Tipping At Australian Restaurants

[cove]

Lets say I go to Aria,Sydney Cafe or Quay in Sydney or say Cutler,Rockpool or the Langham in Melbourne for dinner should we tip and if so how much?

 

[Fantic125]

It depends on how much money is left in your account after eating there....

 

[trippin_the_rift]

I've been to most of those and never tipped a cent.
In saying that, if the service exceeds expectations I generally round it to the nearest $50.

Most restraunts have a blank space for gratuity these days so even if you feel it's worthwhile, 10-15% is more than enough. This isn't 25%new york

 

[Oneworldplus2]

I agree with 'trippin'. Just make sure you have the right bill to begin with.

 

[eightblack]

I've also been to most of the restaurants listed and will tip if the service has been above expectations in the range of 10-15%...

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Lets say I go to Aria,Sydney Cafe or Quay in Sydney or say Cutler,Rockpool or the Langham in Melbourne for dinner should we tip and if so how much?

Whatever restaurant I am at first I determine whether or not there is AMEX surcharge - if NO - tip if service warrants- if YES - I tell wait staff and manager no tip cause they already getting up my skirt with CC charge.

 

[notzac]

Tipping in .au is thankfully entirely unlike .us -- I would say 10% rounded to the nearest dollar if you receive good service at a decent resto, and maybe 15% rounded if at a top flight resto. Not leaving a tip isn't a bad thing, but verbal thanks for really good service is not an acceptable substitute for cash. Tips should always be based on the full amount of the check. Also, always ensure that a gratuity hasn't been automatically included.

 

[anat0l]

I would tip 10-15% only if the service was really excellent.

This is not like the US where 10-15% is for normal, standard level service and it moves up (or slides down) from there. The "normal, standard level service" is 0%; anything less - well you can't pay negative tips or get out of your bill (unless it was really, really bad), but you can complain.

Tipping is never expected in Australia, so even if the service is excellent there is no obligation (social or legal) on you to tip.

A verbal confirmation remarking on the quality of the meal and service - with or without tip - is warranted if it is good.

I suppose some US people (and some Europeans) can't get used out of not tipping (except in places where they'd be causing offence if they did) and will tip anyway. Can't stop them......

Oh and watch for surcharges, as someone said. Bad enough giving a tip but then to have 3% usurped by a surcharge...

 

[GT351]

I only tip in oz if the service is good.
Saying that, I have often had good service and tip.

 

[Homer]

Unlike the US, where the waiters work largely for tips, your senior waiter at Quay or Est or Tetsuyas, etc, is on $60K+ and they - your table waiter as opposed to one of the “plate carriers” - are often the recipients of any largesse. So as a general rule I don’t get carried away with tipping. That said, at some of the restaurants you’ve named (note that Cafe Sydney and a couple of those Melbourne ones are in a different league to Quay so I would apply a different measure) I will “round off” the bill to a neat total that represents around 10-15% if the standards are as high as you expect them to be.

 

[haydensydney]

My partner and I usually tip to the nearest $50, like trippin_the_rift, though if the bill was $256, we wouldn't make it $300 - would probably tip to $270 or $280.

 

[dajop]

Why the feeling to tip extra (in % terms) if it is a "top restaurant" - already tipping more in $ terms as food is already more? Aren't the diner:staff ratios usually lower in these type of restaurants, which is accounted for as a component of higher prices to dine at the restaurant? The better the restaurant the tougher I am, because I would automatically expect a certain level of service if the waiting staff only have half the customers to serve! Staff do have minimum wages.

I am almost the opposite, if management see fit to under-staff a restaurant and despite this the staff do a good job, I am more inclined to tip.

In the end, somewhere between 0% and 10% is my philosophy depending on the service level, taking above into account. Certainly not keen on moving towards the US culture, and I believe tipping over 10%, unless the service is extraordinary is not warranted.

 

[Princess Fiona]

In general I always tip if good service and food regardless of whether it's the local cafe or haute cuisine. Usually 10% of the bill rounded up or down to the nearest 10 dollars, if the service has been indifferent or slow I will not tip and also won't tip if there's already a service/ CC/ public holiday surcharge.

 

[notzac]

Why the feeling to tip extra (in % terms) if it is a "top restaurant"

You raise a lot of good points -- the reason I suggested tipping more in a better restaurant is that the service is generally better. Staff aren't necessarily paid more in the better restaurants, so if they work harder to look after me -- I'll tip better.

 

[lovestotravel]

Tipping in .au is thankfully entirely unlike .us -- I would say 10% rounded to the nearest dollar if you receive good service at a decent resto, and maybe 15% rounded if at a top flight resto. Not leaving a tip isn't a bad thing, but verbal thanks for really good service is not an acceptable substitute for cash. Tips should always be based on the full amount of the check. Also, always ensure that a gratuity hasn't been automatically included.

I wish were were like the US or Europe where tipping usually means great service.

Generally Australian service is pathetic

In the USA I have only had one bad restaurant meal out of hundreds, and that was because the owner had no idea what he was doing and should have been out the back counting the cash....

In Australia I have lost track of the poor service I have received.

I have NEVER heard of an Australian restaurant already included a TIP/Service fee, except for room service in hotels, and that $$ goes back to the hotel.

Europe tips are generally included and service is varied

I only tip VERY rarely in Australia as the staff are paid enough, unlike the USA where they are very poorly paid and the tips in cheaper restaurants mean they can afford to eat.

In high-end restaurants where a bill for a party of 2 is about $250, the tips mean a very good life-style for the waiters!

 

[cove]

Lucky I asked as we dropped into Rockpool for lunch in MEL and it was really good.
In Perth restaurant staff are getting more than $25 an hour and I suspect that there is less tipping as a result.
In California we typically double the tax figure which makes it about 19% depending on which county you are in. Staff pay can be about $8 an hour so tipping is pretty close to compulsory unless the meal is a total fiasco.
NewYork is typically 20 to 25% for a top dinner.
Thanks for your thoughts on tipping in Australian restaurants for great service as we are in Sydney and Melbourne quite regularly and all but one I listed is within walking distance.

 

[drron]

Another who rarely tips in Australia.only for exceptional service.I have no problems tipping in the USA.
My real problem is tipping in places-usually Asia-which did not have a tipping culture but have been seduced by unthinking people from USA who do not take their own advice-ie do what is the local culture when it comes to tipping.
In other than the top restaurants in Australia if the food is good I try and talk to the kitchen staff-the responses show that this rarely happens and is usually appreciated.

 

[The Rok]

I tipped once before, but yea, I didnt like it so I didnt do it again...

 

[KitKat]

I tip if the service has been good. Tend to tip in cash and pay the bill via CC as I am not sure how it filters down to the staff member if you pay the tip via the CC

 

[Durin's Bane]

I rarely tip on Oz. Even at the high end restaurants (say Jacksons in Perth), the service is very good, but not so magnificent that I need to pay 10% or more on top the bill which is hundreds of dollars anyway.

Like a few others here have mentioned, I always tip in the USA, as the price is in general comparatively less than Oz (though about the same once tips are factored), and I have *always* received good to great service. Not one bad service experience yet. Unlike in Oz, especially Perth...

Last year I had dinner at a cafe on King Street in Perth, where they actually brought an accompaniment to the main out *after* desert. While paying the guy serving us made it clear through his grunt when we crossed the 'tip' off the bill that the lack of a tip was unwelcome. My senior colleague (visiting from Sydney) let him have it. It was pretty funny to see. We have obviously not been back since.