When (and when not) to tip in London and Britain
London and Britain like to do their own thing in Europe, and the same applies to their tipping rules. If you’ve got your head around when and when not to tip in Europe (say in Paris or Stockholm) in comparison to North America, you’ll need to readjust again when you think about tipping in London.
However, one thing the UK does share with Europe is that servers will be on at least a minimum wage, relaxing expectations on how much to tip.
More London tips:
• 8 travel myths about London
• Follow these 25 tips in London for a better trip
• Top budget hotels under $100 a night in London
When to tip in London and Britain
Here are a few pointers on how to tip like a Brit — that should save you some money in the process.
Tipping in Pubs, Bars, Clubs & Cafes
If it’s counter service…
If you’re doing the standing, waiting and carrying for yourself, there’s no need to give your server a tip. Many such cafes or coffee shops will have a tip jar displayed on the counter — people will put spare change in them at most.
While there’s no tipping at a pub counter, there is a custom of offering to buy an exceptionally helpful bartender a drink — rather than pouring themselves something, they’ll simply add one pound or so to your total price.
If it’s seated service…
If you’re presented with a check at the end of your visit, leave a tip of around 10% of the bill. Otherwise, if you’ve had good service, just leave them some change on the table.
No need to leave a tip if you pick up a few gin and tonics at the bar. Photo: Craig Nelson
Tipping in restaurants
Reckon on leaving from 10% to 15% of the total bill, depending on the quality of your service. However, do take a look at the check first. Some restaurants add on their own service charge as standard and you don’t want to pay twice.
You may also get the option to add on a tip if paying by credit card. Don’t feel pressured to do this — many people prefer to leave the tip in cash instead, feeling that it’s more likely to go to the serving staff than the owners.
Related: 10 Tips to save on dining in London
Just round up for the tip in a London taxi. Photo: technicolourcity
Tipping in taxis
Do tip if you ride in a London taxi, but simply by rounding it up to a nice round number, for example paying £30 for a £28 journey.
Don’t round up by more than a couple of pounds — if your journey cost you £29.60, you’d probably still only round it up to £30.
Tipping tour guides
Your guide will probably expect something but do feel free to modify your tip depending on the quality of the service they provided. A tip around £5 is probably about right for a half-day/day tour.
Tipping in hotels
Most of the hotels we’d recommend on EuroCheapo are smaller, family-run establishments where there is no need to tip (although it’s always a nice gesture to leave a little something in the room).
In larger, fancier places you may want to tip a porter who has carried your bags to your room a couple of pounds, and perhaps also some coins for your chambermaid (depending on how much work you’ve given them!).
Related: 5 London hotels in a central location under £100 per night
Tipping in public bathrooms
While you may need to pay to access public toilets, you should never have to tip beyond that. Some bars and clubs use bathroom attendants, who often provide users with an array of beauty products or sweets in the hope of earning a bit of extra cash. Of course, if you take advantages of their services, you should give them a tip. If you decide not to, it’s your chance to shuffle off awkwardly, avoiding eye contact like a true Brit.
Your experience
What are your tips for tipping in London? Tell us in the comments!
About the author
This is way too complicated. Tipping is simple in the UK unless of course the service you get is crap.
#1. Bartender at bar is either ‘keep the change’ or 5% ish. Outside of big cities don’t be surprised or offended if the bartender puts your tip in the charity box.
#2. Every other tipping situation is 10% even if the so called tip is included in the price.
& good luck to you if your cab fare is £29.60 & you give a 40p tip. The cabbie will drive over your feet & your suitcases. Presumably the writer of this article is walking with a serious limp.
Noticed that some London cabbies will tell you that their credit card machine didn’t work. A very friendly cabbie told us that they had to pay a percentage of fare for using machine which is why some cabbies will tell us that.
That’s a good piece of inside info. Thanks for letting us know about your experience.
So good to know! I find that tipping in cities is one of the hardest pieces of info to find online because locals never write about it since it’s so obvious to them. Thanks for sharing!
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(For the record, in Spain, you don’t really tip. You can round up to the nearest euro or leave the change if it’s easier, but there’s really no need to tip. This was such a big surprise to me!)