Working as a Tour Guide in Dublin, these are the questions I get asked a lot by Tourists!
So first thing to say, tipping is NOT mandatory in Ireland but there would be an expectation to tip in certain circumstances and in certain industries.
I will cover below how it generally works in the 4 most common Industries that I asked about and where Tipping is most common.
RESTAURANTS (TIP 10-15%)
In general, it is standard practice to tip at a restaurant in Ireland but again not mandatory.
The general rule would be adding circa 10-15% to your bill as a tip. I would advise to add less or more depending on the quality of the service that you get.
It is important to check if there is a Service Charge already included in the bill and personally I always ask/check that the tips go to the staff.
BARS/PUBS (TABLE SERVICE ONLY & TIP 10-12%)
In a Bar if you are ordering food from somebody who works on the floor (like a waiter/waitress) then most people in Ireland would add a tip of around 10-12% of their total bill. Again it is not mandatory to tip in this situation in Bars and not everybody does it but the majority of people will tip for this service.
My advice in this situation would be that if you feel the service given was good then tip the 10-12% but if the service was poor then feel free to not tip or reduce the amount. Again I would check to see if any service charge has been already added to the bill but that is unlikely to be the case at a Bar/Pub.
But you don’t tip a Bar Tender who takes your order at a Bar and gets you the drinks you order at the bar counter. If you decide to offer a Bar Tender a tip then they will nearly always happily accept it but they will definitely not expect you to tip them.
CAFES (TABLE SERVICE ONLY & TIP 10-12%)
My advice is to treat Cafes very similar to Bars & Pubs.
No need to tip if just ordering at a Counter and taking the product away, like a Coffee or something small to eat.
But I would tip if receiving table service like you would receive at a restaurant and again anything from 10-12% or lower if the service is not deemed to what you expected.
TAXIS/UBERS (TIP 5-10%)
When it comes to Taxis you will hear differing opinions on whether it is standard to tip or not.
In my experience most, probably 60 to 70% of people, will tip a Taxi driver but the amount is likely to be smaller, like anywhere from 5 to 10%.
I would advise to follow the rule of thump of 5 to 10% but again if the Taxi service/ride did not meet your expectation then it is totally acceptable to not tip the driver.
#Ubers in Ireland are normal Taxis by the way so there is no cost savings in using them
Look up https://dublinprivatetour.com/ for more details on what we offer!
Watch this video for more details about Tipping in Ireland…………
DUBLIN PRIVATE TOUR 