Good Service Is Now Costing More Than Ever-Here’s What You Should Really Be Tipping Your Wait Staff

A 20% restaurant tip remains a common benchmark for good full-service dining, but diners should check for mandatory service charges before adding another gratuity – Shutterstock

A 20% restaurant tip can feel almost automatic now, but the bigger problem may be figuring out what that 20% actually means. Add a mandatory service charge, a suggested tip on the full bill, or one of those payment screens offering 25%, 28%, and 30%, and dinner can suddenly involve more arithmetic than expected.

Restaurant tipping also sits in an odd place in American culture. Bankrate found in 2025 that 70% of Americans who dine at sit-down restaurants always tip their servers, while 35% typically leave at least 20%. At the same time, 63% held at least one negative view about tipping, including frustration with pre-entered tip screens.