Professional glassware guide: the right glass and the right capacity for every drink
Most drinks in a café, bar or restaurant need only a few types of glass: a tumbler for water and soft drinks, a highball for long drinks, a stemmed wine glass, a flute for champagne and an old fashioned (rocks) glass for whisky. If you serve cocktails, beer, freddo coffee or shots, each of these needs its own glass too.
Below you will find each glass on its own: which drink it is for, its usual capacity in ml and its price range at e-costos.gr. If you only need the numbers, the “How many ml does each glass hold” table has them all in one place, and the full range is in our professional glassware category.
In store you will find Uniglass for everyday use, toughened glasses from Vicrila in Spain, crystal from Crystal Bohemia and Rona for wine, and Yuk, our own brand, whose stackable glasses are among our best sellers.
Before you buy
Start from your drinks menu. A café mainly needs water and freddo glasses, while a cocktail bar needs highballs, tumblers and stemmed glasses for the cocktails served without ice.
Then work out how many you need. Count your covers, how quickly glasses come back from the glasswasher and how many break over the season. Glasses are sold in packs of 6, 12 or more, and every price in this guide is per glass including VAT.
Finally, choose the material. In busy bars and cafés, toughened glasses break far less often, so you spend less on replacements. Where wine is a key part of the menu, crystal looks better on the table. You can see every glass we have in stock at our showroom in Thessaloniki and hold it in your hand before you buy.
Water and soft drink glasses (tumblers)
The water glass is the first thing on the table and goes through the glasswasher more often than any other, so it has a big effect on your replacement costs. Most water glasses hold 305 to 395 ml, with 350 ml the most common size.
Many of them are tumblers, which are also used for juice, freddo coffee or a spirit on the rocks. That way, a single range of tumblers covers most needs, both front of house and behind the bar. If storage space is tight, go for stackable ones.
For everyday use, the Uniglass Grande Midi 35 cl tumbler is one of our best sellers. In toughened glass, the equivalent is the Vicrila Sidra Midi 36 cl. Water glasses start from €0.57 each.
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Water glasses and tumblers
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Tall glasses: highball and collins
Tall glasses are for long drinks, soft drinks and juices over ice. There are two types:
- Highball. Shorter. For a spirit with a mixer or soda, such as a gin and tonic, a Cuba Libre or vodka and juice.
- Collins. Taller, and holds slightly more. For cocktails with lemon, sugar and soda, such as the Tom Collins and the Mojito.
Most tall glasses hold around 360 ml. For juices and small bottles of soft drink, a smaller glass of around 240 ml is enough.
If your bar is busy and the glasses are constantly going through the glasswasher, choose a toughened highball such as the Vicrila Jerte. If shelf space is tight, the stackable Yuk highball nests one inside the other. For something more distinctive, the Yuk Elyz range has a cut-pattern highball and tumbler in the same design, so water and drinks match on the table. At e-costos.gr tall glasses start from €0.42.
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Highball glasses
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Glasses for freddo and coffee
Freddo espresso, freddo cappuccino and frappé need a glass with room for ice and milk foam, usually 300 to 370 ml.
A freddo glass spends all day going from ice to a hot glasswasher. In a café that is busy all day, toughened glass is worth it, because it copes with sudden changes in temperature (see section 10).
The Pasabahce Otto 31.5 cl tumbler is the standard glass for freddo and frappé; for a larger freddo, there is the Uniglass King 41 cl. For a hot cappuccino or tea, the Yuk Lines 40 cl glass mug lets the drink show through, and for espresso there is the Pasabahce 8.5 cl glass cup with its saucer.
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Freddo and coffee
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Wine glasses
Wine glasses usually hold 350 to 530 ml, with 440 ml the most common size. Choose a larger glass for red wine and a smaller one for white and rosé, so the wine stays cool. If you prefer one glass for every wine, one of around 400 ml covers them all.
A wine glass is never filled to the top: the serve reaches roughly the widest point of the bowl, so the ml in the product name is not the measure you pour.
On a stemmed glass, the stem and the rim are what break most easily, mainly in the glasswasher and when polishing. So choose according to the kind of place you run:
- Busy taverna: a basic, inexpensive glass, such as the Uniglass King 38 cl.
- Restaurant where glasses are constantly going through the glasswasher: a toughened glass, such as the Vicrila Mencia 44 cl.
- Wine bar, or a restaurant where wine is the main product: a crystal glass, such as the Crystal Bohemia Strix 45 cl.
At e-costos.gr wine glasses start from €0.82.
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Wine glasses
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Champagne glasses: flute or coupe?
For champagne, prosecco and other sparkling wines, the usual choice is the flute. The coupe is now used mainly for cocktails (see section 07).
Flutes hold 175 to 245 ml and come in three versions: standard glass, such as the Uniglass King 22 cl; toughened, such as the Vicrila Chardonnay 17.5 cl; and crystal, such as the Crystal Bohemia Colibri 22 cl.
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Champagne glasses
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Whisky glasses (old fashioned / rocks)
In a bar, whisky is served in an old fashioned glass, also called a rocks glass. Its heavy base keeps it steady on the bar top, and it is the glass for cocktails built in the glass, such as the Old Fashioned. At the most common size of 320 ml, it holds one large ice cube and the measure.
Cut-pattern designs, such as the Uniglass Royal 30.5 cl and the Yuk Elyz 32 cl, look more upmarket. Where glasses are constantly knocked on the bar, the toughened Vicrila Saphira 30 cl lasts longer.
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Whisky glasses
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Cocktail glasses: coupe, martini, Nick & Nora, tiki
The recipe decides the glass. Anything served without ice goes into a stemmed glass, so the hand does not warm the drink, while cocktails with plenty of ice go into a tall glass.
| Type | Shape | For which cocktails | Capacity in our range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coupe | Stemmed, with a shallow, wide bowl | Cocktails served without ice, shaken or stirred, such as the Daiquiri and the Clover Club | 135–375 ml, usually 240 ml |
| Martini | Stemmed, with a V-shaped bowl | Dry Martini, Cosmopolitan | 190–280 ml, usually 230 ml |
| Nick & Nora | Small stemmed glass with a deeper, rounded bowl | Small stirred cocktails, served without ice | 155–170 ml |
| Margarita | Wide rim, for salt or sugar | Margarita, frozen cocktails | 240–330 ml |
| Tiki | Tall, embossed, often shaped like a mask | Tropical rum cocktails with crushed ice | Usually 380–475 ml |
An affordable coupe is the Uniglass Kouros 23 cl; if stemmed glasses break often in your bar, go for the toughened Vicrila Koshu 24 cl. For tropical cocktails, Yuk has a 41 cl tiki glass. For bar tools (shakers, jiggers, strainers), see our bartender tools guide.
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Cocktail glasses
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Beer glasses
Beer glasses usually hold around 385 ml, so a 330 ml bottle fits with a little room for the head. The stemmed Uniglass Ariadne 43 cl looks more refined on the table, while the Iceberg 36 cl, also from Uniglass, is more practical behind the bar and in the glasswasher.
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Beer glasses
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Shot and liqueur glasses: how many ml is a shot?
A shot glass usually holds 25 to 30 ml. The shot glasses in our range hold 20 to 40 ml to the brim, and most hold 30 ml. A shot is poured almost to the top, so the size of the glass decides how much you serve and how much each shot costs you.
Liqueur glasses are larger, usually 60 ml and up, and often stemmed. Shot glasses come in large packs: the Yuk Vegas 2.6 cl comes in a case of 72 and costs €0.30 each. There is also the Uniglass Mini 4 cl, for a bigger measure.
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Shot and liqueur glasses
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Standard glass, toughened, crystal or polycarbonate?
The material decides how many glasses will break over the year and where you can use them.
| Material | What it is | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Standard glass | Glass with no heat treatment | Everyday use, at a low cost per glass |
| Toughened (tempered) | Glass that is heated and then cooled rapidly, so it stands up better to knocks | Busy bars, cafés and hotels with a glasswasher |
| Crystal | Thinner, clearer glass | Wine, restaurants, wine bars |
| Polycarbonate | Tough plastic that looks like glass | Poolside, beach bars and anywhere glass is not allowed |
Vicrila toughened glasses have been made in Spain since 1957. The glass is heated to around 700 °C and then cooled rapidly, which makes it 4 to 5 times stronger than standard glass. They also cope with sudden changes in temperature, such as going from a hot glasswasher straight to ice. If one does break, it shatters into small pieces that are less sharp than standard glass, so it can be swept up with less risk to customers and staff.
At e-costos.gr you will find more than 60 Vicrila lines in stock, covering almost every type in this guide, from €1.35. They include the Tuvo 31 cl highball and the stackable Rocky Stack 28 cl tumbler.
OFFER OF THE WEEK · UNTIL SUNDAY 25/10
−10% on all Vicrila toughened glasses
Enter the code VICRILA10 in your basket for 10% off glasses in the Unbreakables Vicrila category, until Sunday 25 October at 23:59. The discount does not apply to Clearance products.
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Vicrila toughened glasses
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Crystal glasses have a thinner rim and are clearer, so the colour of the wine shows properly. Crystal Bohemia, from the Czech Republic, makes the Strix and Colibri crystal glasses you saw in the wine and champagne sections. With Rona glasses from Slovakia, the stem and bowl are formed from a single piece of glass (pulled stem), which according to the manufacturer makes the glass stronger; one example is the Mode 43.5 cl. Italy’s Luigi Bormioli uses lead-free crystal with a reinforced rim, as on the Sublime 40 cl. Crystal glasses start from €1.48.
For pools and beach bars, polycarbonate glasses do not shatter like glass. One example is the Yuk 49.5 cl stemmed wine glass. You will find more in our guide to polycarbonate glasses for pools and beach bars and in the plastic glasses category.
Stackable glasses for bars, restaurants and hotels
In busy venues, space behind the bar and in the storeroom is often limited. Stackable glasses make better use of every shelf, keep equipment organised and stay within easy reach of staff during service. For safe stacking, choose glasses designed for the purpose and follow the manufacturer’s specifications. They come as tumblers and highballs, in a range of capacities:
| If you need | Choose |
|---|---|
| A tumbler for everyday use | The Yuk 26.6 cl tumbler (our best-selling stackable glass) or the smaller 20.5 cl |
| A highball | The Yuk 34 cl highball, the Onis Summit 35.5 cl or the Bormioli Rocco Novecento 40.5 cl |
| Durability under frequent washing and knocks | Vicrila toughened glasses: the Rocky Stack 28 cl tumbler and the Beck Stack 36 cl highball |
| A more refined presentation on the table | Pasabahce Timeless Stack with a cut pattern, as a 35.5 cl tumbler and a 36 cl highball |
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How many ml does each glass hold?
The table shows the usual capacity of each type of glass, based on the glasses e-costos.gr has in stock in October 2026. Capacity is measured with the glass filled to the brim. The measure you serve is always smaller, to leave room for ice or a head.
| Glass | For | Usual capacity | Typical size | Lines in stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | Water, soft drinks | 305–395 ml | 350 ml | 116 |
| Tumbler | Water, juice, spirits on the rocks | 250–375 ml | 310 ml | 87 |
| Highball, collins | Long drinks, soft drinks | 320–420 ml | 360 ml | 112 |
| Freddo | Freddo, frappé | 300–370 ml | 330 ml | 111 |
| Wine | Wine | 350–530 ml | 440 ml | 82 |
| Champagne (flute) | Champagne, sparkling wine | 175–245 ml | 215 ml | 20 |
| Whisky (old fashioned) | Whisky, cocktails on ice | 280–355 ml | 320 ml | 65 |
| Coupe | Cocktails without ice | 135–375 ml | 240 ml | 28 |
| Tiki | Tropical cocktails | 380–475 ml | 400 ml | 27 |
| Beer | Beer | 365–455 ml | 385 ml | 24 |
| Shot | Shots | 25–30 ml | 30 ml | 10 |
| Liqueur | Liqueurs, neat spirits | 60–180 ml | 65 ml | 20 |
In product names, capacity is given in cl (centilitres). Since 1 cl = 10 ml, just multiply by 10:
| cl | 2 cl | 5 cl | 20 cl | 25 cl | 28 cl | 35 cl | 50 cl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ml | 20 ml | 50 ml | 200 ml | 250 ml | 280 ml | 350 ml | 500 ml |
Frequently asked questions
How many ml is a shot?
A shot glass usually holds 25 to 30 ml to the brim. At e-costos.gr shot glasses hold 20 to 40 ml, and most hold 30 ml. Because a shot is poured almost to the top, the size of the glass decides how much you serve.
How many ml is 35 cl?
35 cl is 350 ml. A centilitre (cl) is 10 ml, so just multiply by 10: 20 cl is 200 ml, 25 cl is 250 ml and 50 cl is 500 ml. The capacity in glass product names is measured with the glass filled to the brim.
How many ml does a wine glass hold?
Most professional wine glasses hold 350 to 530 ml to the brim, usually around 440 ml. The measure you serve is much smaller and reaches roughly the widest point of the bowl.
How many ml is a water glass?
A professional water glass usually holds 305 to 395 ml, with 350 ml the most common size. For a soft drink with plenty of ice, a highball of around 360 ml is used, and for juice a smaller highball of around 240 ml.
Highball or collins: what is the difference?
Both are tall glasses for drinks with ice. The highball is shorter, for a spirit with a mixer or soda, such as a gin and tonic. The collins is taller and holds slightly more, for cocktails with lemon, sugar and soda, such as the Tom Collins.
Are toughened glasses really unbreakable?
They break much less easily than standard glass. Vicrila toughened glasses are made from tempered glass that is 4 to 5 times stronger than standard glass, and they cope with sudden changes in temperature from a hot glasswasher to ice. If one does break, it shatters into small pieces that are less sharp than standard glass.
Where can I see the glasses in person in Thessaloniki?
You can see every glass we have in stock at the 4,500 m² Costos Cash & Carry showroom, at km 9 of the Thessaloniki–Moudania road, and hold it in your hand. If you order from e-costos.gr, your order is ready for collection within 20 minutes, or you can have it delivered anywhere in Greece.
Free equipment advice from Costos
The Costos equipment advisor can help you put together your glassware list based on your menu, your covers and your space. If you are fitting out a whole dining room, see also our guide to restaurant equipment.
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