how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

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heartwood
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how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by heartwood »

I guess this is another tipping thread. I've read most of them here, but wish to focus somewhat more on bottles of wine in restaurants.

At any restaurant that has a wine list, but its all done by the waiter, I generally tip 10% of the wine list bottle price at most, offset by 20% on the food portion, so maybe 15% on the total bill. Today at lunch, knowing the retail cost of the bottle we ordered (yes, a bottle at lunch for two) I left $5 on the bottle, 20% on the food. Nice, top ten, major city restaurant; food $50, wine (one of the less expensive bottles $77 ($35 retail). I left $15 total, $10 on the food, $5 for the bottle. Overall service was good, but not posh. Bread and butter on the table.

I'm curious what others do.

BTW, we frequent a lot of BYOBs if available, or will pay a corkage fee to bring our own bottle. There I generally tip $20 on the food, especially since the wine is whatever I bring and not part of the bill, but they open, provide glasses and pour.

I also frequently eschew using the 15, 18, 20% tipping guidelines except for comparison, rather tipping a round number like $5 per person in a decent place, or $10 a person in an upscale place.

How do you tip on a bottle off the wine list?
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midareff
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by midareff »

On a $127 lunch tab I think you are quite light @ $15. ... especially if you got the typical wine taste first for approval. I'd be more in the 20% or $25+ dollar tip range, maybe a bit more if the service was special. I tip more on the bottle than the food if it's done right, that's just me, YMMV.
Last edited by midareff on Wed May 16, 2018 3:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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snackdog
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by snackdog »

15%-20% on the total bill. If the wine is cheap it doesn't matter. If it is a $10,000 bottle, you can afford the tip, otherwise drink it at home.

$5 per person reminds me of my grandfather. He tipped 25 cents per person, regardless of the bill or venue. Coffee shop donuts? 25c/pp. Steak dinner? 25c/pp. That was his rule and it saved him a lot of money.
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Alexa9
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by Alexa9 »

Always 20% or more on the entire bill unless the service is bad. But I see your point. I generally avoid expensive bottles of wine at restaurants. The mark up is insane when you see the same bottle at Costco for less than half the price.
gouverneur
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by gouverneur »

We generally do not get bottles, just a glass with dinner for each of us, but I tip 20%+ on the total bill without considering what portion is drinks vs. food.
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SmileyFace
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by SmileyFace »

I tip 15 - 20% tip on the entire bill as customary in the US.

I never thought to break out wine separately and if you are that concerned such that you want to short the wait staff their tip on wine perhaps you don't realize there is typically a 2x to 3x markup on the wine (in which case, perhaps you wouldn't order a bottle).

Also I don't get your statement about eschewing 15 - 20% tips -$10 per person in a upscale place? With wine that would certainly be over $100 per person - are you saying you regularly tip 10% or less? I would be afraid to return to the same restaurant with this type of low tipping practice. Perhaps you should just do take-out orders.
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samsoes
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by samsoes »

snackdog wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:00 pm $5 per person reminds me of my grandfather. He tipped 25 cents per person, regardless of the bill or venue. Coffee shop donuts? 25c/pp. Steak dinner? 25c/pp. That was his rule and it saved him a lot of money.
You're grandfather sounds like my kind of guy! :sharebeer
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Pajamas
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by Pajamas »

heartwood wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 2:54 pm I also frequently eschew using the 15, 18, 20% tipping guidelines except for comparison, rather tipping a round number like $5 per person in a decent place, or $10 a person in an upscale place.

How do you tip on a bottle off the wine list?
If I went by my own flat-rate rules like you do, I would tip $5 a bottle if it were handled by the waiter and $10 if I discussed it with a sommelier.

My usual practice follows accepted tipping customs, a percentage of the entire restaurant bill before tax is added without consideration of the wine or other alcoholic beverages separately.
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SmileyFace
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by SmileyFace »

samsoes wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:14 pm
snackdog wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:00 pm $5 per person reminds me of my grandfather. He tipped 25 cents per person, regardless of the bill or venue. Coffee shop donuts? 25c/pp. Steak dinner? 25c/pp. That was his rule and it saved him a lot of money.
You're grandfather sounds like my kind of guy! :sharebeer
With a 25c/pp tip - if you return to the same restaurant for another steak and they remember who you are you should be worried about what they are doing with your steak in the back-room before bringing it out to you.
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Artful Dodger
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by Artful Dodger »

heartwood wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 2:54 pm I guess this is another tipping thread. I've read most of them here, but wish to focus somewhat more on bottles of wine in restaurants.

At any restaurant that has a wine list, but its all done by the waiter, I generally tip 10% of the wine list bottle price at most, offset by 20% on the food portion, so maybe 15% on the total bill. Today at lunch, knowing the retail cost of the bottle we ordered (yes, a bottle at lunch for two) I left $5 on the bottle, 20% on the food. Nice, top ten, major city restaurant; food $50, wine (one of the less expensive bottles $77 ($35 retail). I left $15 total, $10 on the food, $5 for the bottle. Overall service was good, but not posh. Bread and butter on the table.

I'm curious what others do.

BTW, we frequent a lot of BYOBs if available, or will pay a corkage fee to bring our own bottle. There I generally tip $20 on the food, especially since the wine is whatever I bring and not part of the bill, but they open, provide glasses and pour.

I also frequently eschew using the 15, 18, 20% tipping guidelines except for comparison, rather tipping a round number like $5 per person in a decent place, or $10 a person in an upscale place.

How do you tip on a bottle off the wine list?
20% on the bill, sometimes a little more or less (1 or 2% depending on service). I don't make any changes for wine. If corkage, I'll usually tip an additional $20 per bottle to the waiter for service.
student
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by student »

I treat the wine as the same as the other food items when calculating tips but I don't order expensive wine.
tim1999
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by tim1999 »

Some will call me cheap, but I tip $10 for wine regardless of the price of the bottle, maybe $20 if it's a real swanky place and my employer is paying. They don't put in any more work on a $400 bottle vs. a $40 one.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by rjbraun »

20% of the total bill, pre-tax, as long as the service was acceptable. Would consider adding more for excellent / exceptional service and shaving off a bit for very poor service that could be attributed directly to the server (and not, say, the kitchen).
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by f35phixer »

"20% of the total bill, pre-tax" I never thought about that but it is true huh. I usually am 20+ depending.....

Thanks i'm going to Boggle more, tip 20% per the cost of meals/drinks ................

Our wonderful Md tax cuts us up !!!
Good Listener
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by Good Listener »

I'm glad I don't drink in restaurants. To read that a person pays $50 for food and 1.5 times that for wine is so strange to me. Can people not hold off for an hour or two?

But to OP, I agree. The few times I have been forced to order wine for others (I always pay :oops: ), I applied a $10 tip for it. Because as you state, correctly in my opinion, it is the same work for a 20 or 200 dollar bottle. That's true for food too, but the disparities are not so extreme.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by michaeljc70 »

snackdog wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:00 pm 15%-20% on the total bill. If the wine is cheap it doesn't matter. If it is a $10,000 bottle, you can afford the tip, otherwise drink it at home.

$5 per person reminds me of my grandfather. He tipped 25 cents per person, regardless of the bill or venue. Coffee shop donuts? 25c/pp. Steak dinner? 25c/pp. That was his rule and it saved him a lot of money.
I agree. And yes, I've read that on expensive bottles some people recommend tipping less (like 10%).

To the OP, I have no idea what the retail price of the bottle has to do with the tip. You don't tip on what the food would cost at the grocery store, right?
Last edited by michaeljc70 on Wed May 16, 2018 4:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
3504PIR
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by 3504PIR »

I pay ~20% of the total bill.

To the OP, I like your avatar - it looks like Mokolii which is about 3/4 of a mile from my house but I face the water in another direction.
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by Doom&Gloom »

Same as anything else.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

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TxAg
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by TxAg »

I would've tipped a bit more in that situation, but the OP isn't out of line. It is often the case that people tip less on alcohol...likely because it is so marked up to begin with and requires comparatively little effort.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by LFKB »

20% pretty much always on the Total amount before tax. I don’t tip less on alcohol. That is really cheap to do that.

I sometimes tip 15% for bad service and maybe once every 12-24 months I’ll receive truly awful service and leave zero.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by jminv »

I tip a standard 15% (less for appalling service) on food and beverages in the usa but I don't order expensive wine bottles outside professional settings (or wine bottles in general, if it's social I prefer by the glass, beer, or cocktail). If I did order one outside of a professional setting and it was also far and away an expensive wine compared to other options for the restaurant I was in, I would tip a dollar amount, instead of a percent. I would and have still tipped 15% when was in a professional setting, ie, clients.

Country I am in currently has a societal standard of 10% tipping so I tip 10%. I try to do what society expects but no more.
Last edited by jminv on Wed May 16, 2018 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by rjbraun »

f35phixer wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 4:10 pm "20% of the total bill, pre-tax" I never thought about that but it is true huh. I usually am 20+ depending.....

Thanks i'm going to Boggle more, tip 20% per the cost of meals/drinks ................

Our wonderful Md tax cuts us up !!!
Yup, where I live the tax is almost 9%. Ouch.

I will say that if the bill is not large, I might not focus much between the pre- and post-tax amounts. That said, when the charge slip offers the calculated tip amounts at 18%, 20%, etc. I will try to check if the calculation was done pre- or post-tax. I think in the past (maybe not so much of late?) I would see post-tax and get really annoyed and make a point of tipping on the pre-tax amount :annoyed
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by LFKB »

tim1999 wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:46 pm Some will call me cheap, but I tip $10 for wine regardless of the price of the bottle, maybe $20 if it's a real swanky place and my employer is paying. They don't put in any more work on a $400 bottle vs. a $40 one.
Why is it different for wine than food? Do they put in more work carrying out a $100 steak vs a $10 steak?

Also, their inventory/carrying cost is much higher on the $400 bottle.

Some people here are crazy cheap.
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gasdoc
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by gasdoc »

15-20% on the total bill. Interesting question.

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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by rjbraun »

Good Listener wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 4:23 pm I'm glad I don't drink in restaurants. To read that a person pays $50 for food and 1.5 times that for wine is so strange to me. Can people not hold off for an hour or two?

But to OP, I agree. The few times I have been forced to order wine for others (I always pay :oops: ), I applied a $10 tip for it. Because as you state, correctly in my opinion, it is the same work for a 20 or 200 dollar bottle. That's true for food too, but the disparities are not so extreme.
I don't know that I would agree with that statement. Especially at the extremes, I would think there's arguably more "work" involved with a very pricey bottle of wine. For a bottle costing several hundred dollars or more, let's say, the server (or sommelier, especially) probably faces more pressures: don't drop the bottle, avoid getting any cork in the pour / decant the wine properly, make sure the diners are very satisfied with not only the wine selection but also the meal itself, etc. If there is any issue and the diner wants to return the wine, doesn't like the food or thinks it pairs poorly with the wine (or vice versa), it would seem a potentially highly stressful situation for the server, imo.

ETA: Also, be sure to serve the wine at the proper temperature (in case the diners focus on that), pour the wine in the glass in an aesthetically pleasing fashion (no drips or splatters, for sure!), wine glass itself must be spotless, monitor when glasses require refilling, and so on.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by michaeljc70 »

rjbraun wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 4:57 pm
Good Listener wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 4:23 pm I'm glad I don't drink in restaurants. To read that a person pays $50 for food and 1.5 times that for wine is so strange to me. Can people not hold off for an hour or two?

But to OP, I agree. The few times I have been forced to order wine for others (I always pay :oops: ), I applied a $10 tip for it. Because as you state, correctly in my opinion, it is the same work for a 20 or 200 dollar bottle. That's true for food too, but the disparities are not so extreme.
I don't know that I would agree with that statement. Especially at the extremes, I would think there's arguably more "work" involved with a very pricey bottle of wine. For a bottle costing several hundred dollars or more, let's say, the server (or sommelier, especially) probably faces more pressures: don't drop the bottle, avoid getting any cork in the pour / decant the wine properly, make sure the diners are very satisfied with not only the wine selection but also the meal itself, etc. If there is any issue and the diner wants to return the wine, doesn't like the food or thinks it pairs poorly with the wine (or vice versa), it would seem a potentially highly stressful situation for the server, imo.
I'm selling my (hypothetical) $2 million dollar home and going to tell the realtor I'm giving them the same commission as a $200k house as it is the same amount of work for them. I'm also stopping by the dealer with my (hypothetical) Range Rover and telling them to charge me the same amount for an oil change as it costs for a Toyota as it is the same amount of work. :shock:
LFKB
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by LFKB »

Good Listener wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 4:23 pm I'm glad I don't drink in restaurants. To read that a person pays $50 for food and 1.5 times that for wine is so strange to me. Can people not hold off for an hour or two?

But to OP, I agree. The few times I have been forced to order wine for others (I always pay :oops: ), I applied a $10 tip for it. Because as you state, correctly in my opinion, it is the same work for a 20 or 200 dollar bottle. That's true for food too, but the disparities are not so extreme.
Anyone could wait 1-2 hours if they wanted to, but many people like to enjoy their lives and having good food and wine with friends/loved ones is a great way to do that
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by TravelGeek »

michaeljc70 wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 5:02 pm I'm also stopping by the dealer with my (hypothetical) Range Rover and telling them to charge me the same amount for an oil change as it costs for a Toyota as it is the same amount of work. :shock:
I think Jiffy Lube charges are not dependent on the car brand ;)
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by TravelGeek »

I personally do not distinguish between food and alcohol when calculating the tip. It generally is 15-25% no matter what the composition of the bill.

However, I am not likely going to be in a situation where the cost of alcohol significantly "overpowers" the cost of food due to expensive bottle(s) of wine. If I was to find myself in that situation, I probably could also afford the tip on the bottle and wouldn't break out a calculator (app) to adjust the tip ;)
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by N10sive »

Instead of doing a fixed amount, as one of the links suggested why not adjust the tip percentage. For example your 127 bill you tipped 15, 20% on food and 5 dollar tip for the wine. Which was just over 11% tip on the total. 15% would have been ~19 dollars. If you ordered a 1k bottle of wine you could drop it to 10% on the total bill. The employees would still be grateful.

Like others have said there are other costs involved than just purchasing a $35 retail bottle at a restaurant for $77. Storing, delivery, recommendation, availability, cleaning, etc all can be tied to the cost not just service of the bottle. If I received advice/recommendation to pair the wine and enjoyed it with the meal I would most certainly tip well.

What if you ordered four martinis at $15 per martini. Would you tip 5 dollars for all four or 20%?
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by bottlecap »

Why tip on what you consider to be the retail value of the bottle? You don't tip on the retail value of the food.

The server probably paid plenty of attention to keeping your glasses full. It was probably more demanding than bringing out your food.

I generally tip 15 to 20% of the total bill, usually pretax, sometimes post tax. I will tip more for great service.

JT
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by GCD »

I don't consider alcohol separate from the total bill. I tip 10% if I had a really bad experience (maybe once every 2-3 years), 20% for regular service and 25%+ if above average or a place I go regular (maybe twice a month). I figure if the tip prevents me from eating there or ordering a drink then I can't afford to be eating in that restaurant.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by GCD »

Good Listener wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 4:23 pm I'm glad I don't drink in restaurants. To read that a person pays $50 for food and 1.5 times that for wine is so strange to me. Can people not hold off for an hour or two?
It's not the urgent need to get my drunk on. It's that wine pairs with food and changes the taste of the wine and the food if done well. That's why sommeliers exist. An entire profession is devoted to insuring the wine and food is paired well.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by DrCheese »

What if I order water (free), do I tip zero? It is the same amount of work if I order another non-alcoholic drink.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by samsoes »

DaftInvestor wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:29 pm
samsoes wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:14 pm
snackdog wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:00 pm $5 per person reminds me of my grandfather. He tipped 25 cents per person, regardless of the bill or venue. Coffee shop donuts? 25c/pp. Steak dinner? 25c/pp. That was his rule and it saved him a lot of money.
You're grandfather sounds like my kind of guy! :sharebeer
With a 25c/pp tip - if you return to the same restaurant for another steak and they remember who you are you should be worried about what they are doing with your steak in the back-room before bringing it out to you.
Perhaps.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by Marylander1 »

DrCheese wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 6:16 pmWhat if I order water (free), do I tip zero?
I tip additionally when I order anything that requires more work than reflected in the bill. This applies whether it's 10 free drink refills because I was extraordinarily thirsty, cleaning up after an infant threw their food on the floor, or a free dessert because it's someone's birthday.

From some of the responses on this thread, I'm starting to understand why restaurant staff seem appreciative of people who treat them as I was raised (which seems like common decency).

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audioaxes
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by audioaxes »

I hate the idea of having to tip more because you ordered a $100 bottle vs a $15 bottle or a $18 chicken entree vs a $35 steak entree but I conform to the prevailing culture and tip 15-20% on pretax.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by arcticpineapplecorp. »

Jay-Z only left an $11,000 tip on a $80,000 bar tab. That's only a 13.75% tip. Cheapskate. These servers depend on their tips!

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/jay-z-s ... 0-tip.html
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Malinois000
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by Malinois000 »

I tip 20% on entire bill including wine.
theplayer11
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by theplayer11 »

real men drink beer
audioaxes
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by audioaxes »

arcticpineapplecorp. wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 6:58 pm Jay-Z only left an $11,000 tip on a $80,000 bar tab. That's only a 13.75% tip. Cheapskate. These servers depend on their tips!

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/jay-z-s ... 0-tip.html
bar tipping (at a real bar) is a bit more open ended. Tipping $1-2/drink is still acceptable and can calculate out to 10% tip or less and I'd assume tipping $11K on $80K of bottles is well within acceptability.
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by TravelforFun »

I like the European way. They pay their kitchen and wait staff living wages so tips are not expected.

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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by GCD »

theplayer11 wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 7:34 pm real men drink beer
and don't eat quiche.
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BogleFanGal
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by BogleFanGal »

midareff wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 2:59 pm On a $127 lunch tab I think you are quite light @ $15. ... especially if you got the typical wine taste first for approval. I'd be more in the 20% or $25+ dollar tip range, maybe a bit more if the service was special. I tip more on the bottle than the food if it's done right, that's just me, YMMV.
I agree...as long as service was good, we typically tip 20% on total vs separating out food vs alcohol. Sometimes more if service was great. Server still did the same work....restaurant's wine markup doesn't trickle down to him/her.
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BogleFanGal
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by BogleFanGal »

DrCheese wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 6:16 pm What if I order water (free), do I tip zero? It is the same amount of work if I order another non-alcoholic drink.
When one of us as designated driver orders water from a bartender, we always tip $1-2, even though water is "free". If we're at a restaurant already dining with a food check, then probably wouldn't add extra for glasses of tap water.
sfnerd
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by sfnerd »

20% for good service.

If you can't tip 20% on the wine, you can't afford the restaurant.

Less if the service is poor, and more if the service is amazing.
mayday23
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by mayday23 »

TxAg wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 4:44 pm I would've tipped a bit more in that situation, but the OP isn't out of line. It is often the case that people tip less on alcohol...likely because it is so marked up to begin with and requires comparatively little effort.
I just don't understand this. The waiter isn't cooking your steak and that's pretty marked up. Ordering a bottle of wine is the same effort as ordering a few beers. Pop the cap off vs refilling a wine glass a few times
PhilosophyAndrew
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by PhilosophyAndrew »

Interesting question. I don’t distinguish between alcohol and food when I decide how to tip, and I don’t think I would order alcohol for which I wasn’t comfortable tipping in my normal manner.

The amount I tip has increased a little over the years. I started out at 15% - 20%, tipped at a uniform 20% for many years, and currently tip 20% - 30%, dpending on the relationship I have built with the restaurant and how pleased I was with the meal.


Andy.
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TxAg
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Re: how do you tip on wine at a restaurant

Post by TxAg »

mayday23 wrote: Thu May 17, 2018 12:32 pm
TxAg wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 4:44 pm I would've tipped a bit more in that situation, but the OP isn't out of line. It is often the case that people tip less on alcohol...likely because it is so marked up to begin with and requires comparatively little effort.
I just don't understand this. The waiter isn't cooking your steak and that's pretty marked up. Ordering a bottle of wine is the same effort as ordering a few beers. Pop the cap off vs refilling a wine glass a few times
Aren't some tips split with the house?..I guess it depends on the restaurant. So part of that steak "tip" goes to the kitchen. Nobody is in the back cooking wine, though.
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