Dos and Don’ts at the restaurants

As a backpacker you might be quite hungry after a day of trekking across the “Mecklenburger Schweiz” or swimming in the Baltic Sea. If you read our low-cost trips and hotel tips you even have enough money left to eat in a quite fancy restaurant. So here is some advice you should consider if you liked the food and want to return another day:

In Germany you give a tip between 5 to 10 percent. Normally the waitress does not have to share it with other colleagues, so you can raise or lower it on the service you got. If you do not give any tip the restaurant’s employees assume you were not satisfied with them or the food.

You may sit down wherever you want, as long as you can not see a “RESERVIERT”-sign (reserved) on the table. If you see a restaurant you would like to enter later on the same day or another you might already reserve a table of your choice. We recommend that if you take more than four persons with you. No stress for you and the waitress can just lead to a decrease of joy in the holiday 🙂

Please do not shout, pipe, flip or throw (!) something to get the attention of the waitress. Normally they are running in a circle and come to your table in short and regular intervals. Same goes for paying: don’t get stressed because of your own impatience. You are on holiday! What are five minutes more in a great restaurant in a great city?!

Do not be shocked if the waitress looks at a woman first to take the order. In our culture group everyone orders for himself and -as gentlemen- you let the women order first.

DO NOT SMOKE! … at non-smoking areas. Since 2007 there is a law containing that restaurants have to separate their house into areas for smokers and non-smokers. Normally you can see the separations easily.

Great thing: You have not had enough place in your backpack to take a thousand things to play for your children? No problem! Every good restaurant has some toys or pencils together with a painting book. Also the nutrition you bring for your baby can be warmed up. Ask for it!

By the way: you don’t get water or ice tea for free as you might know it in USA. Still, this doesn’t mean you can bring your own water or any drinks at all (same for food) into the restaurants.

Thanks go out to “Grand Café” — photos by Maria Godejahn and Bianca Miechen, edited by Christian Dierks