Is it rude to split dishes at a Restaurant?
Helena Echlin asks this question on Chow in their article "We'll Just Split".
Evidently some restaurants have an issue with their patrons splitting dishes. While I can sympathize with the frustration of a waiter getting stuck with a table with an undersized bill, they would do well to remember that the customer is always right. And if you provide excellent service, the size of your tip may not necessarily reflect the price of the meal.
I can see where a kitchen might have difficulty splitting plates, and frankly I wouldn't ask them to do it. You've got to give the chef the opportunity to make the presentation -- when you ask to split the plate in the kitchen you lose an important part of the meal. But if the table wants to divide things up, then that's up to us. The customer is always right.
And likewise, if you're going to grab a table during the peak rush on a Friday night just to have an intimate dessert, you would do well to leave a tip that is commensurate with the table space you took and not the size of the meal.
Evidently some restaurants have an issue with their patrons splitting dishes. While I can sympathize with the frustration of a waiter getting stuck with a table with an undersized bill, they would do well to remember that the customer is always right. And if you provide excellent service, the size of your tip may not necessarily reflect the price of the meal.
I can see where a kitchen might have difficulty splitting plates, and frankly I wouldn't ask them to do it. You've got to give the chef the opportunity to make the presentation -- when you ask to split the plate in the kitchen you lose an important part of the meal. But if the table wants to divide things up, then that's up to us. The customer is always right.
And likewise, if you're going to grab a table during the peak rush on a Friday night just to have an intimate dessert, you would do well to leave a tip that is commensurate with the table space you took and not the size of the meal.
1 comment:
When eating out with friends we will often split the starter or the dessert. When I was a kid we often split the main course as well, but I remember that quite a few restaurants in South Africa actually had a 'No Sharing' sign on their menus.
Quite cheeky of them I thought.
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