A very small survival guide to Veneto. Vol 4 - tipping / coperto

Eveliis asks:
4. What's the deal with tipping?

Tipping is easy. It's included in the bill and there's no choice involved. The service fee is called "coperto" which basically means everything that covers the table apart from food. It'll be somewhere around 2-3 euros, though in tight tourist spots such as Venice it can be much higher than that.

Il coperto is applied only when you're eating a proper dinner. That is, not in the office-quarter trattorias that offer quick pasta at lunch hour, nor in sandwich bars. But anywhere where you have a tablecloth, a waiter and a menu with abundant choice you can be sure the final price will be a tad above the expected total. The price of the coperto will be written in tiny letters in the bottom of the last page of the menu.


Up next: 5. Is there any hope of managing with English?