A bill arrives. You scan it quickly – food, drinks, total – and then your eye catches it: 20 per cent service charge. Not a tip, not quite optional, but not exactly compulsory either. When Gordon Ramsay added a charge to Christmas and New Year menus at his Lucky Cat restaurant at 22 Bishopsgate – albeit for a limited period – it reignited a familiar question: when did eating out in Britain get quite this complicated – and quite this expensive?
It’s tempting to frame it as the creeping Americanisation of dining. But the reality is subtler – and perhaps more uncomfortable. Service charges haven’t suddenly appeared; they’ve simply been inching upwards, from 10 to 12.5 to 15 per cent, and now, occasionally, beyond. The language hasn’t changed, but the expectation has. More than a fifth of diners (22 per cent) are boldly opting out of paying optional service charges, according to research from 2024 by RSM UK.
In the southwest, east Midlands and Yorkshire, the numbers jump even higher, to more than a third. Saxon Moseley, partner and head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK, suggests that the rising cost of living might be driving this new frugality. With energy bills rocketing and inflation making everything from bread to a pint of milk feel like a luxury, the idea of handing over an extra 12.5 per cent for service that’s been less than stellar feels like an unnecessary indulgence.
Rory Cox, owner of The Prancing Stag in Jordanhill, Glasgow, is aware of this simmering resentment. At his restaurant, there’s no added service charge, just a fair split of whatever tips the customers leave behind. “I’ve always felt it should be up to the guests if they wish to leave the staff a tip or not. Adding one on puts the customer in an awkward position if they then feel they don’t want to tip, if, say, the meal and/or service hasn’t been up to standard,” Cox says.
Gary Townsend, chef and owner of Elements in Bearsden, also notes the shift from cash to card tips, which means staff now wait until the end of the month to receive their tips – docked for tax and card processing fees. It’s a far cry from the immediate reward of cash in hand at the end of the night, yet another way the dining experience has become increasingly detached from the straightforward pleasure it once was.
