Bread on the table, tap water and tips: eating out in Portugal

Newcomers commonly report a few surprises in restaurants:

• Starters arrive unasked. Bread, butter, olives or other small starters — the couvert — are often placed on the table before you order.
• Not every item on the table is free. If you eat it, you pay for it; if you do not want it, you can say so.
• Tipping is low-key. Expatica describes tips as welcome but not generally expected, with more tipping in tourist areas and in Lisbon and Porto.
• Long meals. Expatica notes that traditional family lunches, especially on Sundays, can last for hours.

The couvert rule

According to the consumer association DECO (June 2026), the menu must state that no dish, food product or drink, including the couvert, may be charged if the customer did not order it and did not use it. Starters you ordered and that reached the table cannot be returned. If you do not want what is placed on the table, ask staff to take it away, and check the bill.

Tap water

DECO explains that restaurants must provide tap water and clean, reusable glasses to customers eating on the premises. Filtered bottled water must be listed separately with its price.

Prices and complaints

All prices, including VAT, must be shown on the price list in euros, at the entrance and inside, and any service charges must appear on it; a charge that is not listed can be refused. Restaurants must have a complaints book (livro de reclamações), which cannot be refused to you; DECO also points to the electronic version.

• Tipping. Expatica says restaurants generally do not expect tips, that tipping is expected in heavily touristed areas, and that 10–15% is an acceptable amount at restaurants. Do what feels right for the service you received.
• Bread and starters. Whether a couvert is brought to the table varies between restaurants; its price must be on the menu.