Do you tip at a fine dining restaurant?

Not only is it polite to do so, it is expected. 20%, I would suggest. If it’s a really nice restaurant, make sure there isn’t a dress code. Some require jacket and/or tie.

I don’t understand why one wouldn’t tip at a fine dining restaurant. sjg is right, it’s expected, perhaps even more than 20%, since service is usually more personal.

Always. 15–20% depending on the service.

Am I missing something here? When would it not be polite? You might not have a choice, because depending on the place and size of your party 20% might be added to the check automatically. So, the moral of the story is… No it is not mandatory to tip but is expected. Do you not normally tip? Is your thinking that since the place is nice & expensive you are already paying alot? Maybe you can expand on your question. I’m not being difficult, Im just not understanding.

Well I think we were concerned more with leaving cash on the table, if it’s impolite to leave a cash tip. We always tip well, we were just unsure about the etiquette.

As far as the dress code issue, we’ve already got that taken care of.

If you are paying by credit card, you can just add the tip to your bill.

If you are paying by cash, you can give enough cash to the waiter to cover the meal and the tip, and let them know that no change is necessary.

I used to serve at restaurant levain in Minneapolis and the best way to handle a cash tip is to give it to the server directly

as curtaincall said best way to handle a cash tip is hand it to the server. I work in a restaurant right now as a server and as sad as it is, half the people you work with cant be trusted and sometimes will take money off your table.

as far as tipping goes ALWAYS tip. That is how we make our money, we do only make 2.13 an hour after all so we depend on your tips for our pay.

enjoy your nice dinner ^_^

oh I always tip, as well as I can afford to usually, the question was just about how and how much to tip in a fine dining restaurant.

tip at least 20% as long as they aren’t an absolutely horrible server.

Are you joking? Ofcourse you tip, just like you would at a dump of a restaurant. A server is a server, no matter the quality of the establishment.