How to tip in a restaurant

Where is the middle ground between Rockefeller and stingy fella? 4Food examines the etiquette minefield of tipping in restaurants

To tip or not to tip? That is the question. In America, the service culture is such that waiters have been known to walk out into the street after customers who haven't tipped enough. A standard amount to tip over there is 15 per cent, but higher tips of up to 20 per cent, are not uncommon, and non-tippers are regarded as ungrateful and mean.

Stiff upper tip

In Britain, the situation is less clear cut. Although there is no legal requirement that customers should tip in a restaurant, lots of places include a 12.5 per cent 'suggested gratuity' at the bottom of the bill, which they assume that most people will either not notice, or be too embarrassed at the prospect of causing a fuss to ignore. This has been controversial, both because it removes an element of autonomy from the customer (who may, of course, wish to tip more than 12.5 per cent) and also because most people, paying by card, are invited to leave a further gratuity and may end up tipping twice.

New laws introduced in 2009 stopped employers being able to use tip money to make up the minimum wage they pay their staff (a practice of which an estimated 20 per cent of restaurants were guilty). However, while extraneous tips should always be passed on to the waiter, service charge paid with the bill can be kept wholly by the establishment if it chooses. D&D London was one of the first restaurant groups to abolish the service charge in 2009, choosing instead to pool tips between all its serving staff.

Stinge or splurge?

Juan has been a waiter for five years, working everywhere from high street chains to Michelin-starred restaurants. "You'd be surprised how many people with four-figure bills leave really pathetic tips," he says. "I once had to serve a table of six people all drinking vintage wine and champagne, and they tried to leave without even paying the optional service charge. On the other hand, it's amazing how generous some people can be when they've had a very ordinary meal - it's not uncommon to get a twenty quid tip when the meal hasn't cost that much more."

If in doubt, the best approach is to tip around ten per cent of the bill. If the service has been exceptionally good, then tip whatever you fancy, and enjoy the warm glow of generosity all the way home. If, on the other hand, the service has been very bad, then you shouldn't feel the need to tip, even if it is included in the bill.
Many people might find it embarrassing to ask for the service charge to be removed; your best bet is to say, politely but firmly, that you did not feel that the service was up to scratch, and that you do not wish to pay for it. You might not be anyone's favourite customer afterwards, but the waiter cannot legally refuse.

Is DIY the future?

There is no clear solution to the service dilemma, but Stuart Matthews, head chef at Crabtrees Café & Wine Bar in Hadleigh, Suffolk, has devised a new, hassle-free way of ordering. Pads are left by the table for customers to tick what they want to eat, leaving the waiters to fill guests in on what things are, how large the portions are and what ingredients they contain.

Time will tell whether it catches on, but it certainly seems like an idea that deserves its 15 per cent.