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English pub food is paid for at the bar with your drinks, that you yourself walk away carrying. They often give you a number on a wooden spoon and if you hate t

English pub food is paid for at the bar with your drinks, that you yourself walk away carrying. They often give you a number on a wooden spoon and if you hate the food, you just don't go there again.

virtualwhys 13y ago
"and if you hate the food, you just don't go there again" If? With love, Frenchie disclaimer: not French, but having spent time in both countries it's clear that tipping is nowhere near as prevalent as in the States where 20% is pretty common.
- elemeno 13y ago
  In pubs in England it's traditional to tip by offering to buy the staff member a drink. They'll charge you for a nominal drink - often saying that they'll save it for later/when their shift ends as the explanation for why they're not pouring themselves a drink right then, and the money goes into the tip pool. For more on Pub culture see the fascinating "Passport to the Pub: A guide to British pub etiquette" - http://www.sirc.org/publik/pub.html http://www.sirc.org/publik/pub.html
  - shawabawa3 13y ago
    hmm, I've never done/seen/heard of that and I've lived in London my entire life. Is it common in other parts of England? Or am I just a stingy bastard?
    - peterwwillis 13y ago
      Even in America, part of polite bar culture is buying an especially good bartender a shot or a drink. It also makes you a quick friend who might conveniently forget a couple drinks on your bill :)
    - dspillett 13y ago
      It seems common up here (York) though the reaction varies. Some decline, some places drop the value in the top jar, some may even make a point of chatting to you to drink the drink if the are not busy (though that is fairly rare). I expect it varies as much in London, but culture tends to follow people who then follow the culture they are used to - so you may just frequent places where not tipping that way is the norm by virtue of your preferences and circle of friends.
    - powatom 13y ago
      Can't vouch for down South, but at least in the North-West it's common to say 'And your own' at the end of your drinks order. They usually only take 10-20p rather than the cost of an actual drink, though.
    - Nursie 13y ago
      I think it's more common in the North. I'm a Southerner and lived in London for about 9 years and can count the number of times I've seen this on one hand, and then it's mostly been folks from the North that do it. It could be an artefact of different sorts of relationship people feel they have with bar staff (and serving staff in general).
  - hnriot 13y ago
    This is total nonsense!
  - Nursie 13y ago
    It's not traditional to do it every time, nor even every visit, and I've barely ever done this myself. I think it's fairer to say that traditionally you can tip the staff by buying one for them, but it's not something you observe happening all that often.
  - teamonkey 13y ago
    > In pubs in England it's traditional to tip by offering to buy the staff member a drink. At Christmas, maybe?
- Nursie 13y ago
  >> If? LOL, I know, UK bad food etc etc... Actually some of the best food in the UK is to be had in pubs IMHO. Also some of the worst, if you just pick one at random you might get either end of the spectrum.
baha_man 13y ago
"English pub food is paid for at the bar with your drinks, that you yourself walk away carrying." In my experience it's more normal that you order your food at the bar, and a member of staff then brings your food to your table. A tip isn't normally expected in this case. In a gastropub your order would normally be taken at your table and you'd tip just as if you were in a restaurant.

English pub food is paid for at the bar with your drinks, that you yourself walk away carrying. They often give you a number on a wooden spoon and if you hate the food, you just don't go there again.

virtualwhys 13y ago

"and if you hate the food, you just don't go there again" If? With love, Frenchie disclaimer: not French, but having spent time in both countries it's clear that tipping is nowhere near as prevalent as in the States where 20% is pretty common.

elemeno 13y ago
In pubs in England it's traditional to tip by offering to buy the staff member a drink. They'll charge you for a nominal drink - often saying that they'll save it for later/when their shift ends as the explanation for why they're not pouring themselves a drink right then, and the money goes into the tip pool. For more on Pub culture see the fascinating "Passport to the Pub: A guide to British pub etiquette" - http://www.sirc.org/publik/pub.html http://www.sirc.org/publik/pub.html
- shawabawa3 13y ago
  hmm, I've never done/seen/heard of that and I've lived in London my entire life. Is it common in other parts of England? Or am I just a stingy bastard?
  - peterwwillis 13y ago
    Even in America, part of polite bar culture is buying an especially good bartender a shot or a drink. It also makes you a quick friend who might conveniently forget a couple drinks on your bill :)
  - dspillett 13y ago
    It seems common up here (York) though the reaction varies. Some decline, some places drop the value in the top jar, some may even make a point of chatting to you to drink the drink if the are not busy (though that is fairly rare). I expect it varies as much in London, but culture tends to follow people who then follow the culture they are used to - so you may just frequent places where not tipping that way is the norm by virtue of your preferences and circle of friends.
  - powatom 13y ago
    Can't vouch for down South, but at least in the North-West it's common to say 'And your own' at the end of your drinks order. They usually only take 10-20p rather than the cost of an actual drink, though.
  - Nursie 13y ago
    I think it's more common in the North. I'm a Southerner and lived in London for about 9 years and can count the number of times I've seen this on one hand, and then it's mostly been folks from the North that do it. It could be an artefact of different sorts of relationship people feel they have with bar staff (and serving staff in general).
- hnriot 13y ago
  This is total nonsense!
- Nursie 13y ago
  It's not traditional to do it every time, nor even every visit, and I've barely ever done this myself. I think it's fairer to say that traditionally you can tip the staff by buying one for them, but it's not something you observe happening all that often.
- teamonkey 13y ago
  > In pubs in England it's traditional to tip by offering to buy the staff member a drink. At Christmas, maybe?
Nursie 13y ago
>> If? LOL, I know, UK bad food etc etc... Actually some of the best food in the UK is to be had in pubs IMHO. Also some of the worst, if you just pick one at random you might get either end of the spectrum.

baha_man 13y ago

"English pub food is paid for at the bar with your drinks, that you yourself walk away carrying." In my experience it's more normal that you order your food at the bar, and a member of staff then brings your food to your table. A tip isn't normally expected in this case. In a gastropub your order would normally be taken at your table and you'd tip just as if you were in a restaurant.