A restaurant meal can cost $20 per person, and that does not even include cocktails and other drinks you may want to have. The truth is, it’s not exactly cheap to dine in Tampa restaurants, though the benefits of not having to wash the dishes or clean the table can outweigh that price tag. Just like when we’re shopping, it’s important to be a savvy diner when you want to eat out. There are many ways that you can save money and not spend so much when dining in restaurants.
Drink free water
One of the things we realized when dining out is that restaurants make a lot of money through their drinks. A soda can cost $3. A cocktail can cost $10 or $12. That’s almost the cost of your entire meal. A bottled water, which restaurant pushes for, cost almost $3 to $4, double the amount you’d pay at Costco for the same bottle. Instead of ordering drinks, ask your waiter to serve you free water. Simply drink a cocktail at home for a nightcap to save some serious cash.
Search for coupons
You can always go to Google to search for “name of the restaurant” plus “coupons.” There are many deals happening every single night, so you have to take advantage of that. You can also find coupons on their Facebook pages or on the Sunday newspapers.
Look for happy hour specials
Some bars and clubs have a happy hour special that begins at maybe 2PM and ends at 6PM. Take advantage of this happy hour special when drinks are priced lower and the meals are cheaper. They serve you the same quality food with the same quality ingredients but at a much lower price. This is a great way to get your early dinner or your late lunch.
Join loyalty clubs
Many restaurants will reward you simply for downloading their apps and signing up for an account. They may even send you coupons and discounts just for providing them an email address. These loyalty clubs would usually award you with points every time you dine there. The more times you dine in the restaurant, the bigger your points will be. You can use these points in the future to purchase a meal or two.
Share a meal
If you are dining with a friend, why don’t you order a large portion meal that you can share? You can share two different dishes so you could try both without needing to order two of them. If the restaurant does not offer meals for sharing, look for one that does.