Restaurants
Prices in Göttingen restaurants are often reasonable and student-friendly. There are many different restaurants available both in the city center and in surrounding villages which serve Italian, Chinese, Greek, East Indian or regional southern Lower Saxony meals.

Cafés
In summertime, Göttingen´s many street cafés bring life to the city. When the weather is nice, tables are often set up in courtyards and on the pavement. Waiters and waitresses may ask you to pay for your drink or food immediately after it has been served when you sit outside; inside, the bill is usually paid when you leave.

Pubs and Clubs
The Göttingen city center sports a vibrant pub and club scene catering for a mostly student clientele. There are no enforced closing times. Usually smoking is not allowed indoors, but some pubs do have extra rooms for guests, who smoke. Some establishments have live music. Usually an entrance fee is charged for live entertainment.Göttingen clubs and discos are mostly located in the city center and they also cater primarily for students. Evenings with guest DJs and theme nights are usually advertised by poster throughout the city.

Paying the Bill
When you go to restaurants/cafes with friends or acquaintances, it is quite common to ask for separate bills. When you ask for a bill, you will always be asked whether you want to pay together or separately: "Zusammen oder getrennt" "Zusammen" stands for paying to-gether and "getrennt" for separately.

Tip/Service Charge
In most restaurants and cafés the prices cited already include VAT (value added tax) and a service charge. However, when paying the bill in a café or restaurants, people generally leave a tip for the waiter or waitress. In contrast to other countries, there is no fixed rule regarding a 'proper' amount to leave as a tip. However, it is generally acceptable to tip 10% of the bill. The tip should be given to the waiter/waitress directly, not left on the table.