When eating restaurants in Italy, we were charged coperto/covercharge of euro 1.50 to 2 per person. I have 2 small kids ,9 and 11 y old. sometimes they charge the kids ,sometimes they don't. I know this cover charge is for tap water and bread basket. I usually get bottled water but I am just wondering : If I refused the bread and drink tap water,can I tell the waiter to take the cover charge off? When in Paris ,I always drink carafe d Eau and service is included in the price listed. is coperto mandatory ? In Venice,we ate at a restaurant by the Rialto bridge,when checking out the menu,there was a big sign : No Cover Charge. but I usually don't think about whether there is a covercharge or not when eating out.Just curious.

The owner of the restaurant may choose to charge the cover or not, but if it is stated in the menu you cannot refuse to pay it. The only exception is in Rome and surroundings where a regional law forbids to charge for coperto (but charging for service is legal). I am told that scores of restaurants in Rome simply ignore this law, but there you would have legal ground for not paying.

As far as I've experienced, Coperto is Coperto; if you want to eat sitting down, you pay the coperto. Not a bad idea to check on the kids' coperto (or just in general) before being seated if it will make a difference to you. The highest I've ever seen was 7 euros in a Florence restaurant...we walked on.

I smiled at your "I have 2 small kids..."...when my sons were 9 and 11 they could out-eat my husband and me, hands down!

Obviously, Italians do things differently than the French. Coperto is not something invented to "gouge" tourists, it's a part of the Italian culture. I guess if you're a cynic you could say it was invented to gouge EVERYONE

It's not uncommon, so I don't think you'd get away with not paying it, since in most places it would be assumed that restaurants will charge it, or increase the prices of meals accordingly if they don't. Every person entering a place adds some (however infinitesimal) cost of upkeep/maintenance/cleaning. If it really bothers you, reduce the tip accordingly.

Klondike ,7 euro coperto��,is coperto amount written on the menu ? I guess I never look at the menu carefully. I just assumed it's 2 euro max.per person. but we didn't eat any fancy resto, just mom/pop places.

Patrick, I thought you weren't meant to tip in Europe?

When I was in Italy, a friend I met there told me to think of the coperto as the charge to 'rent' the table. Unlike in the States, where the waiter's goal is often to serve you as fast as possible and turn the table, in Italy, the table is yours for as long as you want it. It took some getting used to!

You're on holiday.
Is it worth the hassle to query something like that. Refusing the bread?

>>Patrick, I thought you weren't meant to tip in Europe?<<

Not as generously or as extensively as in the US, perhaps, but of course it happens. Obviously not if they also have a service charge, but if they didn't have one or both, the menu items would just cost more anyway.

"Coperto" is charged from everyone not just from tourists, it is common all over Italy, and it is meant to pay for the table, tablecloth, napkin, dishes, washing and cleaning, heating and light... everything involved with a restaurant meal which is neither food nor work costs of staff. The price is stated on the menu, and you have to pay it if you eat at a restaurant table - no matter if you eat the bread or not. Better get used to it.

I haven't been to Italy, but I have never encountered this practice in France, but I have in Spain, also, especially Andalusia. I've also found it some in Barcelona, although some places ask you if you want it there (it is for some toasted bread with tomato on it). In Seville, as I recall, it was also for some small appetizer thing (olives and dry crackers). I never wanted either of these things, I don't even like them so would resent trying to have something forced on me. In Spain, I don't think it was ever just for the setting and water and bread like you'd have with the dinner.

I really do resent being forced to pay for something you don't even want. I had some places in Barcelona literally refuse to give me tap water, even when I asked. They aren't legally even allowed to do that in France (refuse to give you tap water), which I appreciate.

BUt generally, I think you have to go with the flow to some extent when traveling. And if everyone does it in Italy, it's just part of your budget.

IMHO you are wrong in considering coperto as something you pay in order to get something. Restaurant owners may choose to issue their menus with coperto - a cover charge per head and keep the single courses' prices a bit lower - it could be a deception if you did not knew, but once you know and the thing has got traditional you cannot really blame them. Or they can choose to be fair and publish full prices without coperto. Again, if you know in advance you can choose.

I also thought that tipping is not expected in Europe? I 've read recently that some of the high end restaurants in the US ,(LA and NY)tipping is discouraged? I guess they just raise the prices and pay better wages for the staff.
I brought up this subject after reading someone's comment about coperto. Whether it's mandatory or not. Had to laugh reading about sticker shock that tourists get after they get the bill for places in St. Mark's Square in Venice. My husband wanted to do it, just because we're in Venice.
The other thing that's kind of annoying on my recent visit to Italy is the tourist tax that hotel charged per person.
If I stayed in apartment,will I still get charged this tourist tax?

Lots of places charge a tourist tax or hotel tax, not just Italy.
I am sure I paid extra taxes in NYC every time I stayed there.

"The other thing that's kind of annoying on my recent visit to Italy is the tourist tax that hotel charged per person."

Italy is broke. They have to do something to help pay for services, antiquities preservation, etc., so that people will still want to visit. Many things that tourists go to Italy to see and experience do not involve an entry fee, so this is a way of capturing some revenue. Think of it as a small contribution so that your great-grandkids will hopefully be able to enjoy these places, too.

This editorial expresses the opinion that some places, esp. Venice, need to think bigger than a small, per-night hotel tax.

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/artic...ourist--/29981

This is one of those incidentals I can't get all bothered by. It's so minute, I'm not tipping more than change anyway...in the grand scheme of a couple thousand dollar trip, what's a couple bucks a meal?

You're worried about a 2 Euro coperto or the hotel tax but not the 21% value added tax you pay on everything you buy in Italy? Is that because the VAT is built in to the price and you don't notice it?

I think it's because it isn't a law and is arbitrary, that's why it bothers people (the coperto). The tax is a govt. tax and there is nothing you can do about it, same as VAT. And I think most people understand the concept of taxes going to support the govt. But being asked to pay for something that seems like part of what any regular restaurant does in other countries as part of what you are paying for just is bothersome. A lot of people complain about all the airlines adding on fees for everything now (such as to get a seat selection or check a bag), even when it is published, it's no different.

As I said, if this is mandatory in a restaurant, it should be stated on the carte or menu that all orders will include a 2 euro coperto on top of the meal price or something.

I don't eat expensive dinners much, so to me an arbitrary 2 euro fee is actually a lot proportionately. But if it were real common in a country, I would jsut get used to it, not try to avoid it if you can't. I do resent the idea of forcing people to buy expensive bottled water (which is what they were doing in Barcelona) not just for the cost (which was more like 5 euro), but I really object for environmental reasons as to how many people drink bottled water in so many countries, especially Europe. At least in the US, you don't see that so often in restaurants, only on the street.