This N.J. restaurant now adds 18% tip to all its bills. Is it fair?

Restaurant trends may come and go, but tipping culture continues remains a controversial topic in the industry.

About 60% of Americans say they tip 15% or less, with only about a quarter leaving a 20% tip or more, and 2% of Americans not leaving any tip at all, according to a 2023 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.

M by Mokafé, a restaurant in Jersey City offering an all-day brunch menu, decided to remove those fluctuating stats from their balance sheet by implementing an automatic 18% gratuity for all parties that dine at the eatery, regardless of size.

M by Mokafé in Jersey City, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media)Lauren Musni

Such a practice is typically reserved for larger parties — six or eight or more.

Haneen Salem, the district manager for Mokafé (the coffee chain in New Jersey and New York that owns the restaurant), told NJ Advance Media that they added automatic gratuity a few months after the restaurant’s October opening, as she saw her servers struggling to make ends meet.

“When we first opened ... we had the option for the customer to leave the tip,” Salem said. “But our waiters were sometimes getting a table that would order food for $200 and they wouldn’t even leave $10 as a tip.”

As the auto-tip is unusual, some customers have complained online through reviews, Salem said. One review stated that their table’s food took too long, and wished they could’ve not given any tip at all.

“In that case, we do answer them back on the reviews and say, it’s written everywhere and we tell our waiters to tell you about it,” Salem said.

The honey truffle burrata salad at M by Mokafé in Jersey City, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media)Lauren Musni

Last month, I visited M by Mokafé to see for myself. I asked for a table for one and ordered a lavender lemonade ($7) and the honey truffle burrata salad ($16) with added grilled chicken ($8).

I asked for my check and lo and behold, on the bottom of my receipt it said “18% Gratuity Included” with a small description at the bottom stating, “For parties of 1 or larger, a 18.00% gratuity is applied automatically. If you have any questions, please speak with a manager.” There was no option to give an additional gratuity.

The receipt was the only place the automatic gratuity was stated. There was nothing else in the restaurant that stated it and my server didn’t mention it when the check was handed to me.

Frankly, the 18% ask was a small bargain for me, as I always tip 20% when dining out (a former server myself). I also didn’t mind that the math was done for me.

My receipt after dining at M by Mokafé in Jersey City, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media)Lauren Musni

Although, I would’ve appreciated being told when the check was given to me since customers don’t always read the entire receipt.

When asked whether such a practice was presumptuous, Salem said that everyone deserves to make a decent living wage.

“I think if we all put ourselves in each other’s shoes and we feel for those around us, they would understand that the price of life right now in our country is very high,” Salem said. “We see the crisis of how expensive it is to walk into a supermarket to buy eggs or to go buy the necessities.

“See it as something that this restaurant is trying to make sure that its workers are able to live in this country and live comfortably,” she added. “That’s all it is.”

Minimum wage for tipped servers in New Jersey is $5.62 per hour, much lower than minimum wage for other lines of work ($15.49 per hour).

Though transparency is key. I should have been told, and any restaurants who adopt auto-tipping should be mindful — and ready to respond online.

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Lauren Musni may be reached at lmusni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Laurengmusni and on Instagram @laurengisellemusni.