When you go out for a big meal with friends—be it a causal lunch, a birthday dinner, or brunch with the squad—there’s often the lingering fear of “who’s going to pay for all this?”
It’s not that people don’t have the funds, but that splitting the check, especially with a big group, is notoriously difficult, especially when everyone consumed different amounts.
This Chicago woman’s solution has the internet firmly divided on what to do next time they’re in this predicament.
Dine And Dash? Not Exactly.
In a TikTok with 445,000 views, content creator Nyra Monae (@nyramonae4) films herself at a Chili’s, a table of five or six people behind her, about to make her exit.
“I’m gonna show y’all how to walk out on a $600 bill,” she says, panning to the exit. “Bill came out to six hundred dollars. My meal was only twenty dollars, so I’m putting up twenty dollars. So I’m gonna leave.”
Her text overlay clarifies she wasn’t skipping out on the check but didn’t want to stick around for the frenzy of check splitting.
“Right before I paid for my meal and drink and LEFT idk why they thought I was playing.”
She paid exactly what she owed and walked out, but commenters are arguing that she didn’t think to leave a bit more to cover her portion of the tip, which would have been about another $4.
The Group Bill Problem
NPR’s Life Kit spoke with a former restaurant co-owner, who says there should be “a sense of equality in how the check is divvied up.” On the alcohol question specifically, which is presumably a significant chunk of a $600 Chili’s bill for five or six people, her advice is direct: if you didn’t drink, say something.
“Just be like, ‘Hey guys—I didn’t drink.’ Usually, that’s enough for everyone to reconfigure the bill to make it fairer. The problems only arise when you don’t speak up.”
The move etiquette experts consistently recommend is getting ahead of it before anyone orders. According to Toast, the cleanest approach is telling your server upfront that you want a separate check—but not every place will do that for big bills.
Why Servers Dread The Split Check
According to Reader’s Digest, the worst-case scenario isn’t an even split across a few cards. It’s when guests want everything itemized down to who ate which half of the nachos.
“It gets crazy when you want me to figure out who ate what, who is sharing, whose birthday it is—and who shared a bottle of wine,” a server said.
Complex splits slow down table turnover during peak hours, create more room for error, and, as the article notes, servers get stiffed more often on split checks than any other payment setup.
The move etiquette experts consistently recommend is for everyone to Venmo/Zelle one person.
Commenters React
“$600 at Chili’s tho?? they order the whole menu???” a top comment read.
“$20 plus your tip thats it,” a person said
“That’s what the f**k I’m talking about! Good job,” another wrote.
“A servers worst nightmare,” a commenter added.
BroBible reached out to Nyra Monae for comment via direct message. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.