If you like eating out, Restaurant.com is a great resource to add to your list. They are a very trusted company that has been offering restaurant discounts for 10 years. We've used them many times and have even purchased certificates to use on vacation.
Basically they work with smaller local restaurants to get them to provide special discounts for their restaurant. Your are then able to purchase these discounted offers from Restaurant.com. in the form of a certificate. It's like purchasing a gift card. Usually these certificates are for the amount of $10.00 or $25.00. Your price for these certificates is usually $4.00 – $10.00. Each restaurant has it's own requirements for use of the certificate, so read carefully. Most $25.00Â certificates require a $35.00 food purchase. After you make your purchase an email is sent to you with a link to your certificate. You simply print the certificate and take it with you to the restaurant you selected.
So your restaurant check would look like this:
- Buy a $35.00 meal at the restaurant you choose.
- Use the $25.00 certificate you paid $10.00 for.
- Pay the restaurant the remaining $10.00.
- Total cost of your meal $20.00 for a $35.00 meal + tip and tax.
Now that's okay but the best way to use Restaurant.com is to wait for a sale. At the end of most months Restaurant.com has a clearance sale, if you will, to sell off the last remaining certificates. This is where you can really score big. It's usually 80% off. So now a $25.00 certificate now is going to cost you just $2.00!
This sale also includes Gift Card purchases and the “Dinner of the Month Club. “Dinner of the Month Club is a 12 month package that comes with 12 $25 gift certificates and one FREE $50 gift certificate! The total for this package is normally $120, but after you use the 80% in promo code —your total will drop down to just $24! That means you’re snagging $350 worth of dining certificates for ONLY $24!
Your restaurant check now looks like this:
- Buy a $35.00 meat at the restaurant you choose.
- Use the $25.00 certificate you paid $2.00 for.
- Pay the restaurant the remaining $10.00.
- Total cost of your meal $12.00 + tip and tax.
Note: You can always find out if there is a current coupon code by looking at the Restaurant.com box that's at the top of our home page. The current promotional code can always be found there.
Don't forget about Lunch! Since lunch is cheaper at most high end restaurants consider using your certificate at lunch (if the certificated doesn't exclude). Meals are just as tasty, but your certificate will stretch a lot further.
The best way to use Restaurant.com is to buy the Dinner of the Month Club. Dinner of the Month Club is a 12 month package that comes with (12) $25 gift certificates. The total for this package is normally $120. But, it's always been included in the promo code purchases. I've seen it priced as low as $12.00 after a promo code. And, sometimes it even comes with a $50.00 certificate bonus. With the Dinner of the Month you choose your certificates later. So, you can get in on the larger selection.
The best tip I can offer you for Restaurant.com is to visit the website every once in a while. There are some restaurants that you just plain won't be able to get at the end of the month because they sell out so fast. Many sell out in the first few weeks. But, there seems to be a regular group still available at the last of the month. So, get familiar with the restaurants on the site so you know which ones sell out and which ones don't. That way you don't pay full price for a certificate you could have gotten for 80% off if you had waited.
***A side note. Your tip should be based on the full bill before discount. Tipping really isn't the time to be cheap.
I hope this helps.