Waiter returns with drinks, asks if you're ready to order, and if not, comes back 5 min later
Waiter delivers food
Waiter comes back in 5 minutes to make sure it's to your liking
Waiter comes back to ask if you want dessert, and if not, hands you the bill. >
Which in certain places is precisely too much? What is considered to be minimal and norm by some, is too much by others.
I will ask for Drinks,
I will ask to place orders,
I will ask for desert when I want to,
I will tell you if the food is bad, or more like I will not tell you and leave it on the plate.
Don't come and talk to me with small talks, I am enjoying my time with my guest.
And I will ask for bills
The only thing the waiter have to do is to keep an eye on the table from time to time because he or she should know what the stages of that table is up to.
You see, that is the difference with expectation. Push and Pull. Americans expect the Services to be Pushed to them, while many others expect services only when asked, Pull. ( I wish I could think of a HTTP jokes here )
As to the tipping culture, in some places it is absolutely insulting to tip.
And no, A Glass of water is not a standard part of services before you ask.
Host seats you
Waiter delivers menus, asks if you want drinks
Waiter returns with drinks, asks if you're ready to order, and if not, comes back 5 min later
Waiter delivers food
Waiter comes back in 5 minutes to make sure it's to your liking
Waiter comes back to ask if you want dessert, and if not, hands you the bill.
If you've taken a long time to eat, they may return once or twice to keep your drinks topped off.
That's it. It's formulaic and quite standard. In my decades of living in various states, I've never had an experience like I see EU folk on here complain about.