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Thanks, America… now nobody can afford to leave a tip in a restaurant
A 20 per cent service charge on eating out is the latest low blow in the 'special relationship', writes a hungry Victoria Richards.
Monday 27 April 2026 13:12 BST
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The other day in east London, I bought a coffee which cost me £4.20 – except that it didn't, it cost me £4.83, because I panicked and tapped 'yes' when asked if I wanted to add a service charge. The service charge in question was 15 per cent – and I, a people-pleaser, said 'yes' to the machine. If there's anything to make us despair about the future of eating and drinking out in London (and the prospects for humanity in general), it is this.
An easy segue, then, to Gordon Ramsay, who is well known for bringing humanity's despair into the workplace by way of his TV show, Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares ('the freshest thing in this kitchen is that pigeon flying around, and he's lucky he's still alive!'). Except now, the celebrity chef is doing it to his customers, too.
He's been caught slapping on a 20 per cent 'discretionary service charge' on at least two occasions at his latest London restaurant, Lucky Cat in Bishopsgate, and I'm pretty sure that within a year this eye-watering service standard will be the 'norm' before you can say 'I'm an idiot sandwich'. It is, surely, the worst thing to have hit Britain since America launched squirty cheese in a can.
And it's not just restaurants, either: in central London, you can hardly go into a pub and order a bankruptcy-inducing £7 beer without also being asked automatically to add a 10 per cent tip. For what? I'd expect a personal rendition of Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma rather than a surly ''Ere you go, luv' and a sticky ring left behind on the bar top. With 'extras' like this, who can afford to eat out in London, anymore? It's pretty much impossible to find a prix fixe in Soho for less than 60 quid per person – if you have to add on 20 per cent to that, cheap eats are entering the 'washing up the dishes in the kitchen afterwards' territory.
And doesn't it also spell doom for the hospitality industry? Those who work within it certainly think so. I spoke to a restaurateur in central London who told me they don't blame chefs like Ramsay (even though he is a 'massive c***'), but rather the government for forcing the sector into 'impossible' situations. A 20 per cent service charge isn't an egotistical, bougie add-on – it's simply a way to cover rising costs. The fact Ramsay, of all people, is pushing up his 'optional' service charge to 20 per cent only shows how bad things have become.
In the US, 20 per cent tips are a standard part of wages – whereas over here, employers have to keep service separate and must give 100 per cent over to staff. 'We can't use service charges to 'top up' wages,' my source said. 'We pay the minimum wage as standard and then service is paid directly to staff on top. Ramsay is probably looking at his wage bill and saying, 'This is astronomical', just like the rest of us. Of course, what would be really helpful would be if he used his profile to campaign for reducing VAT on hospitality, rather than just sorting himself out.'
As different as the two systems are, American-style service fees are increasingly commonplace over here: 'Service is already 15 per cent in London, and people will probably try and push it higher. But smaller, family-run restaurants won't be able to do it because they're not Gordon Ramsay, and they can't afford to lose their loyal customers.'
At the prospect of paying even more for a monthly Big Night Out, my heart is sinking into my bowl of Lucky Charms, another American import that does us more bad than good (they literally taste like the polystyrene 'peanuts' that come with flatpack furniture).
Maga, Pop Tarts, Meghan Markle… and now the 20 per cent service charge. I'm done with the 'special relationship', aren't you?
