It’s always good to get out and enjoy a meal once in a while. Whether you are going as a couple and looking for a romantic date night, or simply meeting up with friends as part of an evening out, a meal in a restaurant, café or bar is something to be enjoyed by all. You may even be planning to take the family out for a meal, and why not? It’s a great way to get out of cooking dinner after all! The only downside is that eating out can be expensive. There are ways you can save money on eating out and ensure it’s not as expensive as it can be, so let’s have a look at some of the best tips for eating out on a budget.
Time Deadline Meals
What do we mean here? Well, many a restaurant or bar will have offers in place whereby you get a better price before, for example, at 6 pm. This sort of package is designed to get tables filled earlier on. You might find somewhere offering an ‘any pizza or pasta’ meal deal for a set price, and if you find somewhere that does this regularly it can be a great bargain and well worth remembering. Look for such deals online or while you’re in your local town and make note of offers for future reference when you’re out for a drink.
Two-for-One Offers
Another popular form of enticement is to offer those buying simple meals a two for one deal. You may get two pizzas, say, for the price of one at certain times of the day, or other meals on a buy-one-get-one-free deal. It’s always worth looking for these deals when you’re out and about – just as above – so you know where to go for a cheap meal next time you feel like it.
Coupon Deals
Coupons are everywhere these days and are popular with some of the major high street restaurant chains. Outlets such as Denny’s coupons are an excellent way of getting a discount on meals – or sometimes they entitle you to a free child’s portion or a complimentary drink – and you’ll find them online as well as in flyers delivered to your door, plus in magazines and the newspapers. Don’t be shy – everyone uses coupons and they are printed for a reason, so use them!
Theme Nights
Many of the chain restaurants and bars hold theme meal nights; for example, you might find Tuesday is ‘Steak Night’, where there are great deals on steak meals, while another night the same will be applied to curry, or chicken, and so on. There can be some great savings when you take advantage of these offers as they use them to populate mid-week evenings that are not usually popular, so certainly check them out and make use of the discounts available.
Family Deals
If you are intending to take the family for a meal, look for outlets that offer special family deals. Often, you’ll find kids eat free when there are two paying adults or there’ll be a discount on the children’s meals. Once again, there are serious savings to be made by being in the right place at the right time.
In general, the way to save money on eating out is to go for your meal at an off-peak time of day and in the middle of the week rather than at a weekend. Use coupons that you find through your door or online, and check the coupon sites for regular offers, and you really will find that eating out doesn’t have to be expensive.
