Bar and Pub Etiquette in a New City: What to Know Before You Order

Where to order, when to pay, whether to tip and where to look when you clink. Get these right and the bar becomes the easiest place to meet people.

The short answer

First work out whether it’s a bar-service or a table-service place. In British and Irish pubs you order and pay at the bar, and nobody brings you anything. In much of continental Europe someone comes to you, and the bill arrives only when you ask. Tipping runs from 20% in the US to none at all in Japan. In a group in a British pub, buy your round. When you toast, look people in the eye.

Bar and pub etiquette in a new city comes down to a handful of unwritten rules: where to order, when to pay, what to tip and how to toast. They change from country to country, and getting them wrong is the quickest way to feel like an outsider. Get them right, and a bar is one of the easiest places to meet people when you travel alone.

This guide is built from 15 sources, including etiquette guides, travel writers, bar-industry experts and city-based writers, plus our own city guides.

The rules at a glance

Custom	Bar service (British and Irish pubs)	Table service (much of continental Europe)	US bars	Japan (izakaya and bars)
Where you order	At the bar	From your seat	At the bar or from a server	From your seat
When you pay	Each time you order	At the end; ask for the bill	Per drink, or on a tab	At the end, often at the till by the door
Tipping	Not expected	Round up or a little extra	$1–2 a drink, or 15–20% of a tab	None, ever
Watch for	Rounds	The bill won’t come unasked	Tipping is part of the price	A seat charge (otoshi)

Bar service: British and Irish pubs

Order at the bar. Traditional pubs don’t have table service. You go to the bar, order, pay straight away and carry your drink back yourself. Some gastropubs serve food at the table, so ask if you’re not sure.

There’s a queue, even if you can’t see it. Staff keep track of who’s next. Don’t wave money or shout: catch the bartender’s eye, or raise a finger, and wait. If you’re served before someone who was there first, say so.

Buy your round. In a group, people take turns buying drinks for everyone. Accepting drinks and never buying a round is considered rude. Don’t order something expensive when someone else is paying, and don’t leave before your turn. In Australia, the same custom is called a “shout”.

Don’t tip at the bar. It isn’t expected. For great service, say “and one for yourself” and add the price of a drink, once in an evening rather than every round. In our London guide, restaurants add a 12.5% service charge, and nobody tips at the pub bar.

Listen for the bell. “Last orders” usually comes 15–30 minutes before closing, often with a bell. It’s your last chance to buy a drink. Bring photo ID if you could pass for under 25.

Table service: much of continental Europe

Sit down and wait. Where there’s table service, someone comes to you, and you usually pay at the end rather than drink by drink.

The bill comes when you ask. In France, Italy and Spain, bringing the bill before you ask is seen as rushing you. Lingering is normal. Catch the server’s eye and ask, or make a scribbling gesture in the air.

Tip lightly. Rounding up or adding a small amount is the norm, not 15–20%. Check our city guides for the local version. In Paris, service is included, so round up or leave €1–3. In Prague, tell the server the total you want to pay instead of leaving coins on the table.

US bars: tipping is part of the price

Bartenders in the US rely on tips. The usual guide is $1–2 a drink, at least $1 even for one beer. On a tab or for cocktails it’s 15–20% of the bill, and some bar professionals now say 20% is the standard.

Japan: no tips, but a seat charge

Never tip. Japan has no tipping culture, at any price point.

Expect the otoshi. At an izakaya, a small dish appears when you sit down. It’s a seat charge, usually ¥300–600 a person and up to about ¥1,000 at upmarket places. Some bars charge a table fee instead. A few places let you decline if you ask when you sit down (“otoshi nashi de onegai shimasu”), but most don’t.

Wait for kanpai. Don’t drink until everyone has a glass and the group has toasted. Pay at the end, often at the till by the door, and say “gochisōsama deshita” as you leave.

Toasting: look them in the eye

In Germany and the Czech Republic, you clink with everyone near you and make eye contact with each person; not doing it is bad luck. In the Czech Republic the toast is na zdraví; in Germany, prost. In Hungary, don’t clink beer glasses. Wherever you are, wait until everyone has a drink before the first sip.

Tipping in our city guides

City	Tipping
London	Restaurants add 12.5%; nobody tips at the pub bar
Paris	Service is included; round up or leave €1–3
Prague	Round up or about 10%; tell the server the total
Mexico City	10–15% in restaurants; voluntary, and can’t be added without your consent
Singapore	Don’t tip; a service charge is already on most bills

Drinking alone? Sit at the bar

If you’re on your own, take a seat at the bar, not a table. The bartender starts the conversation, and the people next to you often join in. Our guide on how to meet people when you travel solo has more on how this works.

Drinking safely in a new city

Keep your drink in sight, and don’t accept one you didn’t see poured
Never follow a friendly stranger to a bar they’ve chosen; in our Istanbul and Tbilisi guides, it’s a known scam with a huge bill
Check the bill for drinks you didn’t order, or a tip already added
Know how you’re getting home before you go out

The verdict

Before your first drink, look at how the room works. If people queue at the bar, order and pay there and take part in the rounds. If staff come to the tables, sit down, take your time, and ask for the bill. Tip the way locals do, from 20% in New York to nothing in Tokyo. Look people in the eye when you clink glasses. And if you’re on your own, take a seat at the bar.

Sources

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