Would you eat at a restaurant that didn't serve alcohol?

[Yearn]

If a restaurant served only soft drinks and alcohol-free beers/wines/cocktails would you eat there on an evening? Even on a Friday/Saturday night. No BYOB either.

YABU - Yes, I would eat there even on a weekend night.
YANBU - No, I wouldn't eat there on an evening.

..’alcohol-free culture (Lebanese for example)

Ever heard of arak?

We made an online booking for dinner for a ladies night out, a birthday celebration, we were rung by the staff to say they didn't serve alcohol. We cancelled the reservation and went elsewhere so we could celebrate with a drink! So glad they rung us as we would have been a bit disappointed not to have a few glasses to celebrate our birthdays!

"There's a real blindspot regarding alcohol consumption and attitudes where people think that if they drink naice alcohol in naice restaurants or in their naice house at the end of a busy day/stressful week that they're obviously very different to the alcoholics"

Well, it is different to being an alcoholic if they're not addicted to drink, isn't it? Why do you want to make out that anyone who likes a drink is an alcoholic?

@Gwenhwyfar

"There's a real blindspot regarding alcohol consumption and attitudes where people think that if they drink naice alcohol in naice restaurants or in their naice house at the end of a busy day/stressful week that they're obviously very different to the alcoholics"

Well, it is different to being an alcoholic if they're not addicted to drink, isn't it? Why do you want to make out that anyone who likes a drink is an alcoholic?

I agree what a silly post

So if they have a drink in a restaurant a few times a year or at the end of the week there’s no difference?

"‘Would you, as a drinker, consider going?’ It hardly needs to be said that a teetotaller would go."

I think a teetotaller with friends who do drink probably wouldn't go either.
I mainly eat vegetarian food, but I'd understand if omnivorous friends didn't want to go to a vegetarian restaurant. I wouldn't accuse them of being addicted to meat.

"So if they have a drink in a restaurant a few times a year or at the end of the week there’s no difference?"

I drink most weekends, but my house is not naice so it's OK.

@Gwenhwyfar - I am sure your house is perfectly lovely and a drink or two at the weekend - I can't see the fuss about. Nor the odd one in the week - but hey what do I know - I have a problem ha ha . Actually I do not and have a consultant who has told me this with blood tests for another condition.

@Gwenhwyfar

"‘Would you, as a drinker, consider going?’ It hardly needs to be said that a teetotaller would go."

I think a teetotaller with friends who do drink probably wouldn't go either.
I mainly eat vegetarian food, but I'd understand if omnivorous friends didn't want to go to a vegetarian restaurant. I wouldn't accuse them of being addicted to meat.

I agree. I don't drink, but alcohol-free restaurants are dull places, especially in the evening.

I think the point isn’t that a glass of wine with dinner is an addiction, but that even if the food in a restaurant was amazing, you wouldn’t go there because you can’t drink that points to an addiction. Once you associate alcohol with eating and don’t enjoy eating without wine then the focus has become more about the wine than the meal

This is such bollocks.

It would never be said in France. A country where people do not binge drink and get drunk with the same banal, tedious and disastrous effect as we do here with our ‘wine o clock’ and endless stupid prosecco obsessed birthday cards and pub crawls etc etc.

A country where school lunches and factory canteens feature 3 course meals with fresh salads and fresh herbs, where quality of food and cooking is valued more highly. Despite being a wine producing country (wine being the drink most associated with drinking) France has lower levels if alcoholism than the UK.

Most people I know are far more likely to drink a nice white wine with fish in a restaurant whilst drinking water with fish fingers when they eat at home.

Do they allow you to bring your own alcohol?

"I think the point isn’t that a glass of wine with dinner is an addiction, but that even if the food in a restaurant was amazing, you wouldn’t go there because you can’t drink that points to an addiction. Once you associate alcohol with eating and don’t enjoy eating without wine then the focus has become more about the wine than the meal"

What rubbish. I don't always drink alcohol in restaurants, especially during the day, but I want the choice to do so or not.

Alcohol free doesn't bother me at all. I rarely drink; and I don't think wine goes with Asian food anyway. Restaurants that don't do desserts and/or coffee bother me far more!

Personally but wouldn't be bothered but I'd struggle to find a friend to come with me so I put YANBU