Etiquette & CultureBy Clever Tourists · Published
The coperto is a fixed per-person cover charge that most Italian sit-down restaurants add to the bill, usually €2 to €4 (≈ $2.2–4.5) per person and more in prime locations. It is legal anywhere it is printed on the menu or price board, except in the Lazio region (Rome), which bans it. It is not a tip: Italians generally do not tip on top, though rounding up or leaving a euro or two for good service is welcome. In Venice, watch for a separate servizio of 10 to 12%. Here is what each line on an Italian bill means.
Free toolWork out the exact tip on any bill →Pick the country, enter the bill and get the tip in local currency — including the places where service is already on the bill.Coperto literally means "cover", as in the place setting. It is a flat charge per diner for sitting down at a table: the tablecloth, cutlery, glasses and usually the bread basket. You will often see it as pane e coperto (bread and cover) at the bottom of the menu, in small print.
Typical amounts are €2 to €4 (≈ $2.2–4.5) per person in ordinary trattorias, around €1 to €3 (≈ $1.1–3.3) outside tourist areas, and sometimes far more at upscale or prime-location restaurants. It applies to everyone at the table who is eating, and you will not find it in bars where you stand or sit at the counter.
There is no national law that regulates or bans the coperto. Under Italy's general price-display rules, though, a restaurant can only charge it if it is written on the menu or a visible price board. If it is not listed, you have grounds to ask for it to be removed.
Rome is the well-known exception. A 1995 Rome mayoral ordinance banned a separate coperto line, and the Lazio region's law 21/2006 (article 16) now prohibits charging extra for the coperto across the region. Many Roman restaurants work around it by listing pane (bread) or servizio instead, which is legal as long as those are on the menu too.
Refusing the bread basket elsewhere in Italy does not normally remove the coperto, because the charge is for the table, not the food.
Servizio is a service charge, usually a percentage of the bill. It is separate from the coperto on paper, and some restaurants charge one or the other. Venice is where you are most likely to meet it: many restaurants in the tourist core add 10 to 12% servizio instead of a coperto, and some charge both, for example a €2.50 (≈ $2.8) coperto plus 12% service.
Both must be stated on the menu. Read the bottom of the page before you order, and if a restaurant lists servizio incluso or adds a percentage, you have already covered service. In Venice, eating cicchetti standing at a bacaro counter avoids both charges.
If you are only in Venice for the day, you may also owe the city's access fee on certain dates; see our Venice day-tripper fee and QR code guide, and our Venice guide for where to eat.
Tipping is not expected in Italy, and the coperto is one reason locals rarely add anything. Neither the coperto nor the servizio is a tip in the American sense.
• Bill with servizio: no extra needed.
• Bill with only a coperto: rounding up, or leaving €1 to €2 (≈ $1.1–2.2) per person in cash for good service, is a friendly gesture.
• Outstanding meal: around 5 to 10% left in cash is generous by Italian standards.
• Coffee at the bar: leaving a small coin with your receipt is common but optional.
Card terminals rarely have a tip option, so leave any tip in cash. The same table-charge idea exists across the Adriatic, as our kuver in Montenegro guide explains.
A fixed per-person cover charge for sitting at a restaurant table, covering the place setting and usually bread. It is typically €2 to €4 (≈ $2.2–4.5) per person.
No. The coperto goes to the restaurant as a table charge. Tipping in Italy is optional; rounding up or leaving €1 to €2 (≈ $1.1–2.2) per person in cash for good service is common.
Yes, as long as it is written on the menu or a visible price board. The Lazio region, which includes Rome, bans a separate coperto under regional law 21/2006, so Roman restaurants may list bread or service instead.
Usually not. The coperto is a charge for the table setting rather than the bread itself, so sending the basket back does not normally remove it.
Many Venetian restaurants add a servizio of 10 to 12% instead of, or as well as, a coperto. It must be stated on the menu, and when it is on the bill you do not need to tip extra.
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