No in that case not inappropriate. Get an envelope hand it to him and say thank you.

It's not wrong to tip in Italy. It's just not expected. In the USA you must tip, almost no matter what. In Italy, a tip is just not expected, but under appropriate circumstances with extraordinary service, there is nothing wrong with tipping. It's not an insult, like it is in Japan. It's OK. Just give him a ten or a 20 if it was that good. Since a tip is not expected, when someone gets one, it puts them over the moon because it is a personal touch, not an expectation.

Thanks for clarifying! I will certainly do that before leaving... I wish we were staying two more weeks!!

The main thing to remember about tipping in Italy is that it is not an expectation. People who do their job well do it that way because they take pride in it. If they are really good at customer relations, they may find themselves working at the Gritti. However, a tip is like getting a Christmas bonus, or something like that. The reason is because waiters, waitresses, hotel staff, even including the maids, make a living wage, a one month of paid vacation, and full health care benefits. In other words, unlike people in the service industry in the USA, they are fully paid.

For really good restaurants a waiter or waitress often studies that as their major in college. They often consists of a year learning how to cook so that they can understand the food, then a year of learning how to wait on people, then a year to learn how to manage a restaurant so that they understand the business aspects. Then, when they get their degree, they can be a waiter, which is considered a profession, and gives them a middle class living. Unlike in the USA, they don't depend on tips to make their living.

The system is not structured that way, and they are considered as working in a profession. Giving them a tip is like giving your tailor, your electrician, your librarian, etc., a tip. People who do an incredible job do appreciate the gesture of a tip, but remember, it's never an expectation. Italy is a cash society, so usually you pay in cash, and leave the change, and that is enough.

Of course, that's not the case for the person behind the bar pulling your cappuccino, or making your Spritz, meaning, they don't need a college degree, but being waitstaff is still considered a profession that provides health care, paid vacation, and a full wage, because that's the law. They don't need or expect a tip, and are surprised when they get one.

Salaries in Italy are low, unemployment for young people is very high, and the average salary is probably about 1,500 euros per month, but it seems as strange to tip a waiter as to tip the produce guy at the grocery store, or the cashier at the gas station when you fill up your tank. It's just not expected, and a surprise if you do.

If you don't believe, me, try this. Go to a restaurant and order 15 euros worth of food, and pay with a 20. In the USA, you know the waitress will return with five singles so that you have change to leave a tip. In Italy, you will get a 5 note back every time. In Italy when you pay with a credit card, there isn't even a line on the receipt for you to leave a tip. Many Italians resent people contaminating their life with foreign tipping habits, because it upsets established traditions.

When an Italian gets a haircut or take a cab, it is unthinkable to leave a tip. When I take a 48 euro cab to the airport in Rome, which I often do, and give the driver a 50 and tell them to keep the change they jump out of the car to shake my hand and help me with my luggage, it is so unexpected. People who don't understand the local tipping customs can wind up adding hundreds of dollars to the cost of their vacation.

It may seem hard to believe that you go to college to become a waiter in Italy, but here is a link to a job search website in Italy, and what you have to do if you want to become a waiter (again, this is not to work in a bar, but in a nice restaurant). I'll translate the important part.
http://www.concorsilavoro.it/professione-cameriere/

Le scuole (School).
La scuola alberghiera insegna come diventare un cameriere professionista. Il corso dura tre anni e al termine l’alunno acquisisce la qualifica professionale di Operatore per la ristorazione di sala. (You go to hospitality school to develop yourself as a waiter during a three year course leading to the qualification of Professional Waiter)

Sarà poi sua scelta decidere se continuare gli studi per altri due anni e specializzarsi. (After, you can decide if you want to go to school for two more years to specialize in some aspecting of waitering, such as finding the freshest food when shopping for the day food at the market).

In questo percorso, dove studio e pratica, si svolgono all’unisono, l’aspirante cameriere impara l’arte di servire, di accogliere, di portare con eleganza piatti e bicchieri. Il suo ruolo è basilare nel rapporto tra sala e cucina. (It is both study and practical experience where you will learn the art of service, how to welcome people, bring the plates and drinks to the table with elegance, and be a bridge between the dining room and the kitchen.).

È lui che cerca di trovare compromessi quando il cliente è insoddisfatto (How to compromise with a dissatisfied client). Deve essere sempre sorridente e rispettoso, caratteri indispensabili in un mestiere dove gli incidenti e gli imprevisti sono all’ordine del giorno e facilmente si potrebbero perdere le staffe. (How to always have a smile and be respectful, indispensabile characteristics in a profession where accidents and the unexpected are the order of the day, and it is easy to get upset).

The federal wage for a waiter in the USA is $2.13 per hour. Waiters in the USA need tips to live. In Italy, where the relationship with food is different, they do not. They get a full middle class wage, and don't expect a tip for doing their job.

Of course, it is interesting, especially if you read reviews on web sites like TripAdvisor, that what is considered terrible service in Italy, like not bringing you the check, making you wait aI long time between courses, not refilling your water glass, etc., is considered great service by an Italian. For an Italian visiting the USA, what is considered great service, is considered horrible and rude to them.

I went to a fine Italian restaurant in San Francisco last week, because I couldn't wait until I get back to Italy next week. I was immediately given a menu and before even having a minute to think about it, the waiter asked for my order. I told him, "Can you give me a minute?" He said sure, "Would you like a glass of wine to start out?" My response was, "How would I know what wine to pair with the food when I haven't even chosen what I want to eat yet?"

The second I put down my fork from eating my eggplant antipasto, the waiter swooped in to pick up the plate and within 10 seconds the pasta was put in front of me. Then, before the pasta had cooled off enough for me to even taste it, he came back to ask, "How is everything? Great?" My response, "I haven't even tasted it yet." Then, halfway through the meal he brought me the check and said, "No rush, just whenever you're ready."

Attentive service like that gets the waiter a big tip in the USA. In Italy, it would get you fired on your first day on the job. In Italy, you have to wait a half hour between courses, because it is expected that you want to digest the food between courses. You are also not going to get the check easily, because the expectation is that you want to rest at the table after you eat. Nobody in Italy would want to get the check right after the meal. They might need a half hour to decide whether or not they want desert, so you are not getting that check. If you got out of the restaurant in less than 2-3 hours after you finished your food, it was great service for american standards, terrible service to an Italian. .

In Italy, it is considered great service when the waiter leaves you alone until you signify that you need something. The two biggest complaints that I here from Americans who went to Italy is that the service was bad, and that breakfast at the hotel was terrible. Italians eat slowly so service takes a while, and they eat late, so they don't eat breakfast in Italy because they're still full from the night before.

Tipping, service, and breakfast are the three cultural things that usually get mixed up for people traveling from the USA to Italy.

This drives me insane. I think people do tip more for attentive service, but the wait staff are also clearly trying to move things along, turn the table, and earn another tip. Not their fault - they need that tip money, and it's only going to happen once per table.

I tip more if the meal is paced appropriately.

Really important point here for first timers. If you need something, ask for it. That includes the check at the end, which is really counter to what we've come to expect in the US. The bill won't chase you. And they will never drop the check while you are still eating. Not even the tourist traps that I've visited.

There have been a couple of times where I've made a last minute reservation, or walked in, to eat in Italy, and they've agreed to seat me but ask that I can give them the table back by a certain time. And usually that time is like 2 hours later. That gives some insight into what the restaurant expects in terms of pace. Mind you, now we go with our four year old daughter, so it's different - we let them know that it's okay to bring things out without much time in between, or to even fire it all at once and bring it out when it's ready. My kid enjoys restaurants, but we aim for 90 minutes instead of 2-3 hours.

It's kind of funny, in most of Italy, things are going to be done "their way" but when you show up with a child, all of a sudden people insist on doing it "your way" without you even asking. Southern Europe in general is like this, and really makes it one of the best regions to visit with children. Now way off on a tangent, but even the bureaucracy moves faster - my passport appointments at the Italian consulate have never gone faster than when my daughter is with me.

"Of course, it is interesting, especially if you read reviews on web sites like TripAdvisor, that what is considered terrible service in Italy, like not bringing you the check, making you wait aI long time between courses, not refilling your water glass, etc., is considered great service by an Italian. For an Italian visiting the USA, what is considered great service, is considered horrible and rude to them. "

This reminds me of the cultural difference when flying Biz class in Europe. In the US one of the benefits of sitting up front is that you get to board first. In Europe, the perk is being able to board at the end.

FWIW I have always found the service in Italy to be amazing.

MOECHE now available at FiAchetteria Toscana. Had them tonight and they were fantastic.

I ate there twice this week. Still excellent. Lunch today at Antiche Camarpane was one of the finest meals I have ever had in Venice.

This thread has been extremely helpful, so thanks to all who have contributed. Does anyone have a suggestion for dinner on New Years Eve? I have to be back at my hotel (the Mori in Cannareggio) for an 11:30 boat ride, so I think I need to go to a restaurant that's serving a regular a la carte menu, not a prix fixe thing that runs past midnight.

I'm pretty sure we'll be eating well at all our other dinners: Fiaschetteria Toscana, La Caravella, and hopefully Al Covo on the 30th.

Vino de Gigio is just a few minutes walk from Ai Mori. Avoid the 2 closest restaurants Antica Mola and 40 Ladrone. They are terrible. Vino de Gigio is very good.

You'll be eating very well with that list. On New Years Eve Al Covo has a big, 250 euro per person exquisite dinner, and so it will probably not suit your plan, but I'd make sure to squeeze in eating there at one of your other days.

You mentioned that you are staying at "the Mori." Italy and the Moors had a lot of interaction over the centuries, so the word Mori is used a lot, all over Italy. In Venice, Rome, the Amalfi Coast, in many cities in Sicily, there are often multiple restaurants and hotels that include the word Mori. I'm pretty sure you mean Al Mori di Oriente. If you are taking a water taxi, be specific, or they might take you to the hotel Ai Mori. Mori di Oriente is in one of the best neighborhoods to stay at in Venice. Ai do Mori is maybe 50 yards from Piazza San Marco, a location where you shouldn't stay, even if the hotel is free.

As Obscure2k said, if you are at Mori di Oriente, Vini da Gigio is the go to place. It's just around the corner. Unfortunately, they are never open on New Years Eve. Try to work it in on a different day, because it is a special place that you should not miss. They own another place, run by their son, that does stay open on New Years Eve. I've not eaten there, but Paulo and his wife (Da Gigio) own it, and I don't think they'd have their son run a bad restaurant. Unfortunately, it is not that well located for you. It is in Dorsoduro, near the Guggenheim museum. On New Years Eve they have a 70 euro fix price dinner at 7, then a later 100 euro fix price that ends whenever. The earlier one will give you plenty of time to get back to Cannaregio. The restaurant is almost right over the Accademia Bridge, however, it's a complicated walk to and from your hotel if you don't know Venice. It's an easy vaporetto ride, but the boats will be super packed and unpleasant that night. The restaurant is called Gli Alboretti, if you are OK with that.

The reason I even mention it is, you have an almost impossible task, finding a good restaurant on New Years Eve that isn't going to be a fix price, late special menu dinner, or closed. Some end at 11:30, because they know that people want to get out and watch the fireworks, but that won't help you if you are far away, and your boat leaves at 11:30.

Also, don't forget, you have both lunch and dinner to think about. Either one can be the big meal, the other can be cicchetti, or a minor meal. You might have a big meal at lunch, where you won't stop eating until around 3PM, and then for dinner just wander around, stopping at different bars for cicchetti, because you won't be that hungry when the restaurants start opening up at 7:00 or 7:30 PM. You can just be Venetian, walk around and stop at bars and eat cicchetti and have a prosecco. It is always good to have the local wine wherever you are in Italy. Prosecco is not Roman, not Florentine, not Milano, not Napolitano, not Sicilian. Prosecco is venetian. Prosecco comes from the Veneto. When you stop at a bar to have cicchetti there is zero expectation that you have to have a drink with it. Otherwise, people would get plastered when they do a cicchetti crawl for dinner.

Mori Di Oriente is pretty near the Jewish Ghetto. There is a restaurant in the ghetto called Ghimel Garden that I'm sure will be open on New Years Eve, and that is excellent. It is kosher, but that should't matter. It serves authentic, pretty high end venetian food, with all of the usual choices on the menu. They will be open, and they are a short walk away, and you could easily eat there and get back to your hotel well before 11:30.

Enoteca Giorgione is an excellent bacaro/restaurant in your part of Cannaregio that is open on New Years Eve, with their regular menu, regular hours. Trattoria Bar Pontini is also close to you, going towards the ghetto. I don't know for sure if Pontini will be open, but it almost certainly will be. It is another typical, authentic Venetian neighborhood restaurant. You can email them, or ask your hotel to check if they are open. Bentigoda in your area will be open, with its usual hours, usual menu, great venetian food.

Really, it is going to be hard to find a place on New Years Eve that is really good like the restaurants you already have on your list, other than neighborhood, local unknown places like Ghimel, Giorgioni, Pontini, and Bentigodi. They are as local, traditional, authentic venetian as you can get. Bentigodi is probably the best of the ones in your immediate location. These are not in the class of Al Covo or the others, but you'll eat well, and soak up some real, fantastic Venetian local atmosphere.

Venice is one of Italy's best cities for food, as long as you plan it out, and don't just go anywhere. No matter what, you aren't going to eat at all except in one of the many terrible tourist places if you don't make a reservation in the next week or so. To eat in Venice, you have to make a reservation. You reserve at these places by email, because the ones I mentioned in your neighborhood are so Venetian that I doubt that they could speak english to you on the phone. They can take your order and answer restaurant and food questions, but that's about it. Look into them, make your choice, then either email them, or email your hotel and tell them to make the reservation for you.

Also, it is important to never ask your hotel for a restaurant recommendation, as they will only recommend a place where they have a deal. And, don't look at TripAdvisor. If you do, if a restaurant is rated as terrible, that is usually a good thing.

Sorry to hear that Vino De Gigio will be closed on 12/31. Another possibility, in addition to the suggestions made by Perche is Bea Vita. I haven't been there for a few years, but I recall that it was a good, small family-owned restaurant. About a 7 minute walk from Hotel Ai Mori d'Oriente. Have no idea if they will be open on NYE. Perche mentioned a Kosher restaurant in the area. I have not been there but have been to Gam Gam, which is also Kosher and is dreadful. Avoid.

Bea Vita is closed on New Years Eve. Really, it is hard to get a regular meal. You either just bar crawl, eat at a bad restaurant, not eat at all, or get reservations to one of the few decent places. Bea Vita is a decent place, but it's just not going to be open on New Years Eve.

Bar Pontini is closed. I'd get to work narrowing down on the others.