I quite like some background music in a restaurant. Not too loud, not overbearing, but just enough to avoid me listening to other people’s conversations…
Music in a restaurant is certainly something I listen for and I’ll give ‘extra marks’ for a good choice of tracks.
While we’re mentioning restaurants (sort of); Menu Gordon Jones in Bath scores well both on the food (and the wine) and the music choice is generally pretty good.
Interesting concept; you eat what you’re given, at booking they’ll check on allergies but apart from that no choice except whether you’ll take the wine flight or not (and they do a non-alcohol version plus of course drinks/bottles of wine of your choice).
Choosing not to have alcohol socially and in restaurants etc is slowly becoming easier, with more interesting choices and also more acceptance that you are not somehow either a recovering alcoholic or just weird. See the non-alcoholic beer thread.
I remember going to an (expensive) restaurant in New York, as a group of four or five Brits, about twenty years ago. We got chased out of the door by an enraged waiter, who was furious that we had left only a 10% tip.
And the waiting staff prefer the tip to be paid in cash, otherwise the management hold on to it, but that’s not unique to New York.
I understand that when you see prices in the USA on various goods, they generally do not include the State Tax, which varies from State to State.
In restaurants, do you have to add on State Tax plus 30% tip onto of the stated price, or do menus include State Tax?
I always drink tap water at home and expect to do so in restaurants/cafes. Bottled water is extremely bad for the environment and scarily some brands would not meet UK tap water standards. The only time I would buy bottled water would be if I wanted some sparkling water.
I can be "prudent " (other words are available) , when I stop in Malta I stay on a half board basis , so it is a hotel with some meals provided
Do I tip after the evening meal ? Generally I tip on the value of the wine, alcohol I buy. In the afternoon on a poolside burger or light meal, it’s 10-12%
When I leave I always leave a tip of at least a hundred Euros for the staff. That way they all get something.
I could be getting this right , or wrong and would be grateful for the thoughts and input of others
Wine mark up in a restaurant. I can buy the wine cheaper in a supermarket, but I don’t like drinking in the supermarket.
Tips- vary by country so I try and do whatever the local do. Service charge I object to being on the bill. I never know whether the server, the staff generally or the company gets the money.
Fully agree. In Belgium government asks people to use tap water. Cheaper and better quality than bottled water as proved by independent research lead by different universities.
We were once in a restaurant in Buxton and they were charging £2 for Buxton water bottled. The Spa with a free tap is just down the road, needless to say we had tap water as we always do for reasons mentioned elsewhere.
Recently though when we’ve eaten out that when you come to pay by card there’s no option for adding a tip.
We don’t use cash much these days since Covid so don’t often have cash on us except large notes. Or just a few pounds in coins for meters etc.
[quote="HungryHalibut, post:105, topic:30565, full:true”]
One thing that gets me in the U.K. is that restaurants often expect you to buy overpriced bottled water.
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Yes, on being seated the waiter came over with a bottle of water and asked ‘still or would you prefer sparkling?’.
Assumed it was complimentary as we didn’t explicitly request it but £10 on 2 bottles of still water doesn’t break the bank but it would have been nice to know it wasn’t free - I might have had a low calorie soft drink instead.
[quote="KevT, post:74, topic:30565, full:true”]
No Shows are a disgrace. Some book several restaurants and decide on the night where they and their party goes to. Restaurants have taken steps these days to take avoid loss of covers and waste by taking a deposit. A good move.
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I’ve heard of people doing this recently too, absolutely despicable, potentially prevents someone else booking a popular venue and loss of custom for the restaurant. There will be genuine cancellations but booking several options and selecting on the day is simply rude.
Last few nights markup of 400% for bottle of wine with dinner in a premium-priced resort in south Sardinia.
Now staying in a town near the beach elsewhere on the island paying a third of the price for upmarket accomodation and dining in an excellent rooftop restaurant where a litre of local wine accompanying dinner costs €17.
Food for thought.
Quite some time since we’ve had bread automatically provided in the UK as it used to be which is a shame - I always used to assume it was factored into the costs of a meal and just provided as a quick courtesy nibble even if you didn’t want it (which I probably wouldn’t these days).
