To earn, restaurants usually charge four times as much per dish as they pay for its specific ingredients. You do not have to give up all your favorite restaurant dishes to stay within your food budget.
Going out to eat does not have to break your budget. With these smart tips for saving money, you can treat yourself to a night of delicious food (and no dirty dishes!) without feeling guilty. Here are some of our best advice and tricks for saving money at restaurants without breaking your wallet.
Avoid the Holiday Hustle
It sounds fun to eat out on Valentine's Day or New Year's Eve, but a lot of other people think the same thing. Some restaurants raise their prices on holidays by offering special dinner menus to take advantage of the high demand. You will have to pay more and wait longer, as the wait staff will be busy.
Do yourself a favor and stay away from restaurants on holidays. When you celebrate a week before or after, it's easier to relax, have fun, and keep the costs down. On holidays, fixed-price menus are becoming more and more popular.
On a normal day, the main course would only cost $15, but now it's part of a three-course meal that costs $49 per person. If you want to go out on Valentine's Day or Mother's Day but are worried about the prices and crowds, try going out the day before or after.
Bring Your Own Bottle
In restaurants, drinks can cost up to four times as much as they should. If you skip the specialty cocktails and stick with house wine or beer on tap, you will save a lot of money. If you have high standards for wine, call ahead to find out if you can bring your own bottle.
Most restaurants charge a corkage fee between $10 and $20, but it may be higher. That might seem like a lot, but restaurants usually mark up fine wine at least two times the wholesale amount, so a $75 bottle would cost at least $150 in a restaurant.
Now, $20 does not seem like such a big deal, and you know you will like what you are drinking.
Check for Promos
Even if you cook restaurant-quality meals at home, treating yourself to a night out every once in a while is still a delightful luxury. However, sticking to a strict budget can be challenging when you factor in the cost of food, beverages, and tips.
Save money by checking for promotions, discounts, or coupons being offered by the dining establishment you wish to visit.
For example, most restaurants have a Facebook page, and many of these accounts offer promotional codes and bargains. "Like" and follow your favorite restaurants on Facebook to receive information on unadvertised deals, freebies, and discounts that are only available through Facebook.
Also read: Save Time and Money With These Incredible Garden Hacks
Check the Bill
When the waiter delivers the check, do you immediately hand over your credit card without looking at the amount you owe? Do not do it again. Always look over the bill carefully to ensure the charges are correct.
Even though it may appear to be common sense, many people still do not do this. A server may deliver the check for an adjacent table of eight instead of the one for your table of two. It is not going to harm you just to check the bill.
Be sure to check and see whether the tip is already factored into the overall price as this is typically the case with larger parties.
Dine in During Your Birthday
A complimentary meal on your special day? Why not, right? Many restaurants have birthday clubs, and if you sign up for one, they will send you a ticket for a free meal or a discount that you can use during the month that contains your birthday.
Have an anniversary? You should make the restaurant aware of it when you make reservations, and you should be sure to notify the waiter that you are celebrating a special occasion.
If you do this, you may be offered a complimentary glass of champagne or a complimentary dessert.
Get It to Go
Getting your order to go is more cost-effective than eating it in a restaurant, and you'll frequently get more food for the same amount. You can save money on pricey meal add-ons if you take your meals to go instead of eating at a restaurant.
Ask for a takeout box before your food is brought to the table. When your food is brought to the table, do not hesitate to put half of it away in the box to be eaten later. You have two meals for one, which is a significant saving. You do not need to worry about what to pack for lunch the next day.
Prefer to eat out because of the atmosphere? Recreate the restaurant atmosphere at home. Put out some candles, turn down the lights, and set the table with your best china and glassware. If you have young children at home, wait until they're asleep to have a romantic dinner.
Look at the Left-side of the Menu
Most people's eyes are drawn to the right side of a menu when they are reading it. Restaurants are aware of this fact, and as a result, the items on their menu that are the most expensive are located on the right side of the page.
Check out the alternatives on the left side of the menu first for more affordable dishes you will still like eating before moving on to the right side.
You might discover that the restaurant has provided a list of their appetizers in the space to the left. For many, an appetizer can serve as a complete dinner at a more affordable price.
Plan Ahead
You may make the most of a restaurant's weekly specials by perusing the menu online in advance and focusing on the days that offer discounts on your preferred dishes, half-priced bottles of wine, or two-for-one deals on certain items.
Have an extremely stringent spending plan? Even if there are no deals to be had, becoming familiar with the menu and the prices will assist you in whittling down your options to those within your price range.
Do not go out to eat without first looking online for deals and coupons. Visit the restaurant's website and then look at sites that offer discounts on restaurants. Groupon, LivingSocial, Restaurant.com, and OpenTable are usually the best. With just a few minutes of searching, you could save up to 25% on your bill.
Say No to Bottled Waters and Sodas
It is typical for restaurants to charge more for drinks than they should. The restaurant spends anywhere from $0.05 to $0.25 on that can of Diet Coke you always order with your meal. But they are going to charge $3 for it!
When it comes to alcoholic drinks, the markup is even crazier, sometimes more than 600%. Don't spend too much on drinks. If you ask for water, you'll save much money on your bill. This should be the best way to save money when you eat out.
If you want water with your meal and the waiter asks if you wish to still or sparkling, say still. Since most of the time it's just tap water, it should not cost anything.
Skip the Appetizers and Desserts
Most high-end restaurants want you to start with a cocktail and an appetizer, have a glass of wine with dinner and finish with dessert and coffee. That is a lot of food there. Half the fun at a favorite restaurant is trying different dishes.
Still, you will save a good amount of money if you skip the appetizer or dessert or share them with your friends. Our stomachs take a while to figure out that we are full. Do not order dessert right after you have cleaned your plate. If you wait a few minutes, you might find that you cannot eat another bite.
If the restaurant you want to go to gives you free bread or chips and salsa, you might not need an appetizer. Eat as much bread or chips as you want and put the $9 you saved toward your main course or your current money goal.
Try the Portion Control Technique
If you have little appetite, be creative with what you order. Try getting an appetizer as your main course. Often, appetizers are smaller portions of main course items at a much lower cost.
Pick a main dish from that list. Again, the portions will be smaller, but the bill will also be smaller. Another option is to order a main dish and share it with someone else. Splitting costs a few dollars sometimes, but it's still much cheaper than ordering a second $20 meal.
Lastly, if you order your main dish, cut it in half before you start eating. You will probably eat less and can take the rest of the meal home for lunch the next day. This is like getting two meals for the price of one.
Conclusion
Going out to eat is a great way to meet people. But if you do it often, it can also cost you a lot of money. You can save money at restaurants by using these tips.
