Did I tip OK?

[draggar]

My wife and I got some gift cards to Benihana's last Christmas from my parents and we decided to go to a local location this weekend (south Florida). Not the main one (that all the tourists go to) but one "out west" (Coral Springs to be exact).

(For those of you who don't know, Benihana's is an Asian style restaurant where you all sit around a large frying pan where the chef prepares your meal in front of you.)

My wife and I decided that since we had these nice gift cards, we were going to go all out. Appetizers, nice meal, dessert, etc. ( I also went though 4-5 glasses of Sprint (pesky salt! but the server did keep an eye on it and filled it quickly). For a drink my wife had a rum and coke as well as some Asian soda thingie (with a marble in it??). I know we did a lot of the annoying things some people do (my wife added the soda later, my dessert required some preparation, etc..).

We were always polite and the service was as expected in a nice establishment.

Our total tab was between $90 and $95. My concern is that I didn't tip enough (but I based the tip on the total amount, not the (amount - gift card) style (yeah, I know that way is really sucky).

So, how much should I have tipped? Yes, I'll say how much I tipped earlier I just want to get a feel if I did the right thing or not. We got this envelope that the server gets to open in our next visit to see what we've won (anything from a free chicken fried rice (wow, $1 value!) to $1000) and I'd like to go back but not be branded a cheap-ass.

[Plaidman]

About 18-20 bucks, more if it was great service, less if it was horrid.

[MaggieTheCat]

$18-20 sounds about right to me too. Depending on how much the bill was, I may have just rounded it up to $110 or $112 even (so if the bill was $91.50, I probably would have paid $110, and they would get an $18.50 tip.)

[draggar]

Thank you for the responses.

I forgot to add, I paid with the gift cards and cash (no credit / debit / check cards)

As for service, it was good. The server kept my glass full and the food he had to bring to us was hot (well, the dessert was, our sushi was cool, like it's supposed to be!).

[BookstoreEscapee]

Well, a gift card would be treated as a form of payment (i.e., cash), not a discount.

I'd have gone with $20 or so, too.

[ArcticChicken]

some Asian soda thingie (with a marble in it??).

Those are so tasty! I can't remember what they're actually called, but I refer to them as intelligence test soda.

[lupo pazzesco]

Ramune!!! LOVE THOSE. I always push too hard on the marble and the soda fizes out on me though...

$18-20 sounds about right, about what i tip for a good sushi dinner, so...yeah.

[draggar]

Then I guess they're happy with me and I wasn't as much of a pain as I thought I was.

From the bill, $60 in gift cards and $60 in cash (yes, over a $25 tip).

I just feel bad with places that have smaller glasses - I can drink though them quickly so the server is constantly filling it up for me.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I have a feeling they don't mind.

[Solumina]

Very few servers will think of you as a cheap-ass as long as you tip at least 15% even though 20% has become the norm, so no worries, you are more than good.

[Plaidman]

You did great then. More then enough. Yay!