separate checks

I usually don't split checks when traveling. Instead, I use an iPhone app called Splid. I make a note of who paid for what and for whom, and we settle up at the end of the trip. It has worked beautifully for me on multiple trips.

IMO it's perfectly acceptable to ask for separate checks. Request them when ordering your meal, not when you are ready to pay. Servers do not have time to go back and reconfigure checks at the end of a meal.

We split cheques frequently. Most restaurants totalled the bill for everyone but then they calculated the split cheque amounts manually based on you telling them which items on which bills. Worked fine.

that’s what i thought; thanks for the replies!

The restaurants really don’t “split checks” for you - at least not in my area. However, it’s quite easy for the diners to determine their share and give the cash or have that certain amount charged on their card.

I've never waited on a table but I have worked in a restaurant kitchen. I do think that splitting a bill is a pita for the waiter/ress, especially if the bill has to be split three or more ways. All those extra minutes to deal with separate credit cards add up. They probably want to pull their hair out if the customers insist on using cash and they have to make change for each payer.

It can also be a pita for the customers trying to figure out their respective share. If you're throwing money into a pot, sometimes you end up leaving an enormous tip and sometimes you find that the pot is short and you have to get people to kick in extra to cover the bill.

For our upcoming group trip, I will try to convince our group to use a bill splitting app like Splid or Splitwise. It will make everything easier if we are paying for group accommodations, transport, attractions and restaurants, etc.

I'd say that if you are travelling with company that you know well, why not make it less of a hassle and just agree that one of you (or both of you!) will keep a ledger and at the end of the trip pay back the amount owed. The ledger could be in the form of a shared note that both can keep track of.

Yes it’s possible to just split it yourself. When the bill comes work out how much each person has spent and then request to pay eg, €30 on one card and €25 on another.

Separate or split checks are easily handled in many foreign countries. It’s often a very simple process. The server handles payment at your table. In some restaurants each party goes to the cashier indicate your table and specify what you ordered.

I can’t speak for Portugal, but on our most recent trip – to Belgium and The Netherlands – my friend and I asked at each restaurant for split checks.

One restaurant in Bruges said “it is always one table, one check”. At another in Brussels (The Grimbergen Café, which I recommend), the waitress asked us to accompany her to the terminal at the end of the meal, rather than paying at our table. Everywhere else, they cheerfully split the check, usually commenting that they would do so on their handheld at the conclusion of the meal.

@josh, not a bad idea to try, I suppose, especially if you know the language. I’m just thinking that if you’re in a country where you don’t know the language and the person or persons serving you don’t know your language well, it might be better not to split the bill and just do it later.