A Michelin-recommended restaurant in Cheshire has launched an entire menu of bottled water that will cost £19.
La Popote in Macclesfield, Cheshire, a French restaurant which is in the Michelin Guide for has introduced the UK’s first ‘water menu’
Joseph Rawlins, 32, co-owner and head chef at the casual fine dining restaurant is working alongside Doran Binder, who is one of the UK’s five water sommeliers.
The idea was first pitched by Mr Binder, 52, two years ago, and he got the green light from Joseph to start putting the menu together in January.
Doran, from the village of Wildboarclough in Cheshire, spent the last seven months choosing the perfect bottles from across Europe, including France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Iceland, and the UK.
The menu includes seven bottles from three still selections and four sparkling.
Doran has his own bottled water on the menu, Crag Spring Water sourced from his village in the Peak District, which costs £5.
From there, the prices go all the way up to £19 for Portuguese sparkling water, The Palace of Vidago.
The premium waters will be served in wine glasses, to give customers who don’t drink wine or other alcohol a similar experience to those who do.
Water sommelier Doran Binder – one of only five in the UK – has spent the last seven months putting together the bottled water menu for La Popote
Doran chose the waters based on their total dissolved liquids (TDS), which affects flavour and mouth feel
Doran chose the waters based on their total dissolved liquids (TDS), which affects flavour and mouth feel. The sparkling waters are sohwn
Joe said: ‘The restaurant scene has changed a lot over the years we have been getting fewer big tables more groups of twos and fours.
‘That means at least one person there will mostly likely be driving and not be drinking as such.
‘To try and keep up with the market we wanted to offer something a bit different.
‘Everything has been positive, it is a bit of fun, and we are looking forward to seeing where it goes.’
Joseph, who trained at Gordon Ramsay’s Tante Marie cooking school, has been co-owner of La Popote with his partner Gaëlle Radigon, 37, since 2019.
He said that when he and Gaëlle took over the restaurant six years ago, they only kept a handful of previous suppliers, one being Doran.
They have since transformed the acclaimed restaurant and, as of 2022, La Popote has been listed in the Michelin Guide.
Doran has been selling his award-winning water at the casual fine dining restaurant since 2018.
Doran (left) and Joseph say that a water menu will give customers who don’t drink alcohol something ‘different’ to try while dining at the restaurant
Joseph said he and partner Gaëlle, who co-owns La Popote with him, ‘have noticed in the last 18 months a lot of people don’t drink as much and are looking for an alternative to alcohol’
He invited Joseph and Gaëlle for a water tasting in June 2023, which was when he also pitched his idea for a bottled water menu.
Joseph recalled: ‘He had pitched the idea to us and we had a laugh about it as we were unsure what he meant by it at first.
‘He then invited us down for a water tasting and that’s when we realised that water isn’t just water and explained he thinks there is an exciting new market.’
According to Doran, water has flavour that is established through the number of total dissolved solids (TDS) found in the liquid.
These solids include minerals which the water has absorbed naturally from the earth before it is taken from the source and bottled.
TDS levels can range from super low, between 0 to 50, to super high, which is over 1,200.
Doran believes the perfect hydration level is between 100 and 200.
While the couple were intrigued by the idea, they postponed it after Joseph and Gaëlle welcomed their first child in 2023.
Joseph and Gaëlle took over La Popote in 2019 and in 2022, it was listed in the Michelin Guide
It was postponed again when Gaëlle became pregnant last year, so it wasn’t until January 2025 when they decided to go ahead with the water menu.
Joseph said: ‘During that period we had been wanting to give it a go having a water menu.
‘We have noticed in the last 18 months a lot of people don’t drink as much and are looking for an alternative to alcohol.
‘With Gaëlle also having a little one and being pregnant, also breastfeeding, there is a limit to what she can drink.
‘We thought there was space for it so why not?’
While working on putting the menu together, Doran changed it three times over the last seven months as he sought to create the perfect menu.
For the still water selection, Doran chose the sharp, dry and metallic-tasting super-low TDS water in Icelandic Glacier Water (£12).
His own Crag Spring Water (£5) made for the perfect mid-range TDS, as it has no flavour but offers a smooth, silky mouth feel.
Doran’s final choice for the still water selection is from the brand 22 Artesian Water, from La Rioja, Spain (£11), which has a smooth mouth feel and a delicate mineral taste.
As for the sparkling water selection, the water sommelier opted for a £9 Vichy Celastin, which is delicate and sweet, and The Palace of Vidago (£19) for its high TDS, which gives it a delicately salty flavour.
He also picked sparkling Crag (£5.50) and the low-TDS Lauretana (£12) sparkling water, which has a sharp and dry mouth feel.
Doran said: ‘I had been working on a water menu for the last three or four years trying to get a restaurant to pick it up but it has been really difficult.
‘People thought it was a joke and a gimmick but it was exciting when La Popote took me on.
‘What I have done is put together a quality range of interesting water.
‘It is a selection showing off the different TDS water has to offer.
‘They all have different tastes, mouth feels, and offer a different perspective on dining at a restaurant.’
He believes the different waters ‘will elevate the dining experience for non-drinkers like myself and millions of others who aren’t interested in a wine menu’.
“Being able to chose a water with a story, something special and unique that you couldn’t just get from a shop is elevating that experience,’ Doran continued.
‘The water will be served in a wine glass, water will be put on a stage, and showed respect.
‘I could have put hundreds on the menu all for different reasons. It was really hard to narrow it down and I feel bad about leaving some out. The menu will hopefully grow and expand.’
La Popote’s water menu will be fully available from next Friday (August 22).
Dining and Cooking