Puglia Differences: an occasional series on things that strike this Brit as so very Italian.
I don’t know what Americans would make of Italian restaurants. Not only do they not expect a tip - it’s just not part of the Italian culture - but also they often round the bill down. They will knock a couple of Euros off to make the total a nice round number.
I used to think that it was because we were locals and regulars in Cisternino. However, last week we were in Polignano a Mare (about 20km away) for a very nice lunch and the same thing happened. The total was €105 rounded down with a discount to give us €100.
Perhaps our making the effort to speak Italian helps but I think they just do it to be nice. It is not really going to affect their bottom line, we get a nice feeling about the restaurant and maybe they hope it will encourage us to return.
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