Posted on 10/05/2010 6:25:20 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
Okay, some of you requested that I post money saving tips since I have a reputation as "The Coupon Whisperer."
And my next tip has to do with Restaurant.Com. I admit that for some time I avoided it because I figured it might be some sort of gimmick to lure you into paying a lot more than you figured. Well, I finally gave it a try and have to say I was very pleased with the result. The first tip is to buy the Restaurant.Com gift certificates when they are ON SALE. Usually the sale is for 80% off but last week it was 90% off so I couldn't resist. I bought a $25 gift certificate for just $1.50 for Cannoli's Italian restaurant. Last night I took the certificate to Canolli's and am pleased to report that everything worked perfectly. Bill came to $39 so with the gift certificate discount, I only paid $14 plus tip. A great deal especially since the Large pizza, two strombolis, and the soup we ordered was way too much to eat at one sitting so half of it we took home with us to eat tonight.
Bottom line is that, with the help of that gift certificate, my wife and I will be eating a great dinner for two nights at the rate of about $6 per dinner per person.
If you are eating out at a restaurant, then you would actually have to be NUts not to take advantage of those gift certificates. I ended up paying much less than half of the normal bill. The best deals seem to be where you can use a $25 certificate on meals of $35 or more.
I agree. Seemed like a scam at first...but I have used it several times.
I buy certificates from them all the time, sometimes up to 90% off. The key is to read the fine print. Every restaurant has their own policies on when/where/how they can be used.
Yes, just check the rules. They aren’t that hard to follow. My next move will be either a steak or seafood restaurant. I only wish Charlie Crabs which is near me was on the Restaurant.Com list.
I LOVE Restaurant.com. We’ve used their certificates for a couple of years now and have saved scads of money dining out. I’m usually very wary about signing up for e-mails, but it’s great to be alerted daily about the discount amount. The 90% off was fantastic!
If so, add me to it!
I have also used them before. I subscribe to www.couponmom.com. They advise me when there are sales at restaurant.com. Last week they had the 90% sale going on.
Like another Freeper posted , make sure you read the fine print for each restaurant.
Looks like it's a "Nein, danke" for me.
Seconded! We buy these certificates all the time - during the 90% sale last week we got $125 worth for $5 ($25 certificate normally sells for $10, 90% off = $1).
Whenever we plan a trip to a new city, we check to see what restaurants are available there and pick up a couple. It’s not a scam! You just need to pay attention to each individual restaurant’s rules of usage.
They just had a 90% off promotion, which is another sign that the economy is tanking. Restaurants are desperate to lure customers in. We’ll be going out to lunch at one of our local places with a restaurant.com certificate.
Yeah. The recession has hit restaurants really hard. Good news for us are the incredible deals now available.
Restaurants are definitely not desperate here in northern Virginia. Often it’s hard to get a reservation.
Restaurants are definitely not desperate here in northern Virginia. Often it’s hard to get a reservation.
Supporting evidence that the closer to Washington D.C. you get, the farther from the harsh reality of the rest of the world you will be.
The thing I don’t get is why is $25 certificate often good for dinners of $35 but the $50 certificates are always for dinners of $100 or more. You would figure the rate would be about $50 off dinners of $75 or more.
There is a web site called CityDeals.com where you can get all kinds of national brands, including movie tickets to Cinemark, AMC and other chains for 50% off.
Most of the restaurants are around the Salt Lake area, but they are in Phoenix too and expanding elsewhere from what I hear.
Do you have a grocery/restaurant coupon ping list. If so, I would love to join. Thanks.
I can’t quite figure that out either, but we always invite another couple and their two boys along with us when we use the $100 certificate.
With my family and the four of them there are seven of us total. We indulge in prime rib, steaks and seafood with a couple of cocktails or a glass of wine for the adults. With a 20% tip on the pre-certificate total, our bill is around $72.00 for the table. Our share is usually around $32.00. Not bad for a huge, upscale meal with plenty of leftovers for three people.
The big problem I have with this service is that it’s for a bunch of restaurants I don’t want to go to in the first place.
Here in Houston the restaurants seem to be doing ok. Of course, we have one of the most dynamic ‘foodie’ systems in the country. Any cuisine you want is available, you just may have to drive across the “whole state of Houston” for it.
However, I’ll be checking restaurant.com to see if any of my favorites are available.
We like restaraunt.com. We’ve gotten some amazing deals. Have you checked out Groupon.com yet?
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