No-Tipping Establishments

Restaurants and Other Stores Without Tipping

Do you hate tipping? We have started a collection of places that are tipless! Either service is included in the bill, or they don't ask for tips at all.

Why do so many people hate the tipping culture? While there are probably many differing opinions, below are some of the problems we've encountered with the practice of tipping.

In order to be on the list, the business must be of a type where tipping is usually expected (e.g., restaurants) and where they do not ask for tips, either in general or at least for parties of a certain size, there is no tip line on the credit card or other payment bill or digital UI, and there is no tip jar.

We've broken down these entries into three levels, described below.

And if you know of more no-tipping places you'd like to add to this list, or you have a correction, please let us know using the Quick Feedback fields below!

California San Francisco Bay Area

• Zazie

  Address: 941 Cole Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
  Phone: 415-564-5332
  French

  Comments: From the zaziesf.com website: "All of our menu prices include a living wage, revenue share, paid family leave, fully funded health & dental insurance, ​paid time off, and a 401(k) with employer match for all of our hard working employees. ~No Tips Expected~"

• Backhaus Bread

  Locations
  San Mateo Flagship: 32 3rd Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94401, (650) 200-9493
  Burlingame Outpost: 261 California Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010
  Bakery

  Comments: From the backhausbread.com website: "WE ARE GOING TIP-LESS! As of April 9th, Backhaus is a tip-less establishment. You will notice that we have increased our prices to be able to offer our team a wage that is closer to San Mateo County's living wage (our most entry-level positions now start at $23.50/hour). In addition, we pay 100% of health insurance coverage for our full-time employees, as well as all of our previous benefits, including paid vacation days, paid perntal leave, 401K with vested contributions, 75% dental coverage. Thank you for supporting our team!"

Georgia Metro Atlanta

• Lazy Betty

  Address: 999 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, Ga 30309
  Phone: (470) 851-1199‬
  Modern

  Comments: From the lazybettyatl.com website: "Each menu is priced accordingly with service included." and "*All menu pricing is inclusive of service*" ​and "All menus are subject to change at any moment due to market availability. In an effort to eliminate pay disparity and guarantee staff wages, our menu prices are inclusive of service."

Illinois Chicago Area

• Honey Butter Fried Chicken

  Note: This may no longer be a no-tipping establishment.

  Address: 3361 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, IL 60618 (also United Center, Section 115)
  Phone: (773) 478-4000
  Chicken, quick-service

  Comments: From the honeybutter.com website: "Since 2016: HBFC is a "hospitality included" restaurant. "Hospitality Included" means we are a tip free restaurant. Our menu is priced to include the full cost of doing business, including labor. HBFC does not use the "tipped credit" and has never paid the sub-minimum wage to any of our employees." (Note - this page may have disappeared - please let us know if Honey Butter Fried Chicken is still tip free using the Feedback fields below!)

Maryland Baltimore Area

• Freedom Car

  Type of Business: Taxi / Airport Transportation
  Address: 1406 Shoemaker Road, Baltimore, MD 21209-2009
  Phone: (410) 321-5600
  

  Comments: From the freedomcar.net website: "We Don’t Accept Tips. Ever. Payment is easy and cashless. You’ll get an estimate when you make your reservation and we’ll automatically charge your credit card or bill your account when the job is done."

New York New York City

• KazuNori

  Locations
  Greenwich Village: 205 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012, 917 813-0718
  Midtown East: 157 E. 53rd St. Plaza Level, New York, NY 10022, 518 823-6387
  NoMad: 15 West 28th Street, New York, NY 10001, (347) 594-5940
  Union Square: 125 University Place, New York, NY 10003, 929 220-3447
  Sushi

  Comments: From the handrollbar.com website: "We are a NO TIPPING establishment. Hospitality is included in our menu prices."

• Sugarfish

  Locations
  Flatiron: 33 East 20th Street, New York, NY 10003, 347 705-8100
  Midtown East: 152 E. 53rd St., New York, NY 10022, 917 985-7726
  Midtown West: 210 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019, 646 630-8293
  Soho: 202 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012, 212 847-7464
  Williamsburg: 157 Wythe Ave., New York, NY 11249, 929 489-0301
  Sushi

  Comments: From the sugarfishsushi.com website: "We are a NO TIPPING restaurant Hospitality is included in our menu prices."

• Dirt Candy

  Address: 86 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002
  Phone: 212.228.7732
  Vegetarian, Michelin-starred

  Comments: From the dirtcandynyc.com website: "We don’t take tips because we believe our staff are professionals who should receive a living wage, and our starting hourly wage begins at $25/hour. We also offer paid time off, paid sick leave beyond what’s mandated by law, health insurance, continuing education, and a whole lot more. We don’t need to trick our guests with a hidden 20% surcharge tacked onto the end of their bill and disguised as a 'tips' to cover our labor costs."

Colorado Greater Denver Metro Area

• Casa Bonita

  Note: This may no longer be a no-tipping establishment.

  Address: 6715 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80214
  Contact: https://www.casabonitadenver.com/contact
  Mexican

  Comments: From the casabonitadenver.com website: "Casa Bonita is a no tipping restaurant. The service charge in our ticket price helps us compensate our team well, while ensuring our guests' experience is without additional fees." (Note - this page may have disappeared - please let us know if Casa Bonita is still tip free using the Feedback fields below!)

California Greater Los Angeles

• Kazunori

  Address: 421 S. Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013
  Phone: (213) 493-6956
  Service charge / gratuity added: 16%
  Japanese, sushi

  Comments: From the handrollbar.com website: "A 16% fee will be added to your bill— This is not a gratuity or tip. We are a no-tipping establishment. The Fee is revenue that is not segmented or designated in any way; it is taxed per state law and is used to fund all of our operations."

• Saddle Peak Lodge

  Address: 419 Cold Canyon Road, Calabasas, CA 91302
  Phone: (818) 222-3888
  Service charge / gratuity added: 20%
  New American

  Comments: From the saddlepeaklodge.com website: "A 20% service charge is added so that we may evenly compensate our service and kitchen staff. Thank you very much for your support in helping us create a more equitable work environment."

California San Francisco Bay Area

• Mr. Tipples

  Address: 39 Fell Street, San Francisco, CA
  Phone (Text Line): (415) 384-9365
  Service charge / gratuity added: 21%
  Cocktail Bar, Jazz & Blues, Dim Sum

  Comments: From the mrtipplessf.com website: "Please know right up front that we're applying 21% to each check, to be distributed to all hourly employees who work tonight. This eliminates your need to tip, as it will have already been included"

Washington Seattle / Puget Sound Area

• Navy Strength

  Address: 2505 2nd Ave. Suite 102, Seattle, WA
  Contact: Email preferred
  Service charge / gratuity added: 20%
  Cocktail bar

  Comments: From the navystrengthseattle.com website: "A 20% service charge is added to orders and distributed to staff in the form of gratuity and benefits. 100% of additional tips go to staff."

California San Francisco Bay Area

• Limon Peruvian

  Locations
  South Van Ness - San Francisco: 1001 South Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94110, 415-821-2134
  Valencia - San Francisco: 524 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110, (415) 252-0918
  Walnut Creek: 1524 Locust St, Walnut Creek, CA 94596, (925) 378-3816
  Mountain View: 800 California Street, Mountain View, CA 94041, (650)336-7565
  Oakland: 2450 Valdez St, Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 808-7324
  Burlingame: 1101 Burlingame Ave, Burlingame, CA 94010, (650) 727-0050
  Contact: https://www.limonrestaurants.com/contact/
  Service charge / gratuity added: 20% service fee added to parties of 6 or more
  Peruvian

• Peter's Cafe

  Address: 10 El Camino Real, Millbrae, CA 94030
  Phone: (650) 697-2434
  Service charge / gratuity added: 15% gratuity will be added to parties of 8 or more.
  Diner, American

• Farmhouse Kitchen Thai - Menlo Park

  Address: 1165 Merrill St., Menlo Park, CA 94025
  Phone: 650-665- 7935
  Service charge / gratuity added: 20% gratuity included for parties of 6 or more.
  Thai

• Elia

  Locations
  Pleasanton: 310 Main Street Suite A, Pleasanton, CA 94566, 925-399-6921
  Walnut Creek: 1520 Locust St, Walnut Creek, CA 94596, 925-322-8671
  San Carlos: 727 Laurel St., San Carlos, CA 94070, 650-674-6000
  Service charge / gratuity added: 20% service charge will be added to parties of 6 people or more
  Greek

Maryland Baltimore Area

• Bluestone

  Address: 11 W. Aylesbury Rd, Timonium, MD 21093
  Phone: 410.561.1100
  Contact: https://www.bluestoneonline.net/contact-us
  Service charge / gratuity added: A 20% service charge will be added to groups of 6 or more, separate checks unavailable
  Seafood

• Ocean Pride

  Address: 1534 York Road, Lutherville, MD 21093
  Phone: (410) 321-7744
  Service charge / gratuity added: Gratuity of 20% is added to crab tables and checks of $200 or more.
  Seafood

Washington Seattle / Puget Sound Area

• Mandarin Buffet

  Address: 14850 NE 24th St., Redmond, WA 98052
  Phone: 425-885-3888
  Contact: http://mandarinbuffetngrill.com/Contact.aspx?ClassID=23
  Service charge / gratuity added: A service charge of 10% will be added to the bill, of which 100% is paid to our staff.
  Chinese, fusion, buffet

Description of the Three No-Tipping Levels

• Level 1 - No tipping, service is added to each menu item, so there is no additional service charge added to the bill. There is no tip jar, no tip line on the bill, no tip prompt in digital payment UI, and no encouragement for customers to add "additional" tips.
• Level 2 - No tipping, however a service charge or gratuity is added to the bill. There is no tip jar, no tip line on the bill, no tip prompt in digital payment UI, and no encouragement for customers to add "additional" tips.
• Level 3 - Service charge or gratuity added to the bill for parties of a certain size or under certain conditions. If service is included, there is no tip line on the bill, no tip prompt in digital payment UI, and no encouragement for customers to add "additional" tips.

The Problem(s) With Tipping

• How Much To Tip? - It's confusing enough just for sit-down restaurants, where the recommended tipping percentage inexplicably seems to increase year by year, but then you also need to consider all of the other situations you might encounter: How about for a taxi/Uber/Lyft ride? How much for the bellman at a hotel? After tax or before tax? On one website we found, there is literally a huge chart listing different suggested amounts to tip for different types of services - it's just too darn complicated! (And we won't even talk about the problem of trying to do the math in your head while someone is hovering over you)...
• Who Do You Tip? - And closely related to that - in what places do you tip and where do you not tip? Do you tip the guy fixing the windows in your house? How about the hardware store salesperson? Ice cream shop counter worker? When buying bread at a bakery? What about takeout?
• Tipping Before Service - Probably as a result of the growing prevalence of credit cards and online payments, sometimes the payment occurs at the beginning of the transaction (food delivery places, ordering at the counter, etc.). As a result, you are now often asked to tip before you've even received any service! What exactly is the tip for then?
• Back-Justifying The Tip Amount - Especially when tipping in cash, the tip amount is probably more related to how much change you have in your pocket and not the quality of the service. Oh I only have $2 - well, the waiter was a little slow bringing out the food, and didn't smile all that much. Oh, I found an extra few dollar bills - well it's ok, because the waiter did crack a few jokes and did refill the water a few times. (Come on, I'm sure we've all done this at some point)!
• Those POS Systems - Heh, you thought we meant "Point-of-Sale" didn't you? Well... Now they have these fancy touchscreen systems when you pay at the counter, and - surprise surprise! - up comes a prompt for adding tips, with convenient one-touch buttons usually starting at 18% or 20% tip. If you don't want to leave a tip or want to leave a smaller tip, you have to hit "Other" and go through a more cumbersome process.
• "Forced" To Tip / Living Wage - Further confusing things, some states (most?) allow restaurants to declare their workers to be tipped employees, and then pay them less-than-minimum wage. Now you have to tip in order for these poor servers to get paid decently! It's a ridiculous system where the restaurant pays their employees' salaries ... except the servers! And then you the customer need to pay their salary separately.
• The Other Workers - What about dishwashers? Busboys? The people actually putting your food together? These are important members of the team when it comes to your restaurant experience. Yet for some reason only the servers gets tipped. Some argue that tipping results in better service. Well by that argument, I guess we should all expect lousy food quality, dirty dishes, grumpy people showing you to your table, etc.

On a recent trip to Europe, it was so nice receiving a bill at the end of the meal and simply paying the amount listed - that's it! And the service was fine - prompt, courteous, and helpful! It was beautiful...

Let us know if you have even more reasons to dislike tipping using our Quick Feedback section at the bottom of the page.

And if you know of more no-tipping places you'd like to add to this list, or you have a correction, please let us know using the Quick Feedback fields at the bottom of the window!