> In Europe you'll wait 20 minutes to get the attention of a waiter for salt or ketchup until your food is cold.

You could ask for the salt or ketchup when the meal arrives.

Also Europeans are not, I think, accustomed to asking for salt, or ketchup, on already seasoned food. So your request is actually unusual.

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kergonath 13 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Also Europeans are not, I think, accustomed to asking for salt, or ketchup, on already seasoned food.

I would expect to find salt, pepper and mustard on the table in a decent restaurant, in my corner of Europe. Not ketchup, though, except in a cheap burger place.

	▲	dofm 11 hours ago \| parent [-]
		You would in the UK but we are a condiments culture. Quite normal to find two kinds of tomato relish, two kinds of mustard, and if the café is satanic, salad cream or piccalilli. But I don’t think I would dream of asking for salt or pepper or ketchup if they were not already on the table.

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JohnFen 12 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Also Europeans are not, I think, accustomed to asking for salt, or ketchup, on already seasoned food.

Not all us Americans are, either. The only time I can remember asking for such things is when the server forgot to provide ketchup for some fries.

If a restaurant doesn't season the food adequately for me, I'm not going to fix it at the table. I'll just factor that in the next time I decide where to eat.

Also, the vast majority of restaurants I've been to use far too much salt during cooking anyway.

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yostrovs 13 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's amazing how much is attributed to culture. What if I like more salt? European are not accustomed to ask for salt. What if the chef forgot to add salt? You'll wait till your food is cold. It's culture.

	▲	nfrankel 13 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I don't know about other European countries (well, I know, but I'm polite), but in France, restaurants will always have salt/pepper and frequently oil/vinegar on each table. For ketchup, I'm afraid you'll need to stay in the US.
	▲	was_a_dev 13 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Do that many restaurants not have salt/pepper already on the table? Yes, I may ask for ketchup separately but salt is always provided.
	▲	TheCoelacanth 11 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Forgot to add salt? Does that actually happen? A chef forgetting to add salt sounds like a photographer forgetting to use a camera.
	▲	kergonath 13 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		> What if the chef forgot to add salt? That’s a perfectly valid reason for complaining, then. Politely, of course, but the chef might use the feedback.
	▲	kakacik 13 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Please stop spreading these... untrue statements, you clearly have very little experience with actual European restaurants. Any decent restaurant has salt&pepper available on all tables, if yours was cleaned and not put back just ask waiter politely. You know how to call a waiter, right? Not much more complex than raising hand at primary school. One thing is true though, I never ever had to add salt in restaurant in past 25 years, one can ask for pepper/olive oil/etc but salt? They often use too much of it to enhance taste ie in sauces. Maybe get your kidneys and heart checked with such refined palate.

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neucoas 13 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Imagine adding ketchup to a decent meal