Figured out the trick to splitting a restaurant bill fairly without causing awkward silence - it's all about who orders drinks

Last Friday at dinner with 6 friends in Portland, I noticed the same old argument about tipping on tax and who owes for the shared appetizer, so I started jotting down each person's drink count before the main course came and used that to adjust the split, and everyone actually agreed it was fair - has anyone else found a smoother way to handle group tabs without pulling out a calculator?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse2901d agoTop Commenter

Wait, isn't counting drinks during dinner just as awkward as pulling out a calculator? You're basically announcing to everyone that you're keeping tabs on what they're drinking, which feels weirdly judgmental (like you're monitoring their alcohol intake or something). Plus, what about the people who order expensive cocktails versus cheap beer? A drink count doesn't tell you who ordered the $14 margarita versus the $5 PBR. I'd argue that the real fair way is just to have one person pay the whole bill and have everyone venmo them their exact share later, because splitting by drinks still leaves room for arguments about who drank the most of the shared bottle of wine.

ray3241d ago

Expand on that by pointing out the one person paying often ends up eating the cost when people flake on venmo.