If a server in Spain is friendly and efficient, you can thank them and leave a tip with the bill. For a tapas meal, think three to five euros. If you’ve just dropped into a bar to have a caña of beer or a café con leche in the daytime, you can leave change next to your empty glass.
Amy Bingham, co-founder of the food tour company Walk and Eat Spain, has some cardinal rules when it comes to tipping there. “If you’re drinking on a terrace, always tip,” she said, because servers “have to work so hard to run those drinks across a crowded sidewalk.” And if the bill comes to more than 40 euros per person, make sure you’re paying with paper, not just coins.