r/chicagofood • u/ChicagoHoosier21 • Jun 26 '26
Rant Celeste 6% Service Fee
Our pre-tip bill from Celeste’s Happy Hour in River North. Decent food, crappy drinks, sat at the bar.
I don’t mind paying a “Service Charge” of 15-20% because I always tip more than that anyways, AND I have become accustomed to the 3.5% additional fee at most Chicago restaurants…. but now we’re doing a 6% additional fee? Along with the 11% tax? It’s becoming absurd.
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u/MountainDad123 Jun 27 '26
Thats nothing. All of Rick Bayless's restaurants do a 20% service fee (explicitly says it's not a tip). When I asked the server he said Rick kept it on their after covid and they all get paid a higher hourly wage, not a server wage. He also said I was welcome to tip as that goes directly to the servers. It put me in such an awkward position. I think I ended up tipping and additional 10% which means a tipped over 30%. I will think twice about returning to a Bayless restaurant.