Tipping habits and amounts are pretty much the same in Vienna as elsewhere in major European cities. But here some quick advice on who to tip (and how: particularly in restaurants, where things work slightly differently).
- Service is very rarely included in restaurant and bar bills
- …so a tip of some kind is a must
- See also:
Who should you tip?
(Waiting tends to be an occupation, rather than a part-time or temporary job, in Vienna. But tipping is still important)
Tip the usual folk: porters, taxi drivers, waiters and waitresses, hairdressers, and anybody who fixes anything in your apartment. And it’s customary to leave a tip for hotel cleaning staff in your room when you leave.
Tipping amounts are pretty much as you’d tip elsewhere.
There are no hard and fast rules, though. The only people you really, really, really (have I emphasised that enough?) must tip are the restaurant/bar staff who serve you at the table.
But why?
Tipping in restaurants
(Note the absence of any service charge)
Service is very rarely included in restaurant and bar bills. I can’t recall ever seeing it myself.
In fact, when one restaurant started adding an automatic service charge to bills back in 2023 it caused quite an uproar. An online poll had less than 10% in favour of the approach.
Anyway, if you don’t tip, it’s considered a sign that you were extremely dissatisfied with your table service. It’s just not done to not tip anything.
A smaller tip? Fine as an expression of your disappointment.
No tip? Not cool.
How much should you tip?
When tipping serving staff, Austrians normally add 5% to 15% to the bill so it’s rounded up to a convenient number.
If the bill is 9 Euro, maybe round up to 10. If it’s 25, round up to 28. It’s flexible. Feel free to tip more, of course, but it’s not expected.
In cafés, bars and restaurants, you pay the tip in the initial amount you hand over. So don’t pay the bill and then leave behind some change on the table or give back a note.
When you hand over your money, state the amount you’re paying. So when the waiter says, “six euro fifty”, you hand them a 10 Euro note and say, “eight”.
(The same principle applies to taxi drivers etc.)
If you’re paying by debit or credit card, you can ask if you should add a tip to the total, or simply pay the bill and hand over some coins or notes as the tip.
With self-service (quite rare in Vienna), I usually add a smaller tip if it’s a bar, for example, where the person taking your money is also putting the order together. But no tip if it’s just a takeaway burger joint or a cash desk at an airport self-service restaurant, for example.
P.S. Don’t worry too much about doing the wrong thing: restaurant and bar staff are used to serving non-Austrians and should give you a little leeway in terms of understanding and following local habits!
