Straight talk
Coperto explained
It’s not a scam. It’s the cover charge for sitting down at a table.
You finish a great dinner, the bill arrives, and there’s a line you didn’t order: coperto, about $3 per person. Many first-time visitors think they’ve been ripped off. You haven’t. Here’s what it is, and how tipping really works in Italy.
What the coperto is
The coperto is a per-person charge for sitting at a table. It traditionally covers the bread, the tablecloth and setting your place. It’s legal, common across most of Italy, and it should be listed on the menu, usually in small print at the bottom of the first or last page.
In most restaurants it’s about $2 to $3 per person (€2 to €3 on the bill), and more in tourist hotspots and upscale places.
The Rome exception
In Rome and the rest of the Lazio region, a regional law has banned the coperto since 2006. Some restaurants get around it by charging for bread (pane) or service (servizio) instead, so read the menu there too.
Watch for “servizio”
Some restaurants, especially in tourist areas, add a service charge as a percentage of the bill, often around 10 to 15 percent. Like the coperto, it must be on the menu. If it’s on your bill, you don’t need to tip on top.
Tipping in Italy
This is the big one for Americans and Canadians. Italy has no tipping culture like back home:
- Restaurants: no 18 to 20 percent. Staff are paid a salary, and the coperto is not a tip. If the service was good, round up or leave a few dollars’ worth in cash
- Cafés and bars: leave the small change, or nothing at all
- Taxis: round up to the nearest euro
- Hotels: a dollar or two per bag for a porter is a nice gesture, never an obligation
Tips are welcome, though. On guided tours, wine tastings and boat trips, a tip is always appreciated when you’ve had a great day. On our wine tour, tips were clearly welcome, but nobody expected one.
A practical habit: carry a few small bills and coins for tips and rounding up. Card payments are everywhere now, but small cash is still how tips happen.
Where the coperto can surprise you
Bars and cafés. In Italy, the price of a coffee or a drink depends on where you have it. At the counter it’s cheapest. Sit down at a table, especially on a terrace in a famous square, and the price can be several times higher.
We learned this in Milan. We ordered one beer inside a bar and were shown to a table on the terrace, where it was brought out. The bill had a coperto of about $11 (€10). The beer itself cost less. We may have protested a little.
How to avoid surprises
- Check the menu for coperto and servizio before you order
- Ask before you sit if you only want a quick drink: “C’è il coperto?” means “Is there a cover charge?”
- Have your coffee at the counter, like the Italians do
The verdict: budget about $2 to $3 per person for coperto, skip the American-style tip, and leave a little extra only when someone made your day.
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