Im Restaurant - Seating, Ordering, Paying and Tipping

Willkommen! Let's take a trip to Haidhausen, Munich and visit Hofbräukeller (the picture to the right shows the interior) to have a meal.

Seating

When entering a restaurant in a German-speaking country, it is customary for diners to find their own seats and not wait to be seated by a host or hostess. You should also not be surprised if another party asks if they may sit at your table. And do not be offended if the people in that party do not engage in conversation with you. Germans are rarely interested in making friends in public places, they are just looking for a seat in a crowded restaurant.
Many restaurants allow owners to bring in their dogs to sit at their feet. Germans love their pets and their dogs are normally very well behaved. You might not even know they are there until the owners depart the restaurant and their pet is by their side.
Although many restaurants in Germany now ban smoking entirely, you may still encounter smoking in eating and drinking establishments in Germany and throughout Europe. Don't bother complaining - it's a fact of life. If it bothers you too much - try to eat outside or find a restaurant with separate no-smoking sections.

Ordering

It used to be the case that you would address the waiter as Herr Ober and waitresses as Fräulein, and you may still hear this from older Germans, but these forms of address are out of date nowadays and should be avoided. If you want to order or pay, you should make a sign with your hand (but do not click your fingers!) and say something along the lines of:
- "Ich möchte bestellen, bitte."
  - I would like to order, please.
- "Ich möchte zahlen, bitte ."
  - I'd like to pay, please.
Water: Don't expect a waiter or waitress to bring you a glass of water with a meal. Ordering tap water is rather frowned upon, as one usually orders bottled Mineralwasser or Stilleswasser.

Paying and Tipping

Cash is the preferred mode of payment in Germany. There is a dense network of automatic teller machines, where you can withdraw cash. The ATMs are mainly located at the banks. There are four major banks in Germany: Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Commerzbank and Sparkasse.
In bigger hotels, restaurants and shops you can also pay with your credit card. However, you should always be prepared for your credit card to be refused, especially in smaller shops or petrol stations, and it is recommended always to have cash on hand.
Paying for the meal is almost always done at your table with the waitress or waiter who served you. The waiter will not normally come to your table with a check until you motion for him/her to do so. Just catch their eye and motion or say "Zahlen, bitte". The waiter will then come to your table and calculate the cost of your meal (you pay at the table almost always). Separate checks are a common practice in Germany, and the waiter might ask - separate or together? (Getrennt oder Zusammen?).
It is not necessary to tip 15%, because a 15% gratuity is included in the prices as a service fee (in addition to a 15% value added tax). It is nevertheless usual to leave a tip in restaurants, cafés and other places where your bill is brought to your table. This is done by rounding the bill up, usually to the next euro amount; for example, if a bill is € 11,50, you would leave the waiter € 12 or perhaps € 13, if you wish to express satisfaction with the service. Large parties may encounter rules requiring a higher gratuity, but this is not the norm.
Waiters and waitresses are accustomed to receiving their tip as part of the bill, not by looking for the tip on the table after you have left. If you let them give you your full change (and then leave a tip on the table) they will think that you are unhappy with their service.
When leaving - it is appropriate to say goodbye to anyone at your table and to the servers: Auf Wiedersehen.

[CC BY 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION