okbookit

I am looking of guidance on Restaurant tipping and drinking tap water in my hotel room in Madrid and Barcelona

kaudrey

I drank the water in both cities with no problem.

Generally, tips in Spain are smaller than the US - 5% to 10%. If you just get a drink at the bar, just leave the change from paying the bill. Taxi drivers etc also expect the same size tip.

Karen

elaine

Is the tap water safe in every place in Europe I can think of? Yes.
However, a change in the mineral content of water can sometimes affect my GI tract, even within the USA, even from spring water.
So, I tend to go with bottled water that I know, as much as possible, except for teeth brushing and such.

Robert2533

Americans (USA) always over tip, an inherent fault in the American system. Karen is correct, you can leave your change at a bar after having a drink as long as it only a few céntimos, nothing more. Also, you never tip 5 to 10% for anything. Waiters, hotel staff, taxi drivers, etc. are all professionals. This is what they do for a living and are well paid in their professions, unlike their American cousins, who are waiting for the next big break, or working their way through college for next to nothing in some greasy dinner. A small tip of a couple of euros works well as a compliment to the quality of their service, but a large tip can be an embarrassment, especially in the smaller villages, or boutique restaurants. This advice holds true if you're dining at Arzak's in Donostia-San Sebastian, or at Restaurante Ariño in Labastida in the Rioja Alavesa.

The best advice is to watch what the locals do and follow their example. As a general rule you tip the doorman a euro for calling a taxi. A euro or two to the taxi driver if he handles your bags. Give the bellman a euro a bag and a pleasant smile. Leave 1 or 2 euros a day for the maid and you?ll find things are always taken well care of.

Never leave more than 5 euros for a very expensive dinner and in most cases leave nothing. The only exception to this rule is if you are throwing a large party. An extra 10% to 15% is an acknowledgement of their extra service for you and your group.

Remember, the tip, or service charge, is built into the bill. The same is true if you sit at an outside table. You're already paying for this service. Both Spain and France have a three tier system of service in restaurants and cafés. You'll always pay less at the bar. That's why you see so many locals standing at the bars. Sometimes yo'u'll pay little more to sit at a table, depending upon the setup, and a lot more on the mesa, the sidewalk tables. Never take you drink from the bar to a table unless you first ask if it is permissible.

Most restaurants in Spain and France will be happy to serve tap water in a carafe. You can even ask for ice. The water systems in both countries is vastly improved and the water is generally safe to drink just about anywhere. Again, the best advice is to follow the lead of the locals.

ira

Hi ok,

>Remember, the tip, or service charge, is built into the bill. <

This is not quite true. The service charge is how the owner pays the help. That is included in the price.

A tip is something extra for the waiter(ess). Don't add it to your charge slip, as that becomes the property of the owner.

For extra good service, leave an additional euro, or so.

suze

I drink bottled water when traveling anywhere. It's not that the tap is bad necessarily, just different from what you are used to at home, so could upset your stomach. When having all kinds of new food treats, at least I can I stick with white wine and bottled water for my beverages of choice.

Patrick

I must always laugh when someone says that an American leaving too large a tip is "an embarrassment". To whom? Do you honestly think a waiter who has been rewarded for outstanding service is embarrassed by it? Doubtful. I fear the only ones truly embarrassed by it, are the ones who somehow wrongly feel that tipping is a contest and if someone tips more than they do, it somehow makes them appear cheap. That isn't the case at all.
What is there to be embarrassed about?

Robert2533

Depending on where you dine, the waiter, or waitress, is not just there to serve you, but is often a member of the family and at restaurants where they happen to be employees only, they often don't understand the American concept of over-tipping and feel embarrassed if more than just a few euros are left on the table, except at restaurants in tourist areas frequented by Americans, where they have grown use to this concept and will gladly accept the gratuity, even if it goes against the cultural norm. It's much easier to accept it then to try and explain that it is not needed to obtain good service, this time, or the next.

The "help", as you can them, are professional restaurant or hotel staff and are paid a decent wage, or share in the profits, in the case of family members. They are there to learn the business and often work in several different capacities. The service charge is the restaurants added charge before the IVA is added, not what they pay the "help".

If you want to leave more, feel free, but note that few Spaniards or French ever leave a tip of more than a few euros, if any, because they always expect the service to be the best without exception, as does the restaurant owner and the wait staff.

Patrick

There's also a major difference in a local expecting perfect service and the service I get. As a person who doesn't speak the language I often require a whole lot more personal attention. First of all the waiter may have to explain a lot of things about the menu. Ask any US waiter if their non-speaking foreign customers are "more work" and they will tell you yes. So it is no different when the opposite is true. Even though as a customer I may be a P in the A to them, if they keep smiling and remain totally patient and friendly, I am happy to reward them with more than what the local would do. To me that only seems natural and fair.

On a side note, it's interesting that you say the locals always "expect the service to be the best without exception". Wow. How naive of them. It's impossible for me to believe than no Spaniard or Frenchman has ever received less than perfect service -- far from it.