Here in Venice, seems that every sit-down restaurant charge the coperto (cover charge), in addition to food and service charge. Is that a Venice thing, or is it pretty common in Italy?
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
I seem to remember seeing a coperto at about half the restaurants we went to.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11322 posts
Based on 3 weeks there this October, in 6 locations (Venice, 5Terre, Siena, Montalcino, Orvieto, Roma), the coperto is levied in about 2/3 of the restaurants. Almost always at dinner, and frequently at lunch unless you are eating in a bar. We looked at it as the equivalent of a tip in the US, and actually the coperto was usually less than we would tip at home. Plus most of the bread was great!
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
Just returned from our 2nd trip to Italy. As you mentioned, we had a coperto charge of 1.50 to 2.50 euros ($2-$3) each for our table setting. We did not always get bread. Yes, it's a common practice in Italy and it is in addition to your food/service tax charge. Enjoy Venice--it's a beautiful time of year.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10225 posts
We found that many places throughout Italy charged the coperto. Usually between 1 - 3 euros per person. Not every place included bread with that charge. If we ate somewhere that charged to sit, I didn't tip.