These 6 Ontario Restaurants Don't Accept Tips & Here's How They're Doing Things Differently
Tipping in Ontario has always been a customary practice when dining out, but since COVID-19 hit, many restaurants started suggesting a "minimum" percentage of how much customers should tip, causing some people's bills to go way up.
While many businesses were forced to jack up their prices due to inflation, employees' wages didn't necessarily go up with them, making tipping in Canada a hot topic of debate recently.
Some Ontario restaurants are now breaking the mould by nixing tips altogether. Instead, they're implementing what they argue is a fairer model of wages for staff, so they won't need to rely on tips to survive.
But keep in mind that every restaurant's model is unique, and some places that don't accept tips might charge a bit more on the bill compared to those with a mandatory tip policy. Here are 6 Ontario restaurants that don't accept tips:
Then And Now
@_angeronimo Watch till the end to see my fave dish 🤩 Opens Feb 14 but we were invited to check it out early #torontorestaurants #torontofoodspots #torontococktailbar #thingstodotoronto #torontodateideas #torontodatenight
Then and Now is an Asian Fusion restaurant in Toronto which opened in February this year. It started out as a living wage restaurant and doesn't accept tips from any of its patrons. This means workers aren't paid according to minimum wage but at a rate that meets the current standard of living.
"I personally have been working in the (restaurant) industry for 12-plus years. I've worked under numerous models of tipping," Eric Y. Wang, the restaurant's owner, told Narcity.
"With tips comes a lot of headaches. I think the biggest one would be the toxic competition among staff."
Wang said that he has instead adopted a monthly salary model for his full-time employees, with a baseline entry-level jobs starting at $50,000.
Richmond Station
@steffiedoo Tasty food, classic cocktails, and attentive service. What more could we have asked for! #toronto #torontofood #richmondstation #torontolife
Richmond Station in Toronto, in the city's food scene, adopted a no-tipping policy in 2020.
Instead of accepting tips, they increased the prices of their food and drinks to include a "hospitality included" approach. This means that customers pay only for what they see on the menu.
"There's no like surprise or gratuity at the end of the bill, and if anyone tries to leave a tip, we say no," Sophie Poulton, one of Richmond Hill's managers, told Narcity.
"But obviously, people leave cash on the table and then at that point, we just put it in the till, and we split it evenly among every single person in the restaurant."
Barque SmokeHouse
@deliverymaster101 No tip restaurant
David Neinstein, the owner of Barque Smokehouse in Toronto, started giving his employees living wages in May 2022 and adopted a no-tipping policy in his restaurant.
"It was the right time to start this practice, which also rights the injustices of the service industry," Neinstein told Narcity in June last year.
He also mentioned that getting rid of tips has been something in the works for years. Tipping always felt unfair, Neinstein said, as it can sometimes put workers in a position where their incomes don't come in.
The minimum wage at his restaurant is $22.25 per hour.
Bampot Bohemian House of Tea and Boardgames
@acouplebitess The definition of passing the vibe check ✅ #torontofoodie #teahouse #livableeage #tipping #torontoeats #hiddengem #openmic #tofoodie #torontolife
Bampot Bohemian House of Tea and Board Games is a popular tea house and gaming spot for many in Toronto and started offering a living wage to its workers in 2021 and stopped accepting tips.
The restaurant's new owner, who's been in the business for several years himself, wanted a better experience for the people he worked with.
"In this industry, people should have a base level of pay that's allowing them to live, and then tips should be extra on top of that," he told Narcity last week
"I'm not necessarily against tips. I'm against the way that people perceive it as a way to subsidize wages."
He said that his team is paid $25 an hour, and they receive regular health benefits after three months of work.
Dispatch Restaurant
A fine-dining gem in St. Catherines, Dispatch Restaurant hasn't accepted tips since when it opened in 2019 and is a certified Living Wage Employer.
"Dispatch operates without the tipped minimum wage model and strives to be a safe and welcoming space for all members of the community," they write on their website.
Aiana Restaurant Collective
Aiana Restaurant Collective is a fine dining restaurant in Ottawa that has been giving its employees salaries over hourly wages since 2020 and is a certified Ontario Living Wage Network business.
"We're firm believers that an exceptional dining experience is built from the inside-out: it starts with attracting (and retaining) quality talent and permeates all levels of service from there," the restaurant said on its Instagram.
"While equitable for some, tipping ignores many – particularly hosts, support staff, and those working exhaustive hours in the kitchen."
The restaurant says that it has implemented a standard gratuity for all its customers to ensure that all of its staff receive an equitable salary.
