Sounds like bribery to me. Hey, I'll give you some money, and in return you reduce the bill I have to pay the company.

But with that said, I am unable to understand the premise of this thread. Unless the restaurant offered club soda free of charge, or the OP had a coupon of some sort entitling him to free soda, on what basis would he expect to not be charged?

Anyone who would drop $450 on a meal really ought not complain about the price of soda. In my mind, the problem is not the price of the soda but the price of the meal itself. $450, really! And then to worry about the tip. Have we no shame?

It's pretty common at a lot of restaurants that, if you order a soft drink after having finished alcohol, they don't charge you for the soft drink.

So, I am curious... if you had asked for the club soda before you got the check and got charged, would you be upset?

I am constantly amazed at how people assume if they got something free from a bartender at one place or a waiter at another place or a hotel in one city, then they assume that is the practice across the brand or restaurant genre.

You ordered the club soda and got charged for what you consumed.

Why not just deduct the price of the club soda from the original tip?

Exactly what I would have done in this situation.

That said, the waiter's behavior was more like I would expect in a casual dining establishment (such as Chili's or Applebee's). But I wouldn't mind at those restaurants because I'm getting 2 entrees for $20 or some other special.

If I order a beverage I expect to pay for it.

I tip based on service received. A tip is a reward for service received, not for a waiter cheating his employer and slipping me something for "free."

If I feel I was overcharged at a restaurant, I don't go back.

For a party of 3, with two bottles of wine. Do you not get out much?

With all due respect, dude, you spent $450 on a dinner and you are worried about 1% more?

Restaurants charge for anything that comes from the bar. I'm betting a glass af ice water would have been free.

Maybe he's spent a lot of time in Europe. I often ask for a bottle of water to take back to my hotel room in London and elsewhere and many times they just hand it to me. I've had comparable meals this year where even the aperitifs weren't charged. I do agree though, you have to expect they will charge you for everything, and if they do, pay it respectfully, especially if you've had a nice meal and good service.

Not at that price point, no.

Last time we dined "upscale" the bill was $136 + tip for a party of 4, one bottle of wine.

It sounds like you were just trying to find some way to justify in your mind a low tip and pay less. That or it's disappointment from a misplaced expectation. If you order it, expect to pay for it. End of story.

Sometimes I'm OFFERED a free drink/dessert/appetizer but I don't punish the waiter whenever it doesn't happen.

Is soda at any bar or restaurant overpriced? Absolutely but you already knew that walking in the door.

It's a classic case of 'death by a thousand cuts.'

I don't agree that the "policy" is contrary to good sense. Count me among the posters here who believe that I should get what I pay for -- and pay for what I get. (Of course I don't want to overblow $4.75, but restaurant profit margins are usually razor-thin; if the restaurant earns a 5% net margin, then 1% of the bill given away for free could be 20% of the profit -- not trivial when you add such cases up across the entire enterprise. This is precisely why they sell "pennies worth" of club soda to make up for lower margins on other items. Almost any restaurant owner will tell you stories about squeezing the nickels and dimes so that he can stay in business.)

I would be very satisfied in life if it were always the case that I paid for what I consumed and did not pay for what I did not consume.

in FT terms, its like buying a full fare J/F ticket and got charged overweight bags by 1kg. perfectly legitamate, but cheap of the restaurant/airline.

now OP is thinking not to return. had they comped the soda that cost pennies, OP is very likely to return and drop another $2-400.

I am with the OP for not returning to the establishment. It's legit, but cheap.