Firstly - I’m so glad I subscribed to your weekly blogs. I find myself looking forward to the next and can’t wait to see what’s coming our way !
On the subject of tipping in Portugal - Lesley & I are generous tippers - however we really only tip generously when the service is EXCELLENT - mediocre service we tip the usual 10%
Loved your waitressing adventure. Still laughing about the bacon. A similar thing happened with a friend of mine who was allergic to something in the salad. The waiter apparently took the salad back to the kitchen and removed the offending food - and my friend ended up in the ER. My up-selling experience was after a singing competition in Daytona Beach, FL. We gathered in the bar and I asked the waiter for a "nice" cabernet and an order of fries. The fries were a little expensive for being served in a dixie cup - $8.00. But okay. We all had a second round - more fries. When I got the bill for 2 wines and 2 fries, it was $80. I would have appreciated if the waiter told me the price of the wine before bringing me a second. My friends who also asked for wine recommendations from our waiter were luckier - they were about $17/glass. I know you must be thinking that they probably serve Ripple in Daytona Beach - home of pick-up trucks on the beach and motorcycles in the streets at all hours of the night. This was at the Hilton Hotel. An oasis in an otherwise desert.
We tip about 10%, but I think that is a totally American habit. I see many people not leaving anything. In Spain our new Mallorcan son-in-law actually chides us when we leave a tip. We've pushed our dinner times back a bit to about 7-7:30 pm but still lunch between 12:00 - 12:30.
Greg, we were out with 2 young couples one night. We picked up the tab and they insisted on leaving the tip. When we realized what the left, Denise made an excuse to return to the restaurant to put more money on the table. I have been with many people that simply round up to the nearest euro...
Armin, thanks for providing that link. Very interesting! I wish I had listened better in my history class and I wish my history classes had included stuff like this.
Tipping is an interesting phenomenon. I expect that the base wage of a server in Portugal provides a “better” income than the minimum wage of a server in the US. Servers rely on their tips to finance their lives in the US…. things like medical and dental care. So I will be interested to learn about minimum wage in Portugal, cost of education and health care. Are servers able to support their families? However, as you noted an excellent server truly impacts our dining experience and in Portugal the dining experience sounds absolutely wonderful . One way to impact their lives and to say thank you is to tip generously.
"The expectation is that you will linger, talk, laugh…savor your time with one another." The US could use a lot more of that! People might be happier here.
It seems that the restaurants in the US are so focused on profit, that the servers are told to keep "flipping the tables." My daughter worked as a server in LA to put herself through nursing school, and they were told to not only flip tables, but also to up-sell (recommend the pricier options, push the more expensive wine, etc). Our tipping system is ridiculous- restaurants don't have to pay even a minimum wage, relying on customers to cover most of the servers income. My friends from Australia came to visit and thought 10% was a very generous tip - "why should we be expected to pay the servers?" Good point, yet when you don't, It's not the restaurant, but the servers who lose.
We had a very nice meal our second evening in Portugal. I am a former NYC waiter, and I am an unapologetic over-tipper. My husband is Dutch and has never waited tables. He'll leave a few coins and feel like that's enough. We looked it up and settled on about 10%. I will say, (regarding point #2) that our waiter had brought us more bread and then charged us for it, which we thought was a bit sneaky, but we forgave him.
The items that are placed on the table at the beginning of the meal (olives, bread, fish dips/spreads) are always charged for it eaten. Best to ask to have them removed if you don’t want them. This is common all over Europe.
I am conflicted about tipping in Portugal. I have been told by several Portuguese to not bring our tipping habit here. We always leave something, a euro or two, but don't base it on the amount spent, but on the amount of work we have requested of the server (like when I request that they listen to my Portuguese :-)). I would hate to be catered to because I am an American and leave a tip over a Portuguese family who does not.
Definitely agree that in Portugal, dinner with friends is more about friends than dinner. I was there a month ago at a restaurant with friends and I think we had a table from 9pm to after 1am. As far as tipping, I try to tip well in the US, but definitely do not always tip in Portugal. We are conditioned here to tip even for bad service but there, you are correct, tipping is a more thoughtful process. Thanks for a great blog!
In America, I tipped 20 to 30% for normal to excellent service. In Portugal, I tip 10 to 20%. I have dined with several new friends here, mostly British and French, and they mostly tip very little. Some even contend that tipping is incorrect! Some are living on a tight budget and want to stretch every penny. I admit that as an American, I prefer receiving my bill more quickly and I don't like calling the waiter for the bill. If people want to linger, then the bill can just sit there. It's usually fine to walk up to the counter and pay if you want to get out. To add to this comment, I would say that Portuguese food is generally quite good. The desserts could be more appealing, which is convenient for dieters who should skip dessert because you're not missing anything.
Hi Nancy
Firstly - I’m so glad I subscribed to your weekly blogs. I find myself looking forward to the next and can’t wait to see what’s coming our way !
On the subject of tipping in Portugal - Lesley & I are generous tippers - however we really only tip generously when the service is EXCELLENT - mediocre service we tip the usual 10%
Hope you girls are enjoying Porto 🥳🥳
Denise just returned from her 4 days in Porto and the Douro Vally...a great area.
Loved your waitressing adventure. Still laughing about the bacon. A similar thing happened with a friend of mine who was allergic to something in the salad. The waiter apparently took the salad back to the kitchen and removed the offending food - and my friend ended up in the ER. My up-selling experience was after a singing competition in Daytona Beach, FL. We gathered in the bar and I asked the waiter for a "nice" cabernet and an order of fries. The fries were a little expensive for being served in a dixie cup - $8.00. But okay. We all had a second round - more fries. When I got the bill for 2 wines and 2 fries, it was $80. I would have appreciated if the waiter told me the price of the wine before bringing me a second. My friends who also asked for wine recommendations from our waiter were luckier - they were about $17/glass. I know you must be thinking that they probably serve Ripple in Daytona Beach - home of pick-up trucks on the beach and motorcycles in the streets at all hours of the night. This was at the Hilton Hotel. An oasis in an otherwise desert.
I definitely enjoyed the digression about your attempt at waitressing. One of the many reasons I look forward to your posts, thanks for sharing.
Thanks…i had very short hair then so there was not way to keep the hairnet off my forehead. Where was Artie Johnson when I needed him?
Indeed LOL!
We tip about 10%, but I think that is a totally American habit. I see many people not leaving anything. In Spain our new Mallorcan son-in-law actually chides us when we leave a tip. We've pushed our dinner times back a bit to about 7-7:30 pm but still lunch between 12:00 - 12:30.
Greg, we were out with 2 young couples one night. We picked up the tab and they insisted on leaving the tip. When we realized what the left, Denise made an excuse to return to the restaurant to put more money on the table. I have been with many people that simply round up to the nearest euro...
Something to think about:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/12/16/fact-check-tipping-kept-wages-low-formerly-enslaved-black-workers/3896620001/
Armin, thanks for providing that link. Very interesting! I wish I had listened better in my history class and I wish my history classes had included stuff like this.
We didn’t have google back then, it would take more work to “lookup” stuff. :-)
Tipping is an interesting phenomenon. I expect that the base wage of a server in Portugal provides a “better” income than the minimum wage of a server in the US. Servers rely on their tips to finance their lives in the US…. things like medical and dental care. So I will be interested to learn about minimum wage in Portugal, cost of education and health care. Are servers able to support their families? However, as you noted an excellent server truly impacts our dining experience and in Portugal the dining experience sounds absolutely wonderful . One way to impact their lives and to say thank you is to tip generously.
"The expectation is that you will linger, talk, laugh…savor your time with one another." The US could use a lot more of that! People might be happier here.
It seems that the restaurants in the US are so focused on profit, that the servers are told to keep "flipping the tables." My daughter worked as a server in LA to put herself through nursing school, and they were told to not only flip tables, but also to up-sell (recommend the pricier options, push the more expensive wine, etc). Our tipping system is ridiculous- restaurants don't have to pay even a minimum wage, relying on customers to cover most of the servers income. My friends from Australia came to visit and thought 10% was a very generous tip - "why should we be expected to pay the servers?" Good point, yet when you don't, It's not the restaurant, but the servers who lose.
All good points…
We had a very nice meal our second evening in Portugal. I am a former NYC waiter, and I am an unapologetic over-tipper. My husband is Dutch and has never waited tables. He'll leave a few coins and feel like that's enough. We looked it up and settled on about 10%. I will say, (regarding point #2) that our waiter had brought us more bread and then charged us for it, which we thought was a bit sneaky, but we forgave him.
The items that are placed on the table at the beginning of the meal (olives, bread, fish dips/spreads) are always charged for it eaten. Best to ask to have them removed if you don’t want them. This is common all over Europe.
I am conflicted about tipping in Portugal. I have been told by several Portuguese to not bring our tipping habit here. We always leave something, a euro or two, but don't base it on the amount spent, but on the amount of work we have requested of the server (like when I request that they listen to my Portuguese :-)). I would hate to be catered to because I am an American and leave a tip over a Portuguese family who does not.
I understand your concern…though I doubt the server would show us favor
Definitely agree that in Portugal, dinner with friends is more about friends than dinner. I was there a month ago at a restaurant with friends and I think we had a table from 9pm to after 1am. As far as tipping, I try to tip well in the US, but definitely do not always tip in Portugal. We are conditioned here to tip even for bad service but there, you are correct, tipping is a more thoughtful process. Thanks for a great blog!
Robert, obrigada eu.
In America, I tipped 20 to 30% for normal to excellent service. In Portugal, I tip 10 to 20%. I have dined with several new friends here, mostly British and French, and they mostly tip very little. Some even contend that tipping is incorrect! Some are living on a tight budget and want to stretch every penny. I admit that as an American, I prefer receiving my bill more quickly and I don't like calling the waiter for the bill. If people want to linger, then the bill can just sit there. It's usually fine to walk up to the counter and pay if you want to get out. To add to this comment, I would say that Portuguese food is generally quite good. The desserts could be more appealing, which is convenient for dieters who should skip dessert because you're not missing anything.
We seldom have deserts when we are out…more room for gelato during the walk home!