2010-A little restaurant and bar etiquette....

Mishka Designs · October 28, 2010

Hi girls! With a new season swinging into focus, I just thought about something when we were out and about today and thought I would share it with you ....

Restaurants

1. It is considered very rude here to bring you the check before you ask for it. So, you need to ask the waiter to bring the check ... you can do this either by signing with your hand like you are writing on a piece of paper (if the waiter is a little distance away and makes eye contact with you) OR you can say in Spanish "la cuenta, por favor" .... pronounced: "lah-quin-tah" ... basically means "bill, please."

2. While Mexicans, as a rule, are known to be terrible tippers (I am referring to Mexicans here in Mexico, not Mexicans through-out the world), Vallarta basically runs on tipping. I guarantee you that, if waiters and waitresses up north make most of their money from their tips, here in Mexico it's even more so. I usually tip 20% if the service is awesome. 15% if the service was pretty good but there were some issues and I never tip below 10%. Well, okay, not NEVER but hardly ever ....

Bars

okay - this is a little tricky one - but I'll make a stab at it. We take going-out seriously down here. Mostly because, for most of us, it's not something we do often. If you are going to a touristy bar like, say, The Zoo, then probably doesn't matter too much if you show up in your flip-flops, torn shorts and Hawaiian shirts .... but, if you are going to some place more local, like, say, JB, then I strongly advise and urge you to please dress up as though you were going out clubbing - you probably won't get turned away, but it is frowned upon.

Alright that's all I have for now my beautiful brides! More to come as it occurs to me or as you ask me .