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Water culture2 min read

A fresh place for water at the North American table.

A look at thoughtful alcohol-free hospitality in the United States and Canada, and what it can teach us about serving water.

Words by Riora Editorial
Outdoor restaurant tables and woven chairs along a sidewalk in Little Italy, New York
Sidewalk tables in Little Italy, New York. Illustrative dining photography.Photo: Abhinav Bhardwaj / Unsplash

What makes a drink feel like part of the meal? Sometimes it’s a flavour pairing. Sometimes it’s simply being offered a real choice. Examples from American restaurants and Toronto’s events scene show how much attention a glass can receive when hosts plan for everyone.

Beyond the wine list.

In its January 2026 guide to nonalcoholic restaurant pairings, MICHELIN describes US beverage teams developing drinks around the food itself. At San Francisco’s Birdsong, for example, an alcohol-free pairing brings together fermented rice drink, tea and other ingredients to accompany a mushroom dish.

Those elaborate drinks aren’t water, and they don’t represent every restaurant in North America. They do offer a useful hospitality idea: a guest choosing an alcohol-free drink can receive as much thought as anyone else at the table. Water can be part of that considered offer, alongside other clearly described choices.

Further reading MICHELIN Guide · Nonalcoholic restaurant pairings in the US

A Canadian perspective on feeling included.

Destination Toronto’s event-planning guide asks hosts to build nonalcoholic choices into their plans from the beginning. Its contributors also recommend tasting those drinks alongside the food, rather than treating the beverage decision as a final detail.

For a home dinner, our version is smaller: decide on the drinks while you decide on the meal. If some guests love bubbles and others prefer still, make both easy to find. You can bring that care to a picnic or a weekday lunch just as easily as a celebration.

Further reading Destination Toronto · Thoughtful nonalcoholic service

Make a tiny water menu of your own.

You don’t need a printed list. Tell people what’s available: still, sparkling, citrus-led or herbal. Keep an unflavoured option in the mix when you can, and let guests choose without asking them to explain their preference.

For Riora cans, Bold and Light each come as still in PET and sparkling in aluminium. Active is sparkling aluminium only. A mixed can pack can include both still and sparkling, so a shared table doesn’t have to settle on one texture. Glass belongs to a separate format choice.

These US and Canadian examples are a window into particular hospitality practices, not a summary of a whole continent. The idea worth taking home is less about following a trend and more about making the person opposite you feel welcome.

A good host makes every drink choice feel considered.
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Find your own good pairing.

Still, sparkling, or a little of both. Make a mix for whatever’s on the table.

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