large booking at restaurant- how to split the bill?

splishsplash

I think there are different levels of eating out which determine how the bill will be split - in my world anyway.

Lunch - functional eating - we tend to pay for what we've had and contribute evenly for the tip (i.e. 10% of the total).
Dinner - functional eating - we tend to split the bill evenly and contribute to the tip evenly.

Lunch - occasion - we tend to split the bill and tip evenly, no matter what anyone has eaten. We're paying for the occasion, not the food.
Dinner - occasion - ditto.

If it's a special occasion - birthday, engagement, leaving, baby etc, we also cover the cost of the guest of honour i.e. bill+tip/x-1.

I must be extremely lucky - I have a huge appetite so I expect to have starter, mains, desserts and whatever else they'll give me... and have never noticed any great disparity among the people I go out with.
What frequently happens though if someone doesn't want to eat is they'll say I'll join you for coffee and they'll do just that. Could be diet or money that dictates that, we'll just cover the coffee with the bill in that case and continue on all together to the pub or wherever's next.
ETA to clarify - they'll join the dinner party at the coffee stage, not a separate occasion.

boliston

silvercar wrote: »

....

Also when it comes to tips. generally you add say 10%. Yet the waitress served everyone with the same good grace and attitude, but those having cheaper meal contribute less.

Everyone tips differently and a large group will often contain generous and mean tippers (i normally go with 10% as it is standard for the uk apart from those ripoff places that auto-add a 12.5% tip) so it makes more sense if each person decides their own level of tip. The service is also not always the same for every person at the table - I remember my mum's order once got forgotten entirely.

Pollycat

silvercar wrote: »

So those that are enjoying the social occasion (everyone or why would they go), are paying less for the evening out by dint of eating less, than those who eat more? Now who is free loading/

Why is somebody freeloading?

Surely, it depends how you split the bill.
If people pay for what they have consumed, nobody is freeloading on anybody.
If the bill is split equally, I guess the people eating more are freeloading on the people eating less.

What is your point?

silvercar wrote: »

Also when it comes to tips. generally you add say 10%. Yet the waitress served everyone with the same good grace and attitude, but those having cheaper meal contribute less.

But if someone only has 1 course, 1 drink, no coffee and someone else has 3 courses, several drinks and refills of coffee the waitress has served the latter person much more than the former person.

So - in your (imho) quite strange scenario - the person who has eaten less, drunk less, used the waitress's services less pays less in tip. :rotfl:

If you are that type of person who goes to that extreme when eating out.

moneyistooshorttomention

Don't know about anyone else - but another reason I like to go out for a meal (besides the "Occasion") is that I dont have to shop for/cook/wash up after the meal for once and I am also looking out for something "new" on the menu to try. I'm all the keener to try something that I personally regard as too much effort to make just for myself.

To me it's also a bit to do with having a "learning experience" if possible - eg I've been used to living somewhere where new restaurants etc from all sorts of different countries open up. That way I can think "Don't know what Spanish food is like - and a Spanish restaurant has just opened - good I'll try it out" or "Ditto - Japanese food" and so on.

SingleSue

Pollycat wrote: »

Lordy! Lordy!
If I felt I had to do this when I went out for a meal, I'd change my social circle.

I keep a mental note of how much is spent, I can't help it and have always been the same even if my more well off days, the figures just pop into my head without me meaning them to. I also do the same when supermarket shopping.

I'm usually the one my friends ask to sort out how much everyone owes as I am usually the only one who can remember who had what and how much they were on the menu and can then calculate it saving them the hassle.

SingleSue

Re tips, I don't contribute a % of what my individual consumption has been, I put in the same as everyone else. So if it is agreed we all contribute a fiver then that is what I contribute.

Re drinks, I have already said I will have orange squash, this is because my body is not able to tolerate fizzy drinks, orange juice doesn't always agree with me especially if I have had a rich meal out and because I am driving so not able to drink alcohol. Not because I am being a skin flint sitting there po faced whilst others are splashing out on wine. I would honestly love to sit there with a nice glass of wine (or several!) but as I am usually the designated driver (by dint of me having to also drive in the morning whilst the others do not have to), they would not be so pleased if I did as their costs would increase due to taxi fares.

missbiggles1

Jagraf wrote: »

What if 8 of you go out for a meal, and then 3 of you just have a coke and two of you have soup, and one just wants a pudding. I can't see the restaurant owner being very happy.

On a separate note, there are a group of 6 of us girls (bit older than girls) and we all meet up for each other's birthdays. We are all in different financial situations and prior to going out the person whose birthday it is arranges something after consulting with everyone else. Something is chosen that suits everyone's budget - from morning coffee, to afternoon tea, to a two course meal chosen in advance, to ditching presents and splashing out. None of us drink a lot but it may be that three have a glass of wine and three have a cheaper drink. We all split the bill equally so someone may spend a few more pounds. However, some people drive further, some people give lifts to others, some may spend a bit more on a pressie, so it equals up. In the twenty years if meeting up six times a year, I've never encountered a problem.

When we go out for a book group lunch with the woman who doesn't eat in the day, we let the restaurant know that this will be the case when we make the booking. We've never encountered any problems with this but it saves any embarrassment at the time.

missbiggles1

springdreams wrote: »

Very presumptuous of you, especially since you don't even know me ...

I only eat one course because that is all I can manage to eat, and actually usually leave a good part of the meal on my plate. I don't have a large appetite (more of a nibbler) and don't see why I should eat more than I am comfortable with just because others want to order two or more courses. It has nothing to do with cost, as I can well afford a full three course meal and do on occasion dine in 5 star establishments (where the portions are generally small!). I am simply not a big eater, and certainly don't have a po face if I have eaten my fill but others are still eating, and I also only have one alcoholic drink (not wine as I can't stand the stuff) as I tend to drive after the meal.

My friends and family and I tend to go out for the company rather than the food. A restaurant just happens to be a convenient venue to do this, and people need to eat. We also don't tend to hog a table in a restaurant for hours. A restaurant is a business, and needs people to be considerate of other people who may be waiting for the table.

If you go out for dinner then that's what you're doing for the evening - unless you're just meeting for a curry on your way to the cinema etc, you don't normally go out for dinner and then do something else as well - that would run up expensive!

Pollycat

Pollycat wrote: »

Lordy! Lordy!
If I felt I had to do this when I went out for a meal, I'd change my social circle.

SingleSue wrote: »

I keep a mental note of how much is spent, I can't help it and have always been the same even if my more well off days, the figures just pop into my head without me meaning them to. I also do the same when supermarket shopping.

I'm usually the one my friends ask to sort out how much everyone owes as I am usually the only one who can remember who had what and how much they were on the menu and can then calculate it saving them the hassle.

I can understand that, SingleSue - I have certain tendencies that mean I count certain things and it sounds like you don't do it in the same way as the post below - which was the post I replied to (and the one you quoted):

boliston wrote: »

I find a good tip for group meals (eg with work colleagues etc) is to take a quick snap of the bill with your phone as you can then calculate your share without feeling "rushed". I normally then pay my exact share (including 10% tip if service was good!) on a card as i don't normally carry much cash so having your own e-copy of the bill makes this much easier.

I appreciate that most people don't feel the same way as I do but I would feel the whole atmosphere had been spoiled if people started 'totting up' what they'd had and insisting on paying for just what they'd eaten and drank.

But the days of eating out with work colleagues has long gone for me (thankfully).
And I don't have to watch the pennies so my attitude is probably very different from someone who does eat out with work colleagues or has to stick to a budget.

moneyistooshorttomention

True PasturesNew

We all have a different level of home facilities (or otherwise...).

Recent discussions as to where to hold a "home event" centred around I have more space v. someone else has rather a lot less home space but greater facilities.