What additional costs can I expect when visiting a restaurant in the US where service is included?
I am going to a Michelin three-star restaurant in New York City this fall. On their website, it says that for the fixed-price tasting menu, both the course menu and the beverage pairing are ”inclusive of service”.
Does that mean that if add those two prices together, that's what it ultimately will cost me? Am I not expected to tip a single penny, even if the service was fantastic? Will there be sales and/or state tax added on top of that?
For the record, even though I come from Europe, I have absolutely no problem with tipping when I am expected to. I probably over-tip anyway when I'm the US, just to not cheat the service staff over their hard-earned wages. I don't want to offend anyone.
Best Answer
I dined at Per Se last night, so I guess there's a 20% chance that you'll be dining there as well (there are only 5 three-star's in New York as of 2018).
When the bill came, it was very clear that gratuity was already included. I even received a beautifully hand-written bill with no spot for additional gratuity. The staff were excellent and I have no doubt that it would not be held against you if you did not include an additional tip. Especially as your bill can easily reach $1,000 for two people without even buying wine. And if I were dining for something that was not a special occasion, I would probably have left it at that.
However on our occasion (10 year wedding anniversary and my wife's birthday) they really went the extra mile. We received personal touches and a note from the sous-chef, complimentary champagne, and they sent an additional goodie bag home for our kids. And because we're not big drinkers, we we went with non-alcoholic beverages which they did not charge us for and the bar tender saw to us personally and honestly stole the show with his non-alcoholic cocktails.
With these extra above-and-beyond touches, we did leave an additional 10% tip on top of the already-included gratiuity - mostly because of the bar tender.
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