Question regarding roommate - Should we pick up the bill?

[Consolation]

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You seem to have missed the point that the O.P. would like to pick up the tab but doesn’t want the offer to be awkward. So, it’s not a matter of what you would do, it’s just a matter of helping the O.P. with what she wants to do i.e., a generous gesture without making a social faux pas.

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<p>I don’t think Oldfort missed the point at all. To suggest that you want to pay for dinner because the other party had to spend money to get there IS a faux pas, IMHO. </p>

<p>If the OP really wants to pick up the tab, the thing to do would be to simply say something hospitable along the lines of “we would like your family to be our guests at one of our favorite places this evening to welcome you to our town,” rather than to inadvertently intimate that they can’t afford to cover the bill!</p>

<p>Otherwise, I would assume in those circumstances that we would split the bill or get separate checks, especially if there were disparate numbers. (5 people in one group and 3 in another, for example.)</p>