Restaurant Dining: Save On A Night Out

Many couples will save up for a week or two to go out and dine at a restaurant together. It might be because they want to have a date night and remember what it was like before they got married or had kids. It might be because they want to rekindle the flame and have a romantic night out together that they haven’t had in so long. Regardless of the reason why, one of the reasons why so many other couples choose not to do this is because the fear of the cost. If you’re going to a great restaurant you should expect to pay around $100 per person. This includes tip, but also your starter, main course and desert. For many households with multiple children, that sort of money could be better spent on clothing, healthcare, educational activities and more. So it's little wonder then that fewer couples are choosing to go out and eat new and well-cooked foods than maybe a decade ago. But if you know what the good food is in various cuisines, you need not pay a whole lot for it.

The cheaper cuts

If you have ever been to a superb barbecue you know that the cheaper cuts of meat are often the best. They’re more fatty and juicy but despite that, restaurants will always value lean cuts of meat more because of the pure taste in them. So the next time you go out to a restaurant, look for the cheap cuts on the menu and more often than not the dishes that are using the less known and ‘desired’ cuts of the animal will be cheapest. For example if you’re going to a Chinese restaurant, pork belly dishes are some of the best yet not expensive. If you are going to an Italian restaurant, meatballs and fish soups are extremely tasty yet cheap. If you go to a German restaurant then have the pork shoulder instead of the steak for just as good of a meal but less wallet-busting.

Ace in the hole

There was once a time when restaurants would advertise their business in newspapers and leave coupons in them that could be cut out and used. In the information age we live in, they have left this up to gift card websites that offer exclusive discounts to many restaurants. If you would like you can buy discounted gift cards on the cheap and use them to your advantage. For example, check out cardpool where you have multiple restaurants that give anywhere from 5% to 25% off to customers. This is great for when you want to dine out with the whole family because you can potentially save upwards of triple digits. They do seasonal offers to which only adds to the amount you could end up saving. The gift cards are updated every day so you should check back in frequently to see if there’s anything you like.

Restaurant dining doesn’t have to be only for special occasions. You can have some of the most tastiest meals and not pay premium prices just because restaurant culture deems certain dishes to be more worthy.