Dear Dr. Vinny,
What’s the right way to react when a wineglass breaks in a restaurant?
—Jonathan, Washington, D.C.
Dear Jonathan,
Despite any instincts you may have to run away, hide, cry or be embarrassed, a broken wineglass isn’t a big deal. Accidents happen! Restaurants usually build in a breakage expense into their budgets, and while it’s not ideal, it’s nothing to let sour your evening.
If someone at another table breaks a glass, it’s best to simply go on with your meal. It’s natural to be briefly startled by the sound of breaking glass, but there’s no need to gasp or draw attention to someone else’s accident.
If you or someone at your table breaks a glass, notify a staff member right away if they didn’t hear the kerfuffle. The staff will probably prefer to clean up the broken glass themselves so that you don’t cut yourself. A broken glass isn’t a big deal, but a bleeding finger or hand will put a real damper on the rest of your meal.
If you simply can’t resist the urge to start cleaning up, just be careful. I’d suggest wrapping the glass in a napkin so the staff can dispose of it carefully. Or just push the pieces out of the way (again, with a napkin!) and then let the staff decide how they want to remove and dispose of them.
There might be some dry cleaning bills you should offer to pay if you spilled wine on another guest. (This is also a moment when our guide to removing wine stains might come in handy!) But a wine-stained tablecloth is nothing to worry about. Please just apologize and be gracious, but I wouldn’t linger too long on it.
If your glass was filled with water or soda, I’m sure it will be refilled. But depending on the establishment and the cost of the liquid in the glass, there will probably be a judgment call by the server or manager as to whether or not you get a full refill.
Just be honest—if it was a fresh glass of wine you didn’t get a sip of, say so. But if there was just a sip left, I’d probably tell them not to worry about it. If it’s an $80 glass of Port that you were halfway done with and the break was your fault, maybe just ask for a splash to top off the evening.
No matter what happens, please remember that as the staff was attending to your broken glass, they were unable to attend to other guests. If they seem like they are in a rush once things are handled, that’s probably because they are, so be gracious and polite. And please consider leaving an extra generous tip.
—Dr. Vinny
