WTF! MANHATTAN RESTAURANT CHARGES $2.00 FOR ICE!

The case of a trendy Manhattan eatery and bar charging extra for ice is becoming a tempest in a shot glass.

The drama began at downtown hotspot The Darby after a patron noticed a $2 surcharge added to the already hefty price tag on his $13 Grey Goose.

The receipt, with the charge "Rocks: $2" was then published on the food blog Eater, which called the tab an outrageous rip-off.

The restaurant shrugged off those charges calling the add-on business as usual.

"Drinks with ice get a bigger pour, Patrick Robertson, general manager told the Daily News. "We charge more because we use more alcohol for a drink served with ice. We're not charging for the ice."

The price goes up even more for upper tier top shelf spirits like Johnny Walker Gold.

"For that we add a $4 upcharge. Again, it's more alcohol," Robertson said.

As for the incensed Eater post, Robertson chalked it up to consumer ignorance.

"Clearly, this person doesn't go out much and doesn't know how things work," he said. "Many bars do this. Perhaps their computer systems don't register it on the bar tab."

But calls to other joints on par with The Darby found fellow barkeeps scratching their heads over the chilly charge.

Responses to Daily News queries as to whether they charged for ice ranged from, "No, but I see why The Darby does it," to "Are you kidding?"

Audrey Saunders, the mixologist behind the Soho cocktail mecca Pegu Club, was simply appalled at the idea of charging for ice.

"Shame on any other bar/restaurant that actually subscribes to such a practice. Not only would we – NEVER - do such a thing, but NO reputable bar ever would either," she told The News in an email.

Joe Santos, a manager at the Tribeca nightlife staple The Odeon said that he'd never heard of charging more for a drink served on the rocks.

"We charge the same for a drink whether it's served neat or on the rocks," said Santos. "A drink served up, like in a martini, yes, we charge more."

Tom Chatham, of the cocktail specialty bar Dram in Williamsburg, said his establishment charges the same for a drink ordered neat or on the rocks.

Calls to Dutch Kills Bar in Long Island City and the East Village's PDT further stirred the debate.

Both offer specialty "expensive ice," but neither watering hole tacks on extra dough.

"We get our ice from Okamoto Studios," Dutch Kills bartender Zachary Gelnaw-Rubin said. "It's crystal clear, no bubbles or impurities. It's hand-cut in a way that doesn't dilute the drink or alter the flavor."

Okamoto Studios is a Long Island City-based company that creates artisan ice with an active ingredient that causes the ice to melt more slowly.

Momofuku Ssam Bar did once charge $1 for the laser-cut ice. The News could not confirm whether the bar still charges extra for the high-class rocks.

Fancy, schmancy, Pegu Club's Saunders said she finds the practice of ice charges across-the-board "unconscionable."

"The only scenarios in which we'll add an ‘upcharge' is if someone orders a Martini or Manhattan - or orders a cocktail and directs us to substitute with a ‘super-premium' or ‘ultra-premium' spirit in it."


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