10 Ways to Cut Your Restaurant Bill Big Time
January 14, 2007
A common piece of money saving advice is to cut back on eating out. My wife and I eat in much more than out but like to hit the restaurants on Friday or Saturday nights. Below are 10 ways that we keep our food bill to a reasonable size.
Split It
We have a few favorite restaurants where we know they serve huge portions. Sharing a meal still fills us up and is easier on the wallet.
Fill Up On Freebies
I love restaurants that bring out free stuff before you get your food. If you load up on free chips and salsa or breadsticks and salad you can easily split a meal and cut your bill in half.
Avoid Appetizers
As mentioned above, there are many restaurants that offer free food prior to your meal. Since appetizers can cost half or two thirds the cost of your main dish, I always go for the free food instead of paying for an appetizer.
Keep it Simple
Often the simplest things on the menu are the cheapest. Look for your basic burrito, spaghetti marinara, club sandwich, or other simple standby and you’ll likely score the best deal.
Skip the Booze
Alcohol has a huge markup, what else do I have to say? If you really need a drink, stay away from the fancy $9 fru-fru drink. Instead, stick with the basic bottled beer, drafts usually cost more.
Spend Less, Tip Less
If you tip as a percentage of your total bill then lowering your meal cost will save you on the tip as well. If you buy simpler meals, avoid appetizers, and don’t pay for alcohol then you can also save yourself some money on the tip.
Take Leftovers
I’m amazed at the number of people that throw away their left over food. Taking home your leftovers won’t save you money on the meal you’re eating but it might on the one you don’t have to buy tomorrow night.
Deal of the Day
Many restaurants offer specials on the weeknights to help bring people in during their slower times. Since we typically only eat out on the weekends we don’t take advantage of this technique but my in-laws eat out a lot and save money by always knowing which establishment in town is offering the deal of the day.
Use Your Gift Cards
If you’re like us you’ll always have several restaurant gift cards floating around the house from work or family gift exchanges. Our problem is that we often forget to use them. To help take advantage of the savings, keep them in your purse or wallet for easy access.
We’ll choose a restaurant because we have a gift card but by the end of the meal we’ve forgotten and don’t use it when the server brings the bill. The tip here is to put your gift card on the table when you arrive so you remember to use it.
Complain
One restaurant visit I had a rock in my burrito. On another I had the plastic top of the salad dressing in my salad. These are pretty much automatic free meals. Of course, luckily, things like this don’t happen all the time.
However, you know that guy that comes around and asks how your meal was? Let him know and it might get you a free or discounted dinner. You don’t have to make things up, just mention what you weren’t pleased with. The food was slow coming out, it wasn’t warm, it wasn’t what I ordered, I didn’t like it, or the meal wasn’t what I expected. It doesn’t hurt to try!
Bonus Tip – Eat on Your Birthday
Take advantage of the restaurants that offer a free meal on your birthday, see “Free Stuff For Your Birthday” on the Personal Finance Advice site.
Just remember that if you complain too much, you might find something worse than a rock in your burrito!
I recently moved to a state with excessive sales tax (around 8%). As a result, my meals are considerably more expensive. I always tip ~20%, but now I use the subtotal as my tip basis, not the total. Why should the waiter get a pay raise just because a bunch of Communists run the state?
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I work in a restaurant, and I don’t really like the last ‘tip’, since you’re pretty much ruining your server’s day just for a couple bucks off your meal. (Unless, of course, you really are displeased with the meal, in which case, you don’t have to stay quiet just so someone else can be happy.)
Another tip is to identify the market that restaurants in your area are serving. If you notice that all the other people in the restaurant you are in are yuppies, you’re probably getting ripped off. If you see advertisements for the restaurant on TV, you’re probably getting ripped off. It drives me crazy when the chain restaurant I work in is completely full all the time, and little, quality restaurants around town only have 1 or 2 tables in them. Local restaurants are almost always a better deal! And MUCH better food!
You mentioned avoiding alcohol while eating out. I have actually stopped ordering soda as well and order water only.
If say, you have a family of four and soda is $2/glass, that’s 8 bucks you can shave off the cost of your meal.
Drink water instead.
Not only has this saved me money, I have always dropped a few pounds!
how about “don’t go to a restaurant if you can’t afford it”
some of you suggestions are pretty rude.
note: I am extremely biased as I am a food lover
Bill, I can see how you might think the “Complain” tip could be rude. What other of the tips don’t you like?
Let’s remember that people in the service industry generally get paid below the minimum wage, receive no benefits, and are in one of the most stressful work environments in America today. So save and be cheap however you like, but remember that those are human beings, with lives and kids, that you are dealing with, and they should be treated accordingly.
These are really great tips, except for the last on tipping! I like to leave a little extra on the tip if the service is good. Those guys work hard, but get paid little. I actually do things such as this in lieu of donating money to organizations.
Lisa
I really like these suggestions! Thanks for the great post!
Check coupon sites for discounts at restaurant.com - buying a $25 gift certificate for $10 or even less is not a bad deal.
Lev
Utilize the power of coupons. Many businesses will give you the buy one - get one free, why not take advantage of the obvious if possible?
Good point Jake, some cities sell coupon books that offer pretty good deals at a bunch of restaurants.
we are restaurant professional people. we have just a suggestion, dinner at the restaurant is a pleasure, if you are so cheap, please stay home and cook something for yourself…o sorry if you can, otherwise, just defreeze a nice burger like old american style, food coltureless!!!!
[…] several small things that can add up to big savings. I cover most of them last year in how to cut your restaurant bill big time but I’ll cover a few of them here and add in one that I […]