You are 100% correct. Of course, with most of the wines I see being brought to the restaurant, it would only add $3 to $5 tip
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I can only recall one time in Pittsburgh that I saw someone else bring a bottle of wine to a licensed restaurant and that was DRC. This excludes meet ups with fellow Berserkers.
No. it’s not like bringing your own steak Mr. Dolinski
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An evergreen topic but a worthwhile one.
I don’t judge restaurants that don’t want to allow BYO. They’re in a tough business and are entitled to take the necessary calculated risks regarding the benefits and burdens for their circumstances.
But the consequence of not offering corkage is that I’m probably not interested in eating there.
The restaurants I do judge, however, are the ones that grudgingly offer corkage but do everything they can to make it an unpleasant process. If you are going to offer it, embrace it. Don’t be passive aggressive about it.
In the DC area there are a handful of luxe spots that never allow BYO. But the vast majority allow it and do so graciously.
Oh, and I do calculate the tip keeping the “hole” in the check in mind from the server’s perspective.
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We are in agreement. In NYC, I would absolutely be factoring in the wine when calculating tip. I’m just saying that this standard 100% does not apply to the BYOB restaurants in NJ that Lettie references and her mentioning her surprise and how she’s single handedly combating this is virtue signaling.
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What is this, a Mariano’s?
Renaldi’s After Dark (RIP) in Lakeview used have a a BYO steak night. $7 and they would add fries/baked potato, vegetable, and garlic bread.
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This brings up a good question. Why tip on wine? Whether it’s a $40 bottle or $400 the process of opening and presenting is about identical. I’ve worked in the industry and I was never offended if the tip was not in line with the wine + food cost.
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This, for the most part. I add in $30-$50 per bottle, on top of what I am tipping on food (often times around 30%), when we byo. I don’t assume that the corkage fee* goes to the wait staff. If it does, all the better for them and the bussers.
For the most part, I think “wine people” are a generous group. That said, even within my local groups, I have seen those who don’t add in anything extra, yet demand stemware and often decanters as well. It irritates me, because corkage is a privilege, not a right, and it shouldn’t be abused. Take care of the people that are taking care of you.
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- if there is a corkage fee. Ours is most often waived as we share with the wait staff.
I knew there was one person. Maybe Berserkers isn’t for you.
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Good assumption.
Also safe to assume profits on wine don’t go to staff.
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I didn’t say I don’t tip on wine. My point is not including the better stemware and potential decanter the process is about the same regardless of bottle cost. But I guess BYOB tipping is different than in house marked up wine tipping.
Yeah, there is always one…that’s usually me.
My view is that the server should not pay a price because I decided to bring wine. I calculate a tip that assumes a purchase of a bottle off the list.
Addendum: I’ve always thought if you can afford a $1000 bottle of wine off a wine list you can afford to tip on it accordingly.
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Not allowed at my shop.
It’s not just that every time the subject comes up, the same arguments get made on both sides. It’s that people on both sides chime in with the same old arguments, but apparently convinced they’re the first ones to have ever had the idea.
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Are servers googling what wine you brought in the back? What are the odds a typical server is going to know the difference between a wine geeks $500 bottle and a nice $75 one?
If you bring a Bourgogne or a Grand Cru I don’t think most are paying attention?
How are they setting these tip expectations?
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Except a few newbies
We don’t think we are the first ones to have the idea. We just think that some people sound as if there is only one side to the argument.
I’m under the impression that well-managed restaurants would have efficiently calculated their stated corkage fees within their business model. Hence, while I consider tipping based on current winesearcher bottle prices that one brings to be more of being generous, but not necessarily the appropriate requirement.
For added context, local NYC restaurants that I go to normally have robust wine lists. But, because of my preference, bottle(s) I pay corkage for are almost always aged and these are not generally offered in the restaurants.
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