Save money while dining out. We all have days when we don’t feel like cooking or we just want to eat out. Dining out can be expensive and we should never spend money we don’t have in hand. Saving money when dining out takes some planning on the front end.
Here are 35 ways to help you dine out for less:
- Read the menu online before you commit to dining somewhere so you’re sure it’s within your budget. Don’t forget to add sales tax and 20% tip to estimate your final cost. If it’s too expensive, find and suggest less costly options to your group.
- If you’re going to the movies or the theater before or after dinner, don’t just walk to the nearest restaurant to dine without doing some research first. Google the theater and search for all the nearby restaurants. Peruse their websites for deals and specials.
- Avoid new and trendy “celebrity” chef restaurants. Their prices tend to be very high. Wait until the frenzy wears off; sometimes prices will drop over time.
- Alternatively, seek out new restaurants right when they’re opening. Sometimes a new restaurant will offer deals just to get people in the door while it works out the final menu and operations.
- Take a look at restaurants’ websites for deals and specials. Many restaurants offer half price wine or a meal special on Sundays, Mondays or Tuesdays, when many restaurants are slow.
- Look online for daily early-bird specials, prix fixe menus, or after-theater deals (i.e. show your ticket stub for a discount). Also some restaurants have a set daily special menu (think ribs on Thursdays) that can be a great deal. Compare the deal to regular menu prices.
- If you don’t see any specials on the website, call the restaurant. Many websites aren’t updated or the specials aren’t advertised. Just don’t call during the lunch or dinner rush.
- Learn to compromise. If you want to order an appetizer, salad, main course, dessert, coffee and wine, it’s not likely you’re going to get out of the restaurant on the cheap. Skip the appetizer, dessert and coffee. Or only have one glass of wine.
- Dine out at lunch instead of dinner. Prices are sometimes cheaper. Review the menus online to confirm.
- Learn how to get the best value out of the menu. Review it online before you go. One way is to order food that can be turned into two meals. For instance The Palm has a three-course lunch special (price varies by location). You can order a salad, entrée and side and dessert. Tell the waiter that you want the salad and dessert to go, and ask him to bring them to you at the end of the meal. Then only eat half of your entrée. You end up with two meals for the price of one. Alternatively, ask to have half of your main course boxed up before it comes to the table.
- Make a meal out of appetizers. Or order a cup of soup and a side salad. Or a couple of side dishes. Ask that they be brought with the everyone else’s main course.
- Split an entrée with your dining companion.
- Consider buying a bottle of wine rather than ordering by the glass. If you and your companion drink two glasses each, sometimes the bottle is cheaper. Do the math.
- If you’re drinking a non-alcoholic beverage, make sure refills are free before you order. You may not want to pay $5 (plus tax and tip) per glass of iced tea. In that case the best value might be to just order water.
- You may get better value by ordering things that are difficult or expensive to cook at home like crab cakes, calamari, or paella versus spaghetti.
- Learn to be flexible. Look for restaurants with happy hour deals. Dine in the bar instead of the restaurant when those deals are available and make a meal out of the happy hour offerings. A great place to do this is at Morton’s Steakhouse. You can get a couple of appetizers for $8-9 each and wine for $9 a glass (prices vary by location). A six-ounce filet alone in the restaurant is around $40. Check out Happy Hours here.
- Ask the bartender or waiter if there are any drink or food specials. Many specials aren’t advertised. I was recently dining at a restaurant bar and there were no signs about its $5 happy hour margaritas. The bartender didn’t hand out the drink specials menu unless people asked!
- Make sure you know the price of the daily special before your order. The waitstaff are trained to entice you with the special but they don’t always give you the price. Don’t be timid. Always ask for the price. Often, the special of the day can be expensive.
- Dine at casual restaurants that don’t have wait staff. By dining at fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle, Lyfe Kitchen, Pei Wei ,etc. you’re saving the 20% tip. Isn’t the idea of going out to spend time with friends or family and not just to eat somewhere with white tablecloths?
- Dine at cafes inside grocery stories such as Whole Foods. Depending on local ordinances, many allow you to purchase and consume alcohol on premises and there’s no waitstaff to tip.
- Dine at bring your own bottle (BYOB) restaurants. They may be few and far between where you live, but the savings can be substantial if you usually order multiple drinks.
- If the weather’s nice, get takeout and have a picnic. You save on the tip and you can BYOB.
- Look for discount coupons through your Chicago on the Cheap. Groupon, Living Social, Travelzoo and Gilt.com sometimes offer substantial dining discounts as well. Just read the fine print carefully so you’re sure you can use the deal. Most of the local Living on the Cheap websites offer these dining discounts under a food and drink or dining tab.
- If there’s a restaurant or restaurant group you enjoy, buy a gift card during the holidays (Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day) when gift cards are sold at a discount or with a bonus gift card. Save the gift card and use it later. Read all the terms and conditions to make sure you can use the bonus gift card.
- Purchase discount restaurant gift cards from Costco and Sam’s Club. As an example Costco currently sells $100 McCormick & Schmick’s gift cards for $80 online. Your local discount club stores may have other offerings in-store.
- Join OpenTable, an online reservation service that lets you earn 100 points per booking. Once you’ve earned 2,000 points, you can redeem for a $20 dining check that can be used at any restaurant that is participating in Opentable redemptions. Some tables, at off hours or on slow days, are 1,000 points (minimum two diners) so you’ll earn the equivalent of $10. Even if I’m dining alone I make a reservation so I receive the 100 points.
- Join dining rewards programs at any restaurant, chain or restaurant group that you may dine at more than once. Every program is different, but if you eat out a few times you may accrue savings for future use. Also, if your dining companions don’t collect points you may be able to earn theirs, too, depending on the program rules.
- Search for local dining savings programs. In Chicago, we have Spring Rewards and Table Savvy. Some local programs have double- and triple-point days when you can earn a substantial number of points for future discounts.
- Sign up to receive emails from restaurants in your area. Some offer an instant discount and some will send you a discount offer from time-to-time or on your birthday.
- Check your mail for postcard fliers and coupon packs that contain local restaurant discount coupons.
- Check for employee discounts in areas close to your office, particularly if you work for a large employer.
- Don’t agree to split the check evenly. If I order lobster and you order an appetizer, you don’t want to subsidize my meal. Better yet, ask for separate checks. The waitstaff won’t usually mind, as long as you both tip properly. If it’s a large group designate someone to divide up the check and collect what each person owes rather than letting people “throw” money in to avoid a shortfall that everyone has to make up because someone made a math error.
- Apply all these tips when you travel. There’s no reason why, when you’re away from home, you should be overpaying for meals. You should look at where your hotel options are located in relation to all the good dining and plan accordingly. Also scope out dining options near all the sites you plan to see.
Everyone should be able to dine out from time to time. If you research, plan ahead and learn to be flexible, you can make dining out an affordable experience. Enjoy!