fine dining tipping

[brainhulk]

I dined at Andrea at the Pelican Hill resort last night. I went overboard with my ordering and ended up with a fairly large bill. At what point do you guys cut off the dollar amount for tip for 2 people?

The service was excellent, my server was probably the best I have had in recent memory. So I gave her a full ~23% tip of the total bill.

On a side note, why does it seem to me that black truffles are inferior to white truffles? The white truffles seem to have an aroma that you can smell from far away and just make the dishes outstanding. The black truffles last night were on a level lower.

 

[waggy]

don't be racist. white or black they have feelings!





i can't stand truffles. i have tried them a few times and not something i enjoy at all.

 

[brainhulk]

don't be racist. white or black they have feelings!





i can't stand truffles. i have tried them a few times and not something i enjoy at all.

DIAF!!!!!! I love smelly cheese and when I discovered truffles I thought I died and gone to heaven

 

[IronWing]

I don't know. According to ATOT I've never experienced fine dining though the bacon-cheese-truffle burger at Carl's Jr. is awesome.

 

[olds]

I've never thought of cutting off tipping at some point unless the service was terrible.
I usually slip the maitre d a benjamin for a quiet table. Then I slip the sommelier one too so he keeps the wine coming.

After that, it's up to the server and other staff how much they get. I start at 15% and go up or down from there.

 

[mnewsham]

Depends, the most I have done personally was ~$50 on a $210 bill for two. about 23.8095238095%

 

[sjwaste]

I stick to about 20% as the average, for average fine dining service (which should be significantly better than average service at a casual joint). Not long ago, we left $100 on a $230 bill because we're regulars and always treated incredibly well - like, this place sent us dinner and a split of champagne the night we had our first child. That's the high end of things, and not something I'd expect to do all the time. But I will for exceptional service.

It goes both ways, but it generally is a good idea to take care of the staff where you're going to go back and the staff itself turns over infrequently.

Fine dining is an interesting thing. A lot of these places make the bulk of their revenue from special occasion diners, people who come in once and may never return. The ones that manage to cultivate a book of regulars are the ones that do exceptionally well. People don't realize that many high end places actually lose money or run razor thin on their food costs despite the high menu prices. Minibar in DC is one such example, and I think El Bulli routinely lost money as well.

 

[CA19100]

On a side note, why does it seem to me that black truffles are inferior to white truffles?

Can't help with that specifically, but on an unrelated note, I think it's important for all diners to understand that almost all "truffle oil" that you'll find has nothing to do with real truffles. It's usually olive oil mixed with 2,4-dithiapentane, and it's nasty.

 

[RossMAN]

From a long long time ago http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=1608391

 

[Gintaras]

You give way more - 23%, than some give to god

 

[Scotteq]

You give way more - 23%, than some give to god

God keeps my glass full of booze, smiles a lot, and had a great pair of tits??

 

[Wyndru]

I always tip 20% after tax regardless of the restaurant.

 

[MustISO]

I tip 20% wherever I go.

 

[QueBert]

When at 5 star restaurant I tend to tip more, I know it doesn't make any sense. But when the bill's already that damn big I just don't care anymore lol. I went to Mastro's Steakhouse last night, the bill was high as hell, I calculated 15% in my head and said fuck it and just tipped 15% then tossed another $20 in.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

i can't stand truffles. i have tried them a few times and not something i enjoy at all.

Truffles make a dish expensive, not tasty. They are the perfect embodiment of the pretentiousness of "fine" dining. If they cost .99 cents a pound nobody would eat them.

 

[Modular]

Tip for what they deserve as a %. It's not their fault that you spent more money on food than you wanted...

 

[zerocool84]

I always tip 20% after tax regardless of the restaurant.

I tip 20% wherever I go.

No wonder why servers think they can still give bad service and get a decent tip.

 

[Wyndru]

No wonder why servers think they can still give bad service and get a decent tip.

I worked as a waiter for a while in my 20's, I know that most people don't tip much. If they are giving me shitty service, it's more likely that they figure there is no incentive since most people can't even spring for the standard 15% before tax.


Either that, or there just isn't enough staff on for them to be efficient. But I guess most customers think situations like that deserve a shitty tip.

 

[bigrash]

For excellent service, I don't mind tipping 25%. I'm sure I've done even more before.

 

[torpid]

For truly outstanding meals, I tend to tip higher than normal because they often have incredible service. I've never seen service like the kind I had at Alinea. Truly breathtaking and almost like an choreographed dance.

Black truffles are usually milder than white truffles. At least, in my limited experience. [edited to correct due to brain fart]

 

[Rakehellion]

Can't help with that specifically, but on an unrelated note, I think it's important for all diners to understand that almost all "truffle oil" that you'll find has nothing to do with real truffles. It's usually olive oil mixed with 2,4-dithiapentane, and it's nasty.

And it probably isn't even olive oil.

 

[brainhulk]

And it probably isn't even olive oil.

At Andrea the chef personally came to my table and shaved the truffle onto my risotto and austrailian wagyu. No fake oil being used there!

So I gave a $100 tip for a ~$440 bill. Does that sound reasonable for outstanding service for 2?

 

[Rakehellion]

At Andrea the chef personally came to my table and shaved the truffle onto my risotto and austrailian wagyu. No fake oil being used there!

So I gave a $100 tip for a ~$440 bill. Does that sound reasonable for outstanding service for 2?

There's no such thing as wagyu that isn't Japanese. You got hosed there too!

 

[Rakehellion]

I tip around 20%-25%, whatever's the nearest dollar amount. Restaurant eating is a luxury in the first place, so it makes no sense being cheap on the part you don't have to pay. If you were trying to save money, you'd be eating Chef Boyardee.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

no $ amount ceiling, always percentage based