[techsupporter]

I'm an American who spends a decent amount of time in western Europe, to give you where I'm coming from. At high-end meals it is just like everything else with the service; if done properly, it is just as smooth and elegant as the rest of the meal. I actually prefer the single "interruption" of pay and depart (or not, considering most European dining styles involve a suitable amount of lingering even after payment) versus the request check, check delivered, payment method retrieved, ticket returned for signature series of steps, possibly including an optional return for the server to pick up the signed ticket prior to departure due to some back-of-house requirement.