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Next wave? LA restaurant offers water menu with $20 bottle

A line up of waters offered on the Ray's and Stark water menu in Los Angeles.
Melissa Magsaysay | NBC

Wine sommeliers, move over. There's a new drink expert in town, and he's serving up water.

Martin Riese, general manager and certified water sommelier of Ray's and Stark Bar in Los Angeles, has created a water menu of 20 mineral waters from 10 countries. The water menu, which debuted August 5, is presented to diners just like a wine list or food menu.

Guests can read thorough a description on each bottle, including a detailed account of the taste, the mineral content, and the "TDS"—total dissolved solids—which, Riese says, affects the taste of the water. A low TDS means a smooth, clean drink and high TDS ensures a bitter, salty and often metallic taste.

"This is the next movement in food and beverage," Riese told TODAY.com about the water menu, which has taken him two years to develop. "It's the same way there's been a lot of attention on crafted cocktails and beer—water is the next evolution, the next step."


"Serving water in this way is not pretentious at all," he said, addressing critics. "Just go to the Shell gas station up the street … they sell 18 different brands of water! People realize they have a favorite brand. This is just presenting the water in a more formal way, while educating guests."

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"People are really excited about the variety," Riese said. "I thought they would go with the familiar like Perrier, but they are curious about other brands. Many women are even asking to keep the [water menu], because it has so much information in it."

But not all patrons are buying into the hype.

"I don't really go for things like this," Ronit Nabi, who was having lunch at Ray's and Stark, told TODAY.com. Because she is five months pregnant, Nabi tried the water service instead of wine, but she said it doesn't hold a candle to wine tasting: "It's cute and creative, but I can't tell the difference between different brands of water."


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"Giving people options is what's important to me," said Riese, who aims to keep adding more water brands to his wet menu. "So far there has not been one brand that's been the most popular. People are being adventurous and trying water they've never had before. The process is fun for them."

By Melissa Magsaysay, TODAY contributor.