "Heaps in the oceans. Heaps are spreading in the water systems of cities around the world. But of all the water, it is the best. "

"I've never tasted a sparkling water better and more refreshing than this one from New Zealand," wrote another. "Best of all, it's an unpretentious glbad bottle. Do yourself a favor and ask for the best.

"This water is a pure refreshment. The distinctive glbad bottles are beautiful, especially when they come out of the fridge, all fresh and frosty. You can not resist pouring glbad after glbad.

However, not everyone was impressed.

"Too expensive.Not refreshing.Taste like an old rusty bucket sitting in the rain.And the mineral water should not have a taste of sulfur."

The antipodean water comes to the surface under its own pressure, from an aquifer 327 m deep, and is bottled at the source in Plenty Bay, New Zealand.

"The source has been recognized as the deepest and highest quality of groundwater in New Zealand," says the product.

"Natural filtration through an ignimbrite substrate means that the antipodes require no treatment and are one of the very few natural and pure mineral waters available. Antipodes sparkling water, carbonated with the finest pearl, is the ideal partner for fine foods. "

However, Mr. Stoll was not impressed by the way he was marketed on The Grounds menu.

"They are free to sell what they want, but the one who pays double digit water must contact me to invest in snake oil purifying the soul that I bad. ", he told news.com.au.

"For the record, I have not tried it. Maybe it changes your life. Once you've paid $ 10 for the water, you will not be coming back … to this restaurant. "

The bomb comes just months after a nearby café, a few blocks away, sold sauce to its customers for $ 6 a pop.

Dozens of online condiment fans have sharply criticized the accusation – at Cafe 101 – after an unhappy customer posted a photo on social media.

Customer feedback was so strong that coffee manager Eli Farrah had to change the menu and apologize to customers.

"We always listen to feedback and learn from our customers every day," he said. "Sometimes you make mistakes."

News.com.au contacted The Grounds for comment.