Dropsafe

by Alec Muffett

“We have a Guide to Pub Etiquette including when to tip for food in pubs and restaurants” #EUROCRYPT

http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/eurocrypt2012/pubs.html

what to do in a pub/restaurant

There are several clues as to whether you are in a pub or a restaurant: pubs tend to have a sign including an illustration of the pub name and a name like ‘The Fox and Hounds’ or ‘The Queen’s Arms’. Restaurant signs commonly provide information about the sort of food they serve and if there is a menu on the wall outside it is probably a restaurant. Both pubs and restaurants will have a bar, however only a pub will have bar stools, low tables or sofas.

On arriving at a pub you are expected to find a seat by yourself, whereas at a restaurant you will probably be offered a seat by a waiter or waitress. To order in a pub, you should head to the bar and place your order with the bar staff. In a restaurant a waiter/waitress will come to your table to take your order. If you order at the bar you should expect to pay at the bar, if you order from your table, you should ask for the bill at the end of your meal and the waiter/waitress will bring it to your table. At the end of the evening in a pub, a bell will be rung twice (approx. 20mins apart): the first is for ‘last orders’ which is your last chance to order another drink, the second represents the end of ‘drinking up time’ and is your cue to leave the pub.

It is uncommon to tip the staff in a pub (should you wish to, add ‘and one for yourself’ to the end of your drinks order) however in a restaurant a tip of 10% is fairly standard unless the service is particularly poor. For large groups in restaurants a tip would be expected and in some cases will be added on to the bill as a service charge.

⊞

Comments

5 responses to ““We have a Guide to Pub Etiquette including when to tip for food in pubs and restaurants” #EUROCRYPT”

  1. Michael Jennings

    In Brick Lane there is a Swedish restaurant. There was a sign outside saying “We have a roof terrace”. It was a summer day, so that sounded nice. There was a sign saying “People using the roof terrace should order and pay at the counter”. This was fine, so I did. A service charge was added to my bill despite the fact that I had to order at the counter *and* I was paying in advance. This was entirely wrong, in so many ways.

    Reply
    1. alecm

      There’s a lot of it about.

      Cricketer’s pub, Hartley Wintney: go in, buy a pint at the bar, order some food.

      They offer – nay insist – to put it all on the same tab; the beer’s already an eyewatering price, but OK.

      They food arrives – decent – and they slap a service charge on everything, including the beer, making it come out at about £4.40 per pint.

      Not impressed. I kinda like the staff, but not so much as to visit the place that often because of those prices and tactics.

      Reply
  2. Calum Mackay

    I believe it’s the case that the service charge is optional, even when it has been added to the bill. If you feel it was not deserved — either because of poor service, or no service provided — then you can demand to have it removed from the bill. I think that’s true….

    Of course, whether you want the grief of doing that is another matter. Easier just to go elsewhere in future.

    Reply
    1. alecm

      >Easier just to go elsewhere in future.

      My plan, mostly. Not “never” but “much less”

      Reply
  3. Clive

    I’ve been chased down the street by the manager of Asia Dining in Cambridge for leaving exact money, excluding the 12.5% “optional” service charge. For his troubles, he got a detailed rant about what had been wrong with the service.

    The advice you quote seems pretty good, but doesn’t note that there are borderline cases: pubs where you order and pay at the table and restaurants with a bar area. Also, the second bell in a pub is “time”. You can’t order more drinks, but you’ve got twenty minutes to finish what you have before chucking-out time. Though even this is less clear-cut now, because many pubs have a late licence that they’re not using, but that grants them discretion over chucking-out time.

    But you knew this. Might be worth feeding some clarifications upstream, though?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts