There is a French law regarding tipping. It applies ONLY to restaurants on the FRENCH side of the island. Many restaurants on the DUTCH side add 15% to your bill. Look for it added before you pay. Still many restaurants on the DUTCH side leave the tip to your own descretion and do not add it . If not added, you can leave an appropriate amount for the tip.

ON the FRENCH side,keep in mind that the SERVICE and TAX are both included in the price you see on the menu (indicated by the words service compris, and it’s 15%). I repeat, the tip is already included. Keep that in mind when you’re considering tipping in France. The servers are paid a very good wage and do not depend on tips to supplement their salary.

If you leave additional money on the table, you’re tipping twice! Leaving a few euros for a particularly great meal/great service is always appreciated but never expected. If you decide to tip, just leave the coins in the plastic tray with the receipt on the table. It’s perfectly fine to round a bill up if you had good service like leaving 40euros if the bill was 37 euros. You can go a little higher at a particularly fancy restaurant where you had a wonderful meal. But it would be unusual to leave a 20%, USA style tip at a mediocre casual restaurant, so don’t do that unless you really feel compelled for some reason. The tip you leave is called a pourboire which is just the amount the server can use to purchase a drink for himself or herself. If you choose not to leave a tip that is perfectly OK too!