Tipping at a sushi bar????

[tiggerlover]

DH and I love sushi and often go to a couple of local sushi places, but I am always unsure how to tip. At our favorite place we always sit at the bar and we chit chat with the sushi chef. A waitress takes our order and brings us our drinks and at the end the bill. The sushi chef usually gives us our appetizer and when he is done making our sushi usually hand it right to us as we sit right in front of him. So when all is said and done what percentage do we give the waitress and what percentage do we give to the sushi chef?

 

[busyshrew]

If you are sitting at the bar, then good for you - they are the best seats in the house.

If you are ordering a "set menu" then just go ahead and tip on the bill a total percentage. You're not really taking advantage of the special location at the bar and it's no different than sitting at a table anywhere.

BUT. If you are having omakase, and the chef is chatting with you throughout, then the courteous thing to do is to leave a smaller tip for the waitress (about 10 percent), and a BIG tip & handshake, with thanks, to the master.

Now please excuse me, I have to go and wipe the drool off my chin!

 

[tiggerlover]

Silly question, but what is omakase?

 

[JessicaR]

I looked it up. The pictures looked delicious!

"It's a tasting of all the freshest fish the chef has," "Sort of like a tasting menu except everything is at the chef's whim."

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/04/omakase.html

 

[tiggerlover]

Wow, that is awesome. Thanks for looking it up for me.

Any more tipping advice out there?

 

[busyshrew]

Sorry tiggerlover, I was off DIS for a couple days (gasp!).

I don't know if this is tipping advice or not, but here's another hint: sushi is equally about the rice as much as the fish. Traditionally trained sushi masters will sometimes spend year(s) just making the rice before they are even allowed to touch the fish. So it's polite to compliment the rice as well as the fish too.

 

[tiggerlover]

Sorry tiggerlover, I was off DIS for a couple days (gasp!).

I don't know if this is tipping advice or not, but here's another hint: sushi is equally about the rice as much as the fish. Traditionally trained sushi masters will sometimes spend year(s) just making the rice before they are even allowed to touch the fish. So it's polite to compliment the rice as well as the fish too.

I have heard about this before, each sushi chef has a unique recipe for their rice which makes each chef's sushi different.