Restaurant group meals – splitting the bill or just paying your own share?

We just split the bill with friends and sometimes pay all for the family when they visit. Unless there was a big discrepancy in consumption we wouldn't dream of working it out to the last penny.

It's a difficult one isn't it. I went out recently in a group setting and we split the bill but a friend did 'grumble'to me afterwards as she'd worked out she paid £8 for one orange juice as that was her one drink during the course of the meal whereas bottles of wine were ordered for the rest of us.

A group of colleagues used to just split the bill; most had average priced meal and most no or only one drink as driving. Then a new lady joined in who always had fillet steak and ordered a bottle of red.. for everyone to share of course.
I was very cross one night after being expected to pay well over £20 for my £12 dinner so actually said something. Thankfully my colleagues were feeling the same so from then on we just pay individually for what we have. I do hate to see groups of women faffing about working out pennies but tbh it’s a much better plan for us.

I used to go for ward night's out meals. The doctors would eat and drink whatever they fancied and then expect everyone to split the bill.. nowadays I usually just pay for myself if with a friend or we treat each other.. If we go to London to see an exhibition she had an art card, so saves me money and I will buy snacks and coffees.

The people I go out with know that I rarely drink alcohol and the bill is calculated to reflect this. I would feel very annoyed if this wasn’t the case. I prefer to go somewhere where you can order and pay for your own drinks at the bar and only the food is on the final bill.

Oh I miss those prix fix lunches in France. Wonderful value and usually delicious.

On another occasion my DH met a coupl of friends in a local pub for supper. He arrived before them, ordered a pint which he paid for. The couple arrived and t heir drinks were put on the tab. Wen the bill came the other said to my DH we'll split the bill in two. My DH said no, he was just going to pay his share. The other man was rather surprised but DH thought why should he pay for someone else's wife?

There is/was a vegan restaurant in London which is self service. When you've helped yourself your plate of food is weighed and you are charged accordingly. That way is very fair I think.

Here in France it's easier in many ways. We usually meet up with friends at lunchtime and have the set menu which is reasonably priced. Whoever is driving might have one glass of wine or beer but the rest of us don't drink much more.

I always pay my share plus tip. This is because I do bot drink alcohol - but everyone knows this anyway so it's not a problem with friends and family or work coleagues.

I would probably just pay for my own meal and a tip. I don't have alcohol or anything except tap water to drink and I can only eat small meals. I don't want to have to subsidise other people's meals.

We usually split the bill evenly. However, on one occasion when one of the diners decided he was only going to pay for what he and his wife ate it was problematic at the end.

10 of us had gone to a vineyard to buy wine "en primeur" for collection the following year. Lunch was booked and when we arrived we were given wine to drink as a gift. The couple in question declined the wine and asked for bottles of sparkling water. He insisted that because we weren't paying for the wine, they should not have to pay for the water. Another bottle of wine was ordered (on the bill) and after we had coffee. The food cost for each of us was fairly equal.

When the waiter came with bill he insisted that he was just going to pay for what they'd had and so he went to the counter, told the person on the till what they'd had (excluding the water) and paid.

The head waiter was pissed off and we could hear him muttering about Les Anglais to other customers. Each couple then went to pay, causing a log jam. My DH and I were last to and were charged an extra 18 euros(including the water) because some people forgot their coffee. When we got outside he was still moaning about not having free water. I was extremely angry with him but didn't want to make a scene in front of the others. Later I did tell our mutual friends - everyone knew how hot tempered he was so it was no shock.

It all happened so quickly that we didn't even have to time to say give us the money for what you had and we'll split the balance between us. 18 euros was not a massive amount of money admittedly - it was the thought that counted.

I am going to the theatre with a group of people this week, I don’t know how many we will be as I only know the person who invited me. After the show we are going to quite am expensive London restaurant. Not sure how it will pan out re the bill.

Some years ago my dh and I were invited to join a couple with our and their adult children. We only knew the couple and their 2 adult children.
It was a long drive for us so dh wasn’t drinking and I wasn’t well so we had very little to eat and nothing more than water to drink. Our total bill was under £25.
A group of friends of the other couples AC joined the table, ordering food and plenty of drinks.
The bill was divided ‘equally’, and our ‘share’ was £70.
We never said a word but wish we had. Lesson learned.
We usually split equally with good friends and often pay it all if with family.

We tend to split the bill equally whether it’s friends or family , big or small group . It’s so much easier . Thankfully most of us drink and eat similar things. ie tap water rather than bottled water.
If people are driving , we’ll ask for the food and drink bill to be separate.
On weekends away, holidays with friends , family we have a kitty to pay for meals out.
We do have one couple who always order a starter, steak or something expensive and g & t s, fizz, and desserts, while the rest of us drink beer or house wine and have a main only. There’s always lots of eye rolling when we’re out with them .

I once went on a works meal , which included a very self centred girl from our team . While I had one course and one soft drink , she proceeded to have 3 courses and a bottle of wine ( and additional drinks) . When she suggested splitting the bill , I’m afraid I was very blunt and said ‘ I don’t think so ; I’ll just pay mine ‘ She had more money than me and I was not paying for her excesses ( gosh ….it’s all coming back to me …I feel quite annoyed 😂😂😂!!!
Nobody argued but nobody else had the courage to say the same as me …maybe I’m just tight ( I know I’m not 😊😊)

I do not go out to eat with people I am not familiar with - so I am comfortable telling the party that each pays his own, because some of us don't drink and don't order fancy stuff. That having been said, if it's someone's birthday, we split the cost for that person. Also, someone pays the whole bill, then we all pay that someone, because it's faster.

I have always paid for my own food and drink in a restaurant except in the case where everyone in the party ordered within the same price range.

I remember there was a tendency to "split the bill" in my student days, but this was rightly seen by most of us, as one or two improvident members of the group cadging on the rest of us, so we insisted we all paid for precisely what we had ordered.

She sounds a real pain in the neck annsixty. It's amazing you all put up with her for so long.

I’m sure I have told this one before on here.
For many years whilst we had young children a group of neighbours of mine, all young mothers, would go out about three times a year, one being just before Christmas.
One always had to be different in her choices of food and wine.
She always chose Mateus Rose which none of the rest of us would drink so the whole bottle was hers.
She always waited until everyone else had chosen their main course saying she was making up her mind, she then always chose an expensive fillet steak in a sauce, at that time the most expensive thing on the menu.
On of our party , a lovely young woman didn’t drink but never queried splitting the bill equally.
On the last occasion after the meal we ordered and waited for coffee , she went to the loo.
When the coffees were brought to our table there was a large brandy on the tray.
Oh that’s for me she said , she had gone to the bar and ordered it without saying anything or asking if anyone else would like anything.
We let her get away with it but it was the last time I went with them.
It stopped very quickly after that.
Quite away from the food and drink, her H ,much older than her who seemed to worship the ground she walked on bought her a mink jacket.
She always wore it on out outings and would always seek out owner/manager and ask for it to be put in their office as it was far too valuable to be placed in the cloakroom.

Very civilised Glenfinnan. The best place I ever went to in a largish group was one we went to a few times for GN lunches. Somehow, magically we were all given individual bills. The waitress had plotted where each of us was sitting and what we'd ordered so was able to do this. I've never seen anything like it anywhere else. I suspect that it was a savvy waitress rather than any fancy hi tech solution.

When a large group of us, twenty odd, the pub/restaurant bill us all separately which is brilliant.

I meet up regularly with 9 others for lunch. We take turns in paying … 2 people pay so it not a lot at one time. So my turn with one other is every 5th lunch. We usually have a set meal… some drink wine others don’t but we find this the easiest way!

I'm happy to share the bill plus tip equally, Saves a lot of mental arithmetic.
However I take care to choose my friends , who I know wont order something excessively more expensive than most of us.

Good for you Marydoll, I'm glad you shamed them into paying their fair share.

Oh that’s such a difficult one. I don’t drink alcohol and don’t want the most expensive things in the menus like steak and lobster. I have paid for other people to enjoy these things in a split bill but now I will pay for what I have had and let them pay their share.
It’s never easy and I avoid going out with people I don’t know well who I know are great drinkers and lover of the finest of foods!

With family we take turns to pay the whole bill. I dont drink so if it's a meal with alcohol situation then pay individually.

As a student, we quickly learnt that some would order expensive drinks if it wasn’t their round, or if we’d paid into a kitty, so PAYG became the norm.
At staff outings we pay upfront for what we’ve ordered on the menu, + a tip contribution. Anything else, e.g. bottles of wine, drinks, extra coffees are pay as you go. That way you can leave when you want.
For family we either pay the lot if it’s a treat or each branch pays their own.