Hawaiçi diners are among the stingiest tippers in 45 metropolitan and other areas surveyed by restaurant guide publisher Zagats.

People here, along with those in Seattle, were identified as the worst tippers out of 45 markets reviewed in a survey of 145,000 diners, Zagats said. Hawaiçi and Seattle restaurant customers averaged 18.4 percent of their checks, Zagats said.
But while Hawaiçi tippers were made out to be cheap, the survey found little difference between it and the top tipping markets, St. Louis and Philadelphia.
People in those two cities gave 19.6 percent, or just 1.2 percentage points more than here.
The findings were among the results of the Zagat’s 2010 America’s Top Restaurants survey that were released on the company’s Web site. It found that the number of people dining out had declined and that people said they are eating less.
The report also identified the top five restaurants in each locale. In Hawaiçi, Alan Wong’s took the top spot, followed by Sushi Sasabune, La Mer, Le Bistro and Nobu Waikiki.
Additionally, Zagat’s named Scotty’s BBQ as the top barbeque restaurant here, with Duane Ono’s taking top honors in the “burgers’ category. Brick Oven was voted the best pizza, while Kirin was named best for Chinese cuisine. Mekong Thai ranked first for Thai food.
The report also found:
•Hawaiçi respondents indicated they ate 50 percent of their meals at restaurants or from take-out orders. That compared to 48 percent nationally.
•People here (77 percent) are more irritated about poor service than folks are nationally (68 percent).
•Hawaiçi respondents ate 3.2 restaurant meals a week, spending an average of $33.18 per meal. That compared to the 3.2 meal average and the $34.62 check average nationally.
•Only 4 percent of people here make reservations over the Internet. That compared to one out of five diners going online for reservations nationally.
•About two-thirds of Zagats’ survey takers here favored banning trans fats at restaurants.