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The issue of tipping in Quebec’s restaurant scene has been heating up in recent weeks.
Despite last week’s unanimous approval of Quebec Bill 72 — which introduces new measures to regulate tipping screen prompts on payment terminals — it doesn’t seem to be getting unanimous support from the public, particularly in the restaurant industry.
The new law, which is set to take effect in the next few months, will make it mandatory for tip suggestions to be calculated based on the bill’s pre-tax total, and they will have to be presented in a neutral manner. While this regulation is widely welcomed by customers, some argue it misses the mark by not addressing the root issue: that employers should be responsible for paying their staff fairly.
To tackle this head-on, a few restaurants across the province have decided to go tip-free, choosing to factor the foregone tips into their menu prices and pay their staff a fair and consistent wage rather than leaving it up to customers. Here’s a look at just a few of the spots in Quebec that are pioneering this approach.
Larrys
Price: 💸💸
Cuisine: French cafe
Address: 5201, boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC
Tipping policy: In June 2021, Larrys — as well as its next-door sister restaurant Lawrence — announced it was no longer accepting tips. “The people that serve you are professionals and we think it’s about time that they’re paid like professionals by their employer (us) rather than our customers (hopefully you!),” the restaurant said in a statement posted to Instagram.
Since then, a note declaring, “We operate with a no-tipping model. All prices include service,” has been prominently featured at the top of both restaurants’ menus.
Alentours
Price: $105 per person for a seven- to nine-course prix fixe menu
Cuisine: Locally sourced fine dining
Address: 715, rue Saint-Bernard, Quebec City, QC
Tipping policy: “To ensure the best possible salary stability for our employees, we are currently a NO-TIPS restaurant. Whether an employee is paid a flat rate or hourly, we prefer to bear the full responsibility for their financial well-being,” the Quebec City restaurant said in February.
With this change, the restaurant raised its fixed menu price from $95 per head to $105, stating that “the prices on our menus are final (before taxes) and do not include any additional charges,” other than the price of your choice of beverages. “Yes, the figure on our menu has gone up, but in the end, our experience costs about the same because there’s no tip.”
Le Bicois
Price: 💸💸
Cuisine: Cafe and bar
Address: 134, rue J.-Romuald-Bérubé, Rimouski, QC
Tipping policy: Since its revamp this summer, the new owners of Le Bicois have decided not to ask their customers for tips in order to reduce inequalities between servers and cooks, who generally make less money. “We wanted to create a level playing field so that in the dining room and in the kitchen we could work as a team without conflict,” co-owner Thomas Poirier told Radio-Canada in a July interview.
According to co-owner Élizabeth Tremblay, staff members are “paid at a fixed rate higher than the minimum wage. They start at $21 an hour and then we adjust according to experience.”
Saison Deli
Price: Not specified
Cuisine: Pizza, coffee & ice cream
Address: 19 A av. de St-Valérien, Rimouski, QC and at various pop-ups and events
Tipping policy: This Rimouski cafe has chosen not only to not accept tips, but also to display prices that include taxes — so what you see here really is what you get. “It’s seasonal here, and the season is very short, Owner Audrey Banville told Radio-Canada, explaining that tips “can be advantageous on busier days, but there are also quieter days.”
Banville also noted that since products like takeaway pizza and ice cream can be a grey area for tipping norms, “It takes the burden off customers to decide whether or not the service requires a tip.”
With these four eateries leading the way, it’s up to other Quebec restaurants to decide if they’ll adopt the tip-free trend too.
This story was adapted from the article “Ces 4 restaurants au Québec n’acceptent plus les pourboires et voici pourquoi,” which was originally published on Narcity Quebec by Ariane Fortin.
