Kaifeng

• TIPS: Bills come with a mandatory 15% - yes, 15%! - service charge. This is for all party sizes. When I suggested to the waitress that this was a little high, she got her manager over, who suggested 15% was more than appropriate given the fine dining surroundings. "It's been like this for 25 years," she said, "and you're the first person to complain." Given that this is a kosher restaurant, and we Jews are, shall we say, not shy about disputing unfair charges, I found this a little rich.
  
• DO: Come here only on special occasions, as it ain't cheap, but the food, especially the shredded duck + pancakes, is undeniably yummy. I once asked them for their duck recipe: they apparently marinate it for about three days, deep fry it and then hang it to dry (or something like that) for another 24 hours. In other words, don't even think about trying this at home.
  
• DON'T Argue with the manager, as she has little time for stingy oiks who don't think their surly staff deserve the full 15% service charge (which may or may not go directly to the waitresses, but I was too intimidated by the manager to ask).
  

Atari-Ya Sushi Bar

TIPS: These are divided among waiters, waitresses, sushi chefs and management. The waitress who served me didn't seem to mind. She said it was only fair. If she's happy, then can't really argue with that.
DO: Order lots of yummy sushi. Really glad this place has opened round the corner from me. It certainly helps that this is pretty excellent value: a meal for two + beer works out at about £25.
DON'T: Forget to book ahead. The Swiss Cottage branch has only been open a couple of months, and it's already rammed every night.

Taro

• TIPS: Bills come with 10% service charge added. None of this goes to the waiters/waitresses, though best to confirm with the manager rather than the staff (some of them are new; others don't speak very good English).
  
• DO: Eat here. The food is great. Order the salted mackrel; drink the plum wine; get a table away for the window (it can get drafty).
  
• DON'T: Pay the service charge. Though the manager doesn't seem to understand the word "discretionary", you can ask for it to be removed from your bill and then leave a tip of the waiter/waitress.
  
• Two other issues to bear in mind: you get served by several different staff, so it's hard to know who you should give your cash tip to at the end; it's a family-run business, so the money probably ends up in the same family pot anyway!
  

Nobu

• Tips split between army of waiters (you're never served by just one person), maitre d', kitchen staff, bar staff: basically everyone except management. Waitresses reluctant to confirm this, but manager will*.
• DO: Go with someone who's picking up the tab (it ain't cheap), order the bento box and the papaya & carrot juice - it's £6.50, but it's yum!
• DON'T: Pay the discretionary service charge of 15% on your card; better to leave a cash tip. The more senior the waiter, the more of a share of the tip he/she gets.

*there are philosophical arguments as to whether your "tip" should go to kitchen staff, bartenders and the like. Why should the waiter be the only one to receive a gratuity? If so, pay the service charge at Nobu with a clear conscience. If not, then you may have to go somewhere else.

IT'S THE LAW

In my first post, I wondered aloud whether it was legal to do what some of these restaurants are doing: namely, taking the tip from waiters and waitresses.

Turns out, that the law changed just a month ago. So, if what the waitress at the The Diner said is true, then the restaurant is breaking the law. The others are merely being amoral.

To see details of the change in law, governing tips, please click here (you may have to use Safari on a Mac). Pay particular attention to page 8, where it says the new law came into force on October 1.

Ping Pong

• Tips shared between waitresses, bartenders, kitchen staff and....management!
• DO: give cash tip to waitress; I left cash instead of paying service charge, but fear it may have been snaffled anyway.
  
• DO NOT: expect speedy service
  

The Diner

• Tips used to top up waitresses salary, to ensure they get mininum wage.
  
• DO: order fresh orange juice, give cash tip to friendly waitress.
  
• DO NOT: order spicy beanburger - it tastes of nothing (not even beans or spices), and gave me stomach cramps the next day.