Spanish eating etiquette.

[Paul Carmel]

At lunch today I moped up some sauce from a fantastic Iberian Pork dish with my bread, the waiter gave me a look like I had s**t in her handbag, In France no one would bat an eyelid as it would be expected, Is this not the done thing? or did she just hate me on sight??

PS The restaurant in question wasn't exactly top end just good honest fair.

[Mouse]

I have to say I haven't ever seen a Spaniard doing that (they prefer their bread dry - or with Alioli)...but I wouldn't think it was a major faux pas afterall they do love their food..and we often do it. Then again anything goes in laidback Ibiza...and I've often found that on the mainland there are 'attitudes' amongst waiters.

Maybe next time you should just lick it straight from the plate That would give her something to look at!?

Mouse
x

[Paul Carmel]

Maybe next time you should just lick it straight from the plate That would give her something to look at!?

Mouse
x

Actually I think I might find her handbag

[mimosa]

I live in Barcelona and always soak up a good sauce with some crusty bread and noone bats an eyelid!
I think is must have been a one off (or a strange waitress)

I don't do it in a really posh place though (unless I'm sure noone is looking!) But then you wouldn't in any other country either.

[Paul Carmel]

mimosa,

Then you will probably know the restaurant in question, it was Los Caracoles.

[cc]

Very popular dish here is gambas pil pil, you get about an inch of oil in your bowl and everyone soaks it up with their bread. Biggest faux pas I have heard of is farting in public, you didn't have a squeaky chair did you ?

[pepsipuss]

The bit of bread you get with a tapa always seems to be used to mop up sauce where relevant - can't imagine why the same should not be done with a full size dish

[Paul Carmel]

So its the second theory, she just hate me on sight.........understandable I suppose

[Big Sis..]

At lunch today I moped

I just think she doesnt like you taking your mode of transport into the cafe PC
Wheres yer manners......tsk could put oil on her nice white tablecoth good job you left the yacht at home........

[Mouse]

Well I'm surprised they were like that in Los Caracoles!! Maybe they feel they're a cut above now

Mousie
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[mimosa]

Yes I do know Los Caracoles although I haven’t been for years. It is now more orientated towards tourists and is pricey. I have just found a review from Barcelona-tourist-guide.com about Los Caracoles

“have to say that I was a little taken aback by the very forward nature of the waiter that presented us with the cheque and then asked us directly if we would also like to leave an additional tip. The meal was quite expensive (for Barcelona) and leaving a tip is not customary here. I realised then that this restaurant is popular with tourists and the attitude of the waiters can be a little too forward at times. We left a small tip but next time I would be inclined to refuse unless we had exceptional service”


The comment that is not customary to leave a tip here is totally untrue; you’d have to have really bad service not to leave a tip of some kind.
The problem in Barcelona is the shortage of waiters/waitresses and the staff turnover is amazing and a lot of them are foreigners.
If you are in Barcelona and want a snack, go to Conesa (conesaentrepans.com) One in Plaza san Jaime (central) and one near Plaza España. The hot sandwiches are excellent and brilliant value.
Now I’m getting hungry, I might just pop there later!!

[Mouse]

I blame Keith Floyd!

The comment that is not customary to leave a tip here is totally untrue; you’d have to have really bad service not to leave a tip of some kind.

That surprises me Mimosa...when we've eaten out in Barca we noticed how often tips weren't left by Spanish...or if they were it's very small (i.e. coins).
A friend of ours from Valencia (who now lives there) told us it was considered to be 'showy' now if you left a 'normal' tip and that it was generally only tourists who did that. So their tips tend to be small change. He also told us that Barceloneses tend to be tight-fisted!!! I'm not sure if that's true?

BTW Paul...apart from that (and the weather) - how are you enjoying it there?

Mouse
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[mimosa]

The Catalans have the fame of being tight fisted (don't say anything to my Catalan husband!!)
They are careful with money but I find them very generous.
I lived in Madrid for a couple of years and I found some of them "showy" with the tips. (Like calling the waiter in loud voice with an arm in the air, just to give them a few pesetas!!)
But maybe I'm biased
Visca Catalunya!!!

[pepsipuss]

In our area the Spanish rarely leave more than a few small coins even for a full meal. In fact we were told by more than one of them, when we first came ten years ago, that they feared that by tipping generously the foreigners (who had only just started to come here in any number) were encouraging restaurant owners to hike their prices because they assumed that leaving a large tip meant they would have been happy to pay more than the menu prices. Whether or not that has been the cause, prices have certainly soared!

[brenda]

Same here - the Spanish tnd to just round the bill up to the next Euro.

We were told that anything above 5% was considered ostentatious (hope thats spelt right!).