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I'm in a pub in England. I went up to the bar and asked for a plate of fish and chips (to be served to my table) and a pint (handed to me on the spot). My money was collected at the bar.
I would like to leave a tip (10 percent or so is customary, I understand). Should I leave it on the table when I go, or should I have given it to the bartender when I paid?
Tipping is optional in general in the UK, rather than customary. Especially in a pub food environment, it's unexpected (much more common when the bill is brought to your table), although always of course welcomed. In general if you are tipping, it is done at approximately the same time as paying.
The normal way of tipping in a pub where money is exchanged at the bar would be to indicate to the barman to "keep the change" or "and one for yourself" – adding the cost of an extra drink to the bill.
If you feel that it won't be imagined that you simply forgot the money, and you aren't worried that other patrons (or passers by from the street) will steal it, then you could also leave money on the table. Note: I would not do this in any pub that sees high traffic – someone is very likely to just take it and buy a pint.
I'm British, have lived in the South-East of England all my life and have been using pubs for 30 years all over the UK.
There are pubs and there are pubs. Many UK "pubs" are now basically restaurants in an old pub building. Hardly anyone sits at the bar and drinks. Your food - and the bill - are brought to your table. In these, normal restaurant rules apply, you can give a tip when paying the bill, you can leave some money on the table - or you can not tip at all and it won't be a problem. If you pay for food and drinks at the bar, it would look strange if you tipped.
You DO NOT tip at the bar for drinks. "Have one for yourself" is something I've heard twice in my life, once from someone who knew the barman well and was talking to him constantly - the other from someone who wanted to impress a pretty barmaid.
This is an experience answer, no links from me here.
As a regular visitor to the UK and going out with locals, I have seen both.
In a busy pub, most people do not leave money on the table as the staff can miss it being there.
But when the pub is quiet, like after the end of the lunch rush, it is quite common to see people leaving money on the table.
Photo by Willeke
When you pay for food or drinks, you can just add money to the bill and pay more or round it up and tell the staff that they can keep (part of) the change.
If you are just buying drinks, or pay for the drinks separate from paying for the dinner, you can again add to the money to be paid, but I have heard quite a few English people say: "and one for yourself" meaning that the bar man can take a drink on your cost but often they just add a drink to the bill but put the money into a tips piggy bank.
You don't tip in pubs; at least, not in the South around London. If you appreciate the barman/barmaid, offer to buy them a drink when you buy your round. This is a reminder that they are ordinary people like you who like a drink, and not just servants.
They may pour their drink on the spot, or they may choose not to and drink later; in that case, they will take the monetary amount of the drink of their choosing.
I wish I could remember where I learned this. It may have been written down or it may have been word of mouth. Nevertheless it has been very valuable.
You'll often find (sometimes improvised) tip jars next to the cash register, or somewhere behind the counter. If you feel like tipping you can place your cash in there. For completeness sake look for something like this:
Image courtesy of blogspot.
In this situation I would say that tipping would be considered odd/unusual.
You would usually tip the waiter/waitress in a restaurant or pub if you were paying at the table. I.e. they presented you with a bill at the end of your meal; the tip being in response to receiving what you considered to be good service.
If you were paying in advance for your meal at the bar then you don't know if you will receive good service or not.
However, if you have paid in advance you could hand a tip over after your meal to the barman/barmaid on your way out as a thank you.
In either case who actually ends up with this tip money varies a great deal from place to place: Where does your tip really go? The truth about restaurant gratuities, which is one reason why people can be reluctant to tip at all in the UK (especially in pub/restaurant chains)
Note that tipping in the UK is optional unlike the USA where you are expected to tip 15-20% as the norm, regardless of whether you paid before or after your meal.
We only ever eat out in pubs when we go on our Easter and summer hols, but this is what I always do:
If the food has been good, we've been looked after and I pay at the bar at the end, I'll say to the person behind the bar 'I never know what to do with tips in pubs, so could I buy you, the waitress and the chef a drink?' If I've paid for it when I ordered it I do the same when I buy a post meal pint.
It's always been greatly received and probably actually a bit of a stingy tip considering there's seven of us including two kids with various food allergies. We've occasionally used a place more than once during a holiday and have always been welcomed back and nothing dubious appears to have happened to the food, so I think my method does okay!
My skinflint tipping strategy in pubs and restaurants is thus:
If in a chain pub like 'Spoons or somewhere, where you pay when you order, I never leave a tip.
See if the bill already includes an 'Optional' service charge. If so, I don't tip.
Remove the price of all alcohol from the bill, then leave a 10% tip on the remainder. I'm already paying over the odds for a bottle of wine, so why add another 10% to that?
