It honestly depends . Anything below 15 is rude unless the service was awful . If you ' re at a really shittyfastfoodish restaurant , 15 is tolerable . If you ' re at an actual restaurant , 20 is standard . For exampleI worked at a place called No Name PizzaThey were just a step above fast food , served pizza , burgers , sandwiches , etc . Very casual , cheap sorta feel . Servers and other employees wore jeans and t shirts , cups were hard plastic , plates were somewhat chrap . 15 is ok there , if your service was good , 20 was expected . I worked at a place called Front Street Grill . Served great seafood , steaks , salads , etc . Had a bar , servers wore matching collared shirts and pants , food was served on good dishes , the glasses were made of actual glass , etc . Unless your service was goddamn abysmal , you better have been tipping 20 %.