is a tip already included in the bill ?

MwSt. means VAT, so that's the tax. It's lower on Food and higher on beverages (both in Germany and Austria. It doesn't make a lot of sense anymore but is for historical reasons). Service charge (i.e. salary for the waiter etc.) is fully included in German speaking countries and you do not have to tip at all. It's common practice though that you round up bills. In your case of €75.90 I would have rounded up to €77.00 and leave the €1.10 tip in the glas or on the table. €8 is/was way too much.

Thanks to the Andreas for answering my question.

Margaret, looks like your waiter took advantage that you were an American tourist.

As Andreas said, round up. If you feel your service was beyond "excellent" you can add a few more Euros

Your 8 Euros just made the guy's day! LOL

I live in Frankfurt and worked in the restaurant industry. I don't know how it is in Athens, but if any of my wait staff would have gotten a one euro tip for a 76 euro bill, I think they would have been upset. You can of course round up, but a couple extra euros would more usual. I often go with about 10%, but it does depend on the service, etc. I don't feel bad about leaving nothing if things weren't to my satisfaction, but I also inform the staff of deficiencies in my meal or service. (in a pleasant manner of course)
Would 8 euros be too much for a 76 euro tab? No, not really, maybe just a tad, but it certainly is not overtipping. Asking for a tip though, is an absolute no no and I would not leave a cent if a server said this to me.
Jo

Hello, Jo,

Thanks for your reply and your opinion. When I read your reply and came across " Athens ", I realized I made a silly mistake in my original email. The place the 3 of us visited was " Vienna ", not "Athens". I do have plans to visit Athens this coming October; maybe this is why I put down " Athens". Thanks again.

We´ve been in Europe for 3 wks now with 3 more to go (Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland so far) and at every hotel we have asked the owner/receptionist what is the norm. Every single one has said a 10% tip is the norm so that is what we have been doing. I was a waitress for 2 yrs in the US a long time ago and I have never forgotten how HARD a job it is, if you´ve never waitressed you don´t realize that. Based on what our hotel´s have said I tip 10% unless the service or their attitude was very bad.

Susan, I mean no disrepsect, but a 10% tip in Italy is very generous. Certainly Italians don't tip anywhere near that amount. Obviously people do what makes them feel comfortable, but we routinely rounded up to a max of 4-5 Euros and returned to the same places more than once, always to be greeted with a warm smile and friendly conversation. On smaller meals €1 or 2 was common.

Hello, Susan,
Thanks for your reply. I certainly find your suggestion very useful and will apply it when I visit Athens this fall. Enjoy your Europe tour--that really makes anyone envious !

Tim, no disrespect taken...this has always been a frustrating dilemma on all our trips so this time we've made a point to always ask at our hotel because they have nothing to gain...you may be totally right but I'd prefer to err on the side of tipping 10%, for good service, rather than not. At home I always tip 20-25% for good service because I feel that is the right thing to do, so here in Europe, to me, 10% is a bargain. I don't know if anyone has the definitive answer but we're just gonna do what every hotel so far has said. Last night we ate at a nice restaurant and the service was so bad I didn't leave a dime.

Here are some tipping guidelines suggested by RS. http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/eurotips.htm , http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/tipstopten.htm , http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/tipping.htm .