What additional costs can I expect when visiting a restaurant in the US where service is included?
- By
- Aparna Patel
- |
- 23 Jul, 2023
- |
I dined at Per Se last night, so I guess there’s a 20% chance that you’ll be dining there as well (there are only 5 three-star’s in New York as of 2018).
When the bill came, it was very clear that gratuity was already included. I even received a beautifully hand-written bill with no spot for additional gratuity. The staff were excellent and I have no doubt that it would not be held against you if you did not include an additional tip. Especially as your bill can easily reach $1,000 for two people without even buying wine. And if I were dining for something that was not a special occasion, I would probably have left it at that.
However on our occasion (10 year wedding anniversary and my wife’s birthday) they really went the extra mile. We received personal touches and a note from the sous-chef, complimentary champagne, and they sent an additional goodie bag home for our kids. And because we’re not big drinkers, we we went with non-alcoholic beverages which they did not charge us for and the bar tender saw to us personally and honestly stole the show with his non-alcoholic c**ktails.
With these extra above-and-beyond touches, we did leave an additional 10% tip on top of the already-included gratiuity – mostly because of the bar tender.
“Inclusive of service” should mean that you are not expected to tip. That doesn’t mean that you can’t tip if you want to, especially if the service was good. The US restaurant business is pretty much wedded to tips, and they will be appreciated no matter what. However a Michelin 3-star restaurant should be paying its wait staff a decent wage, with or without tips.
Yes, there will be sales tax on top of the price (unless you are in a state where there is no sales tax).
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘
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