RacerX at “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money” has posted the 6 ways he and his wife save money when they go out to eat. Following all of them would make for a noticeably different experience at your favorite restaurant—perhaps more than you’d like. But even adopting a couple of these tips could knock 10% or more off your next fancy meal with the significant other.
Have cocktails at home — He says to have one at home to avoid the restaurant’s crazy cocktail markup. We’re not sure if he means before you go out to eat, and if so, the whole driving-around-with-scotch-on-your-breath approach might not be the wisest choice. There are plenty of ways to enjoy an aperitif or the cocktail hour before leaving your home, however.
Have appetizers at home — “We plan out those dining nights and there is a great little Harry and David store here that has amazing appetizers (Stuffed Bacon Brie! mmm) that just has to be heated up. I will pick it up on the way home the night before, Mrs. X pops it in at the right time and with the drink above and we are half way through dinner before we leave!”
Try the specials — You’ll get to try new things as well as take advantage of dishes the restaurant is trying out.
Drink water, or a single glass of wine, or bring your own bottle — You’ll likely have to pay a cork fee, and wine by the glass is certainly expensive per ounce, but either route is cheaper than buying a full bottle at the restaurant’s high markup.
Pay cash — You’ll be more mindful of the total cost of the evening and stick to your budget.
Have dessert elsewhere — “Have it, but not at the restaurant! Find a great little bakery and pickup some neat little deserts there. Or even go for Ice Cream together! A third the price of having it at dinner!”
“Save 50% When You Dine Out” [Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money]
(Photo: buncheduptv)
I don’t think I am worried about this because I only eat out 2-3 times per year, if that. I like to avoid restaurant food because most of it is bad for you. Some restaurants have 3,000 calorie meals, no wonder I am full before the main dish gets to the table! When you go out for food, don’t go out to save money, go out for the experience
Remind me never to go out with Mr and Mrs X. They seem like the type to haggle me over the bill. They must be loads of fun, when they go out in big groups.
I apologize as I didn’t read all the comments, but wtf? No sh-t you can save money by doing these, outside of the specials which always cost more. To the writer: the Beatles broke up.
This is pretty bogus. Aside from the Anthony Bourdain “Specials = crap that’s about to rot” advice, why bother going out to eat at all if you’re going to just eat a bunch of random frozen food before leaving? Either don’t order appetizers at all or plan a whole meal at home from frozen stuff.
As far as bringing your own wine and paying the corkage fee, consider that you’re likely to be bringing a $15-30 bottle, and then paying $15 on top of that. Unless you’ve got a bottle of Two Buck Chuck or some other cheap plonk, Is it worth the trouble to save a couple of bucks and end up with (likely) crappier wine than a restaurant with a decent cellar could provide? Again, why bother going out if you’re just going to bring all your own food with you?
This is almost as dumb as that one post from the car rental guy that quickly turns into abuse of people who try to save money on car rentals…
My family has been in the restaurant biz for 30 years, here are our tips for how to REALLY save money when you go out to eat:
- Avoid eating out on Fridays and Saturdays and holidays like Valentine’s Day. Your wait is longer, the quality of service is lower and the prices are often higher. If you do choose to go out on a big night, order off the menu, the specials are likely to be overpriced on a big day. Friday and Saturdays are a good day to opt for the prix fixe menu. A la carte on weekedays.
- Avoid chain restaurants, find good local places who will appreciate your business. They will often comp repeat customers they like with a new dessert or appetizer they are trying out. Further, you are supporting your local economy. If you like them, talk them up to your local paper and on local city sites.
- Ask the waiter for a wine recommendation or two. Often the waiter won’t suggest the most expensive wine, but the one that will go best with your food. If he does this, tip him a little extra so he continues this practice. Yes wine in a restaurant is expensive, but it is a good way to discover new wines.
- Don’t order the most expensive thing on the menu or chicken. Chicken is usually marked up to cover the prices of other expensive ingredients. Fish (if fresh) is often your best value.
- If the desserts are made in the establishment, then order them, they won’t be too expensive and they are usually good. If they are ordered in, I agree with the OP and suggest that you go to a nice bakery instead. The overhead on ordered desserts is high and the freshness can be suspect.
And as a final note, be nice to your waiter, treat them with respect and if possible tip in cash. It won’t improve your service, but it will make up for cheap schmucks like the OP.
@Superborty: LOL yeah.
nothing makes you look more like a cheap college kid than going to a fairly nice restaurant and only having water and chicken parm. especially if you do that over and over again at the same place, most servers will avoid serving you if they know who you are. it happens all the time in the places ive worked ‘oh man…so and so…i don’t want to wait on them…’
seriously, if you want to make it a nice evening because it’s a special occasion, it’s better to share a whole lot of stuff with your date (which i do, AND i have enough for dessert, AND manage to have enough to tip well) than just having spaghetti and meatballs and calling it a night.
I do not agree with “Try the specials” in fact, I try and avoid the specials at all costs. Wonder why? Check out Anthony Bourdain’s book, “Kitchen Confidential” and you’ll see that specials are generally what they are pushing to get rid of before it goes bad. DEFINITELY avoid any fish special that’s covered in a sauce. Avoid specials on Sunday/Monday, or the days before they get their meat/fish deliveries.
Specials are not always food ready to go bad, they can also be ultra low-cost ingredients prepared in such a way that it creates a high profit margin.
And lastly, specials can be dishes that are partially prepared ahead of time, so they can be quickly served during a busy time. Keep all of these things in mind before ordering the “special.”
I think this kind of article is way better than the “OMG EVERYBODY PANIC TEH CHEMICALS ARE IN TEH WATERZ!! kind of stories.
A couple tips I might add:
The markups on wine decrease as the retail price increases, so often the best deals are found in the middle of the list.
Ordering a bunch of appetizers and sharing them is a fun way to try a lot of different things and is a lighter way to eat than each person having an entree to themselves.
The “have a cocktail before” thing is a good idea, but I usually do this before going out to see a show, rather than dinner. Regardless, one cocktail isn’t going to put anyone over the limit.
I vote with others, cook something nice at home if you want to impress.
If you really want to eat on the cheap but make it look good, there are a few classy buffet style places. Or if you want it served on plates, try Indian, Chinese or other Asian restaurants where you can pick courses, mixing and matching or sharing them.
@flyingphotog: I see that every time I go somewhere other than Pizza Hut, myself. Just from the chains in my area, Papa John’s and Round Table will both cut their Larges into 12 slices, and their Extra Larges into 16.
@MissedTheExit: When you have a baby you can’t do laundry after 5 p.m.?
@Jackasimov: Your comment was freaking hilarious! I just snorted water out my nose! If I told Mr. ManicPanic we were going to stay in to imagine things on the floor since we don’t have a couch to save money, he’d think I’d gone insane. Thanx for the 5:00 pick me up!
Why do people feel like they are cheating by not tipping. I mean the place is making loads of money off of you for the food. That $2.50 drink costs about 10 cents for example. that $50 bill cost the place about maybe $15 at the most.
Let the place pay for their workers. BFD carrying a plate of food and a couple of drinks, yea thats worth $15.
/Well I might actually leave a buck or two
Getting dessert elsewhere (esp. at a specialty place like a bakery) is typically a better idea anyway, because so many “nice” restaurants don’t make their own desserts–they just microwave prefabricated ones, so the thing you’re getting isn’t unique to that restaurant. The excellent blog WaiterRant had a post about this last year–the original post (“Why You Should Never Eat Dinner and Dessert at the Same Restaurant”) seems to have been taken down, but you can read it here.
@Sorter42o: Actually, while I tend to be thrifty about my ordering, I tip the server something like 30-50% to reflect what they would have normally gotten and to compensate them for your work.
However, if you treat me like crap because you think I’ll undertip, then I’m less likely to tip you well.
Not all frugal people are cheap. Sometimes you have to take responsibility for getting a bad tip. On the other hand, I tipped a waitress 100% for good service when I was having an appetizer/drink during happy hour.
Pull out one of your hairs and sort of stir it around a bit into the final bits of your meal. Call the waiter over and feign being absolutely repulsed. A few pretend “dry heaves” will: (1) get the meal off your tab; and (2) maybe even earn you a free desert.
@Rode2008:
Or pay for your meal like and adult.
@kable2: Because you’re not screwing the restaurant; you’re screwing the poor schmuck who just spent an hour catering to your every whim. It’s good to take care of people who take care of you. I think it is truly sad that it’s now so expected that restaurants can pay their help crap wages with the excuse that they’ll “make it up on tips”, but that’s the way it is, and stiffing your server on the tip is putting the screws to the wrong person in the equation.
The Entertainment Guide has great 2 for 1 specials. Restaurant.com enables you to purchase gift certificates to local restaurants that reduce the costs. Also many cities have “restaurant week†which usually includes a three course meal at a super cheap price.
10 ways to save money