A New York restaurant waitress had to look twice after she received the tip of a lifetime from a frequent patron.

‘Mike’, who asked to remain anonymous, last week gave his regular Times Square waitress a $3000 gratuity on his $43.50 bill – a 7000 per cent tip.

It was clear the pair had developed a friendship beyond mere customer service.

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Mike explained his motivation for the donation in a handwritten note on the back of the receipt.

She attended his Broadway shows and shared details about the hardships of her personal life.

It was clear the pair had developed a friendship. Photo: Twitter

“My teacher in middle school had such a difficult experience a few years ago which has sparked me to do this,” he wrote.

“Thank you for being around for all of my shows off and on Broadway. I hope that one day someone gives as much love and happiness into the world as you do.”

‘Mike’ said he simply wanted to pay it forward.

“This woman had been serving us for almost a year now. She’s a lovely individual, and she talked about how she was served an eviction notice last month,” Mike told ABC News in the US.

“She really needed it and has been so happy since then, so I feel I did the right thing.”

Mike said he was inspired by a middle school science teacher who went on to form a pay it forward foundation with his wife.

The ReesSpecht Life project was started by Mike’s eighth-grade science teacher, Ray Specht, after his son Rees died in an accident as a toddler.

“I was his science student – and he’s an incredible human being,” Mike said.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he would start a foundation out of something so horrible that would just continue to keep good around and to keep wonderful things going.”

Mike said he had been thinking about his teacher’s foundation for “quite some time” and decided it was time to take action.

He said the surprised waitress has vowed to keep the charitable vibes flowing.

“She said she was going to devote herself to the foundation and continue to pay it forward,” Mike said.